POULTRY NOTES.

Otago Witness, Issue 3333, 30 January 1918, Page 45

POULTRY NOTES.

By Tkubok.

Mr Geo. Double, the well-known Invercargill fancier, in the course of a fortnight's holiday spent amongst friends in Dunedin, granted me last week the pleasure of a few moments of his company, and I was pleased to have the opportunity of questioning him as to the condition of the Invercargill fancy and of ascertaining his opinion respecting the quality of birds he had seen in the yards of our local fanciers. Speaking of his own city, Mr Double is satisfied that the few remaining genuine fanciers there have splendid stocks with which to meet all competitors at the forthcoming shows —particularly in respect to brown Leghorns and silver Wyandottes. In regard to white Leghorns, he says it is the same in Invercargill as elsewhere —i.e., a rage for strict utility points; and, as he points out, the Southland egg-laying competition amply illustrates the fact that,, in laying qualities. Southland can hold its own with any part of the Dominion. Mr R. Wilson, of Invercargill, will, in Mr Double's opinion, be able to show some good silver cockerels this year —birds far superior in lacing to those he showed in Dunedin and Christchurch the last two years. Mr W. W. Robinson, the well-known brown Leghorn fancier, is, after a rather long period of indisposition, taking: up the fancy again with renewed zeal, and has now about 100 brown chickens, which are regarded by the local critics as a very fine lot; and, as the browns are going strong iu Invercargill just now, any local opinion as to quality ma3 T bo considered justified—anyway, it may bo taken for granted that Mr Robinson w r ould not handle anv but the best stock. Mr C. Cunningham also has, in Mr Double's opinion, a really choice lot of browns, and Mr Murdoch, who won the cup here last year, has about 40 or 50 chickens full of promise. Mr Double tells me that ho himself has some 40 chickens —browns and silvers —with which to uphold the fame of his yards; but he leaves me and my readers to form our own conjectures as to their quality. It is evident that Mr Double is still, as of yore, too modest to skite about his own stock; but. on the other hand, he never tires of dilating upon the quality of other people's. Possibly this is because no one in Invercargill has done more, over quite a number of years, to tempt young men into the fancy, and who more pleased to witness their successes. At the time of my interview Mr Double had seen only two of our Dunedin fanciers —viz., Mr J. White. (Musselburgh) and Mr P. Carolin (Mornington). Mr White, he says, has still a. few silvers from his imported and winning stock, but no young birds to speak of for this season's shows. This interest just now is apparently centred in white Leghorns, of which he has some 30 to 40 pullets, and about 20 cockerels bred from stock imported from Mr Fred Rogcn, of Rogen and Andrews, A ictoria. These birds arc a very fine lot, and come of good laying strains: Mr Double said he could not speak in terms of too high praise of the accommodation Mr White provides for his birds. At Mr Carolin's Mr Double saw a nice forward lot of 30 silver Wyandotte pullets. They may bo a bit too early, but they are fine in lacing. _ If anything, there is an inclination to snipiness in head and darkness in hackle ; but. of course, lacin" will and should count heavily, for it is difficult to get. The winning cockerel of last year will be shown as a cock this year, and Mr Double says "He looks well. Some half-dozen silver cockerels (cockerel bred) look very promising, and it is evident that Mr Carolin will be well to the fore again this year. Speaking of the judging of the utility classes. Mr Double thinks it will be a good thing if the Government experts are permitted to judge at all the shows, and to do so according to their own standard. This would lead to the uniform breeding for one type, and that a type which experience of tho best kind shows is most pro-

