THE POULTRY INDUSTRY

Sun (Christchurch), Volume III, Issue 866, 18 November 1916, Page 5

THE POULTRY INDUSTRY

FOR FANCIER, AMATEUR & POULTRY FARMER Edited by J. B. MERRETT, P.O. BOX 588, Christchurch.

POULTRY RAISING

LECTURE BY MR F. BROWN. At Leeston on Thursday evening Mr F. Brown, Chief Government Poultry Instructor, delivered a very instructive address to a large audience of farmers, and those interested in poultry. Mr McLachlan, VicePrcsidenl of the A. and P. Association, presided, and introduced Mr Brown, whom he said they were pleased to see among them. In the course of his address, Mr. Brown congratulated the egg circles generally upon the good work they were doing. Since their inception the different circles had done a great deal not only for the producer but also for the consuming public. Had they been well established just after Ihc war commenced there would not have been that indiscriminate killing of stud stock brought about by the high price of food with no corresponding increase in the price of eggs. Circles would have prevented that heating down of the price of eggs; poultry keepers would in that case not have got rid of their birds and there would not have been that scarcitv of eggs which naturally followed." Continuing, he noticed with satisfaction that hatching operations were on a larger scale this year than ever before in the history of the poultry industry of New Zealand, whilst so far as the Government farms were concerned orders were being received for sittings to such an extent that they could not anything like meet the demands. Whilst egg circles had done a great deal of good, much yet remained to be done, and whilst naturally he had much sympathy for the producer he had an equal sympathy with the consume!', who must, he said, be considered at all times and particularly so during these times of high cost of living. The object of an egg circle was not to form a trust, but to place in ihc hands of the consumer a guaranteed article and to receive in return for that article its true market value. The system of marketing of eggs required reorganisation whereby a more uniform price could be obtained all the year round, and to bring this about the surplus of eggs obtained during the summer months should be put into cool store, not by merchants but on behalf of the producers themselves —in other words, by the circles. A Big Problem.

A big problem to-day was the importation of eggs. During the past twelve months hundreds of thousands of dozens of eggs were imported into New Zealand, the great bulk came from China, and were what was known as the Asiatic, egg. The other imported eggs came from San Francisco. To his mind the way to solve this problem was for the New Zealand poultrymcn to produce more, but at any rate so far as the American eggs were concerned he did not think they need trouble themselves very much about these. They were not going to interfere with the New Zealand market. The Asiatic eggs, however, did not come in the shell. They were imported in 51b tins of yolks and lib. tins of desiccated whiles, the contents of these tins equalling thirteen dozen ordinary eggs. Equal to one half of a million dozen eggs were imported from China last year and they were used mainly by pastry cooks, many of whom claimed tliat allowing them to use eggs in this form gave the ordinary consumer the opportunity of buying the locally-produced article. The matter, as they would have seen >by their papers of late, was being considered by the department to which he belonged, and he had every confidence that the department would protect the industry in the event of the supply exceeding the demand in locally I produced eggs. Dealing with poultry keeping generally, Mr Brown stressed the point that New Zealand possessed some of the very best laying strains in the world, whilst he was also of opinion that the knowledge of the New 7 Zealand poultry men as to how to properly manage poultry was just about as far advanced as anywhere else, but when it came to marketing, whether it be live or dead birds or eggs, we were a back number, and it I was u\- !•.• She poultry men to set

