POULTRY KEEPING

Stratford Evening Post, Volume I, Issue 90, 25 March 1931, Page 8

POULTRY KEEPING

PROFITABLE SIDELINE LECTURE BY EXPERT Under the auspices of the Stratford Egg Circle, Mr. L. Cocker, Government expert, addressed a meeting of poultry-keepers at Smith’s rooms yesterday afternoon, when there was an attendance of more than 30. Valuable advice on matters connected with the industry was given by the lecturer. In poultry-keeping, on sideline principles, he said, there was an industry which was particularly situated in regard to its relation to small farming holdings. Even on large holdings there was no reason Why egg production could not profitably be undertaken. In America, Denmark and other intensively-farmed areas, the almost-despised hen and her products ranked very high from a wealth-pro-ducing viewpoint. The farmer particularly was favourably situated by reason of the opportunities afforded him in respect to this industry, because he had very often •identities of foodstuffs of various kinds for feeding purposes which would otherwise he left unmarketed or allowed to go to wheat-cleanings, roots, skim milk and waste. The chief of these were often the carcases of animals killed by accident. Some small farmers ran 100 head or more almost solely on the curds from skim milk from the dairy factory, and any supplementary food required could easily be supplied by means of dry mash or grain daily. The work entailed need not necessarily be such as to make it irksome or trying.

* Where practicable, where a limited number of birds had to be housed, the ideal house was one on skids. It could be shifted to fresh pasture, as was desired, and it enabled a large area to be enriched by the stock. The house should always be moved to a fresh position before the ground became sour or the pasture eaten out. It was open to question whether the heavier varieties would not be a better proposition for the average farm. When either necessity or preference called for the retention of the lighter breeds,- the following three courses suggested themselves: (1) To have on the farm a pen of the best breeding birds of known performance in egg production, and to hatch and rear one’s own stock. (2) To buy day-oid chicks from some reputable breeder of known laying strain. (3) To buy what was termed 12-w«ek-old pullets.

The first plan called for more attention, knowledge and reliance in the individual for future success than the other Issues, but it presented the opportunity of gripping the industry in the main sphere. In No. 2 the work of hatching and rearing was somewhat tiresome, and called for attention and detail and timetable methods which admitted of no letting up. To-day the facilities had been very considerably improved by reliable incubators and brooders, which made the work very light compared to what it used to be. No. 3 offered possibilities where farm or other duties would not permit of the larger scheme of operation. "Prices for poultry products usually fetched peak prices during the months of April to July, and to secure the best returns the slock should have been hatched at a period favourable to jirodueihg their best during that period,” said the lecturer. The heavier breeds, as a rule, took from six to eight months to react a laying condition, whereas the lighter breeds could usually be depended upon to come into profit from five and a-half to seven months. The stock must be hatched at the right period if maximum production and profit are to be secured. Allied with feeding was the necessity for strict attention to sanitation and insect and parasitic life. Whatever system was adopted, the house must he kept in a sanitary condition. Insect life could be controlled by regular spraying with a strong dlsinfectl• nI. A very small quantity evenly distributed on the perch was all that was necessary to clean birds completely of body insects. For best results it should be applied just before the fowls go to roost. For the maintenance of health and to assist the birds’ organism to function properly, ample supplies of oyster shells and flint grit were required, the former to subply the raw material in the shape of lime for egg-shells, and the grit to act as grinding machinery to grind the foodstuffs in the gizzard.

“As in all other undertakings connected with primary production, the attendant should take an intelligent interest in the work, and not expect to receive something for nothing. To gain the confidence of the flock should be the first objective, then with observant management, good and regular feeding, and attention to the many small details with which the poultrykeeping industry was associated, a payable return might confidently he expected.” The lecture was followed by a demonstration with live birds on the selection of breeding stock and the culling of undesirable specimens from the flock, making special note of the need for constitutional vigour for the maintenance of strain and the general standard of the flock.