ductiv'o and, at the same time, true to type. J Now that the breeding- season is at the close, preparations should be made for the trying- ordeal of moulting, which the birds will shortly have to pass through. The sooner tho moult 13 encountered and passed through tho better chance there will bo for a renewal of laying before tho winter sea* son approaches. A danger consequent upon late moulting is loss of winter eggs< occasioned by the severe weather checking the inclination to lay. If the birds begin to lay early they get so well established in the habit that a sudden change in the temperaturo does not upset them. -• —On many occasions the point of legcolouring as . associated with egg-laying has been referred to in these columns; and only a week or two ago something was said about tho matter. Professor Dryden-, of the Oregon (U.S.A.) University, in an article regarding tho importance of culling and weeding out tho unfit specimens, says:— "1. Of the yellow-legged breeds, market those preferably that show the highest yellow colour in shanks at the end of the laying season or before. The good layer Will usually have pale-coloured " legs. 2. Market those hens having yellow ear lobes at the end of the laying period. The good layer loses the yellow colour before the end of the year." Several years ago, as the result of observation, and with no knowledge of any experiments which had been conducted in any part of the world, I mentioned that, in my experience, the birds which started tho year with bright vellow legs, and finished with the shanks in the same? condition, were poor layers; and. conversely, that the birds which began' with bright-coloured legs, and finished up with palc-colourcd shanks, were good layers. Year by year I put birds through the singlo testing pens, and among the many points noted for observation was the one in regard to leg-colouring, and I found that the birds which started off _ with bright-coloured lcjrs and with pale-coloijred shanks almost invariably turned out to be the best layers. Why is it? Probably for tho reason that in a good layer everything is subordinated to the production of a large number of eggs after the absolute of tho bodily system hav.e been met. For the purpose of laying eggs it does not matter whether the legs are yellow, or white, or any other colour. If the good layer, has .but two things to do—to keep up a strong bodily condition and lay a largo number of eggs—it follows that all useless (from that point of view) characteristics and appendages' are eliminated. This probably is tho reason why the elements which usually go to preserve and maintain the colour of the leg are switched off to the work of producing eggs. For the same reason the comb becomes smaller and thinner in texture, the shank bones become reduced in size, and tho general effect in the case of the bird which lays a very large number of eggs that she becomes reduced, in size-, and fulls away so far as the requirements of the standard are concerned. —ln Victoria the residue of starch -manufacture from maize is available for. stock food. It is known as gluten meal, and has value mixed with wet or dry mash for poultry. The average composition shows 20.4 per cent, protein, which is very high. This protein is digested to a large extent. -Tho fat content is 8.8 per cent., nearly as much as maize, and there is left still 48 per cent, of starch, much of which would not be of much food value for poultry. Fed alone its nutritive ratio is 1 to 3. An addition of 10 to 15 per cent, of this gluten meal would tend to greater egg-production. It is, of course, a question of price. If fairly cheap compared weight for weight with bran, pollard, and wheat, then it would be of great value in wet mash, where large quantities of chaffed green food are included. Malt culms are used here by some, breeders, and are obtainable at low rates. The average protein content is 11.4; but there is little tat, about 1 per cent. Starch and fibre represent 38.6 per cent., and do not produce much energy. A 10 to 15 per cent, addition to the mash is serviceable, but better as a change, or, say, once a week instead of daily. Carob bean meal, which is said to be a constituent of certain cattle spices, could easily be made available in this State, as carobs grow freely and bear large crops of beans'. These beans when well grown are almost as sweet as dates. The protein content is only 4 per cent., and there is less than 1 per cent. fat. The carbohydrates—starch and largely sugars and gums —account for 70 per cent. This meal has a fattening tendency, but the addition of"s to 10 per cent, in autumn and winter would be an advantage. Messrs Fraser and Co., agents Otago Egg Circle, report: '' Eggs: Market is firm. Stamped, Is 4d; fresh, Is 3d>. Poultry: All lines are wanted. Freezing buyers and poulterers are buying everything offering. We are holding our auction sale at 11 o'clock every Wednesday. Under keen competition wo sold hens (white Leghorns) from two to three years old at Is 9d to Is lid each; roosters, two to three years old, from is lid to 2s each; cockerels, 5s 6d (heavy breeds); hens, two to three years old, 2s to 2s 6d each; roosters, 2s to 3s each } ducks, 3s to 3s 3d each; geese, 3s 6d to 4a each;-turkey gobblers at lOJsd and lid;, hens. and lOd per lb live weight." —The Co-operative Fruit-growers of Otago (Ltd.) report: " A very fine yarding of poultry came forward for our sale on Wednesday. In all wo catalogued about 800 birds. Hens were in good demand, realising high prices. The same applies to chickens and young ducklings and cockerels. Consignors can send forward any poultry they have for disposal, feeling sure that good values will be secured. Stamped and guaranteed eggs have been easier in price. We were able to clear the.whole of our consignments on a basis of Is sd. Case eggs are not satisfactry to handle at this season of the year, and are being sold in this market at Is ljd to Is The following prices were rulinjr at our sale on Wednesday:—Hens. Is 9d to 2s 4d: cockerels. 2s Id to'2s 9d; ducks, 2s 3d to 3s 3d; chicks, 3d to 9d each."