POULTRY NOTES

Southland Times, Issue 17913, 19 April 1917, Page 3

POULTRY NOTES

By “Rock.’* The birds in the present competition, on the whole, are of a better laying typo than in the competition just concluded. pens No. 10 and No. 4 especially taking the writer’s fancy. So far there has been no list published of the weights of eggs laid by the various pens in the recent competition.

THE PRIZE ESSAY,

From a number of papers on the above, that sent in by Mr S. Thomson, Invercargill, has been awarded the prize. I was particularly pleased to receive a paper from a Gore junior and trust the youthful correspondent will not be discouraged, but-continue t# keep her eyes and ears open and learn all she can of poultry-keeping. The winning essay is as follows: —Southland Egg-laying Competition.— Now that the above competition can be recorded as one of the most successful held in the colony, and that the results are far beyond what was anticipated, it can go forward as an acknowledgment as to what may be accomplished when an energetic body of enthusiasts decide to pool their energies in a good cause. The members of the Kgg Circle deserve all the praise that has been allotted to them for their efforts, and the H. and C.A. Board for the encouragement meted out to tlie fancy in Southland. That the competition has been of an educational diameter no one who has taken a keen interest in Uie weekly published results can question: while those who have visited the Kew grounds and viewed the attention devoted to the feathered occupants of the pens have acquired a knowledge that will be of considerable value to them in handling their own flocks, whether of large or small dimensions, when put to practical application. The competition has borne fruit In that it has practically demonstrated that it is cheaper and better to keep fowls of a good laying strain, than to live in the old groove and waste money and energy on the barn-door variety, which commends itself only to the corndealer for the demand it creates for food-stuffs. It is admitted that half of the breeding of any animal goes in the mouth, and the same can be said of the laying hen. The strain might bo the best in the feathered world, and yet becomes an inferior representative of its kind by wrong feeding or neglect. The Kew birds wore regularly fed on tlie grains and moat meals, accompanied with green foodstuffs, that go to make up bodily waste caused by egg-production, consequently the birds were In a better condition than when they entered the competition as pullets, while the egg-laying record is one that the caretaker has every reason to be proud of. Some of the birds failed to see the competition tlirough, having succumbed to natural causes. The old adage. “Never count your chickens before they are hatched” did not deter the writer from venturing into the realms of prophecy on the result of the competition. Of the respective pens, the most promising, without any knowledge of strain or rearing, led the writer to place Mr J. Stevens’ (No. 33) pen as the best, while the next in order was Miss Findlayson (No. 28), J. Schultz (No. 23), C. Crichton (No. 5) and J. Stevens (No. 2) in order. These pens have been consistent right through from tlie time they made a decent start, yet to-day the order is very much reversed. Therefore, it is not always good to judge without a knowledge of the ancestors and the early feeding and attention the birds have received. The results are remarkable and are apt to call into existence tho query: "Does poultry pay?" It does! Although it is a very debatable question, and all depends on the manner and enthusiasm of the individual conducting the business. The initial outlay at Kew must have been fairly large, hut a less expensive building could ho constructed which would serve the same purpose without in any way interfering with tho results. A

less pretentious building would do for intensive poultry rearing. It is evident that to do well poultry must bo kept dry and free from draughts and chills, and receive regular attention, and fed on the proper class of foods —those that create bone and flesh, and the construction of the marketable egg. The question has often been asked at Kew, "Will those pens of hens produce, daughters as good layers as themselves?” It does not follow because a hen is a record-breaker that her piogenv will give as good or better returns. Observation has proved that the hen transmits her laying propensitj or fecundity through her son. Therefore, to perpetuate the laying qualities of the hen it becomes necessary to be choice in the selection of a sire bred from a hen which has a large egg rehoid to her credit. To mate Dowdall s or Stevens’ pens with sires procured without a knowledge of their antecedents would be courting trouble, as the chances would be against good results from the pullets reared. To improve the laying strain of any breed of fowls it becomes necessary to select a sire with a pedigree from hens of recognised worth. Now, this is the rock on which most amateurs wreck their prospects —they purchase from a recognised breeder eggs at a high figure, and rear a number of nice pullets. The period of laying follows, and the season has arrived, w r ith hopes of breeding their own stock for the next year. Someone offers to sell a good rooster or one is picked uj> in the sale yard, and mated to the breeding pen. Oh, yes! Chickens are batched all right. They grow well. ITopcr attention in the way of feed and housing lias been their lot, but the egg yield for the season lias not been at all equal to the parent stock; in fact, average 150 eggs each instead of the 200 that was looked for. The reason is unaccountable to the amateur. How does the person he bought the original stuff from have such good results? The amateur wonders if he lias been had in some way not discernible. He cannot understand why the laying qualities of his own breeding have gone back, and don’t compare with the matrons of his original stock. Simply this —he has failed in not introducing a good sire into his yard. If he had gone to the person lie bought his eggs from and stated his wants, no doubt lie would have been in a position to supply the requisite male bird to perpetuate the fecundity of the original stock. It would cost a trifle more, but tlie results would have been to his satisfaction and more profitable. To be a successful poultry breeder you must pin your faitli to good sires produced from hens recognised as eggbasket fillers. The six bird pen is noted not a true test of the fecundity of a hen. There might be three or four good birds and two only medium, consequently the average is reduced considerably. We find the leading pen at Kew laying over 1500 eggs and the lowest 950 odd. Perhaps the latter had several drones! Who knows? This calls into existence the question of the single pen test. Would it - not be advisable to adopt the single pen proposition in preference to the larger one now commencing the second year. This is a question for the Agricultural Department to handle, and encourage the enthusiasts who are running these competitions. One of the Commonwealth States has taken a grip of the matter and erected 500 single pens. They have 300-egg hens in Victoria. Why should we not have therri tested for that record too? These hens would be the very stuff to breed sires for improving the fecundity of our egg producers. Perhaps the local Egg Circle will give the matter attention later on. It must be admitted that a number of the birds were not fit for a competition like the one just finished, judging by results: therefore, conditions should be imposed that only birds bred from fair laying strains, and giving evidence of good type, should b© accepted as competitors. In comparison the difference_ is too pronounced. The committee should have the right to consider type and breeding as a condition of entry. Seeing that the Institution is only in its infancy, it is perhaps too soon to bo exacting, as the number of entries adds to its attractiveness, although a lesser number of pens with a better class of egg producers would make it a better paying proposition. The above paragraph applies to both heavy and light breeds, although Ferguson's Orpingtons did remarkably well, seeing that five birds practically laid all the eggs. X believe the Government Agricultural Department should have bought the three leading pens and dealt with the owners in a liberal manner. Having the intelligence of their poultry experts to handle them, the community would have had a chance of getting eggs from proved birds at a nominal price, and the first year’s result of the competition would have been of incalculable benefit to the country. 1