| about improving mailers in this eonj nection. Artificial Incubation. Mr Brown, proceeding, touched | briefly upon several branches of the industry. In regard to the question \ of artificial incubation, there were, : he said, so many different makes of ' machines on Ihe market, all of which required a different system of operation, that no hard and fast line could be laid down and, further, climatic conditions also had a great deal of influence on the results obtained by the different machines. The first essential to success was to have the breeding stock in proper condition. No matter how good the incubator was, unless the breeding slock were in the very best of condition they could not expect to get good hatches. Dead in the shell was a problem of the poultry breeder which had not as yet been solved, but personally he believed that it was due in a great measure to the breeding stock or because the chicks had taken too much oxygen and grown too big and therefore could not turn in the shell. Despite what some writers said to the contrary, he attached great importance to the size of the air cell in this connection. Artificial brooding had been brought down to a very tine point, and Mr Brown exhibited a specimen of the new fireless brooder, which is being used successfully on the Government farms—the nearest thing to the mother hen that had ever come under his notice. He was of opinion that, provided Ihe breeding stock was all right and the chicks hatched out healthy and well, that 80 per cent, of the deaths among young chicks were due to chill. Bowel trouble was caused in a great measure through overheating, which was just as liable in the fireless brooder as the fire; brooder, but by using the style displayed, they had eliminated this trouble. The brooder was simple in construction. He emphasised the : absolute necessity for cleanliness in, the care of poultry and particularly so in regard to the chickens. Mr Brown dealt with the system of selection for layers—the wedge-shaped bird—and with regard to housing he advocated the open front, with a depth of say 16ft, height in front to be 7ft (iin, and at back 6ft. He was a staunch advocate of giving birds alternate runs. Feeding. In reply to questions at the close of his lecture, Mr Brown said the question of feeding dry mash as against the wet mash was purely a matter of opinion. Both systems had much to recommend them. Dry mash feeding saved a great deal of labour. Table scraps, provided they werc free from salt, were a splendid feed for fowls. He believed in feeding the bran and pollard separate from the meat meal, leaving the birds to balance their own ration. In feeding day-old chicks the Government farms fed coarse oatmeal for the first two or three days, then a little wheal, and when the chicks were big enough hulled oats. Many breeders made a mistake in bringing their birds to maturity too quickly, and then further aggravated the position by selecting the earliest matured birds for breeding purposes. At six I months was plenty early enough for a*pullet to commence laying. If she started before reaching this age it generally meant small birds and small eggs. He only believed in covered runs for, laying birds. Breeding stock should have yards. Mr C. J. Cussen, assistant poultry | adviser, also gave an address dealing chiefly with the hatching and rearing ! of chickens. At the close of the lecture a numj ber of questions were asked, and a I hearty vote of thanks accorded MiBrown. Government Assistance. The Department of Agriculture caters for the farmer in poultry instruction. A request to the Chief Poultry Instructor, Wellington, by a number of enthusiasts will lead to a lecture being given in the district. A request to any branch of the Department of Agriculture will result in one of the poultry instructors being sent to interview and instruct the farmer. Few countries enjoy the privileges of the New Zealand farmer. Canterbury poultry producers have access to Mr C. J. Cussen's instruction, and it is gratifying to know that farmers are making full use of his services.

Answer to Correspondent. "II" writes: Would you be good enough to leil me through (lie Poultry notes in The Sun next Saturday what is the cause and cure of my Orpingtons peeking each other's legs and toes till they are raw. The house itself, and the birds are clean, and they have plenty of grit and green feed. Answer: The cause is due lo insufficient animal food and exercise. Boil a liver and suspend it from the floor. This will gratify the birds' desire for meat food. Spread the grain in deep litter so that the birds may have more exercise. You may possibly delect the offender in the pen, if so, remove it, also the birds mostly effected from the vicious habit. EGG-LAYING COMPETITION. Tlic following arc Hie results of the Southland Egg-laying Competition, held at Kcw, for ihe 32ncl week, ending November 11: White Leghorns. I'm Grand

No Daily layin g- ' 1'otal. 31 ' J. Stevens .. John Dowdall 5,5,1,5,1,1,5 5,4,6,4,3,5,5--32 972 IT. 1 5 C. Crlchton 6,3,5,6,5.5,21)2 918 22 Miss SuthcrlaiH l! 4,3,4,3,4,4,224 895 ;r>' *J. J. Schultz ♦Enterprise Poull .ry 5,3,1,2,1,5,5 -28 891 Farm 4,4.3,4,4,4,3--20 882 !) Mrs Gorinskl 3,5,4,4,3,5,4--28 862 13 .1. B. Merrett 3,5,5,3,2,0,4- - 28 857 6 S. L. Beer .. 3,0,0,4,5,4,4--32 855 38 C. Warburton 5,4,3,6,5,3,6- - 32 X15 21 Rangiuru Egg i\. 4,4,4,4,4,2.426 VII 33 J. Stevens 4,4,4,3,5,3,5--28 811 25 H. Woodnorth 3,0,0.1,1,0,5--31 KM 7 J. Thomson .. 4,1,1,5,5,5,5 82! :;i J. Hislop 3,5,3,3,4,4,4--26 820 2(1 Green Bros. 6,4,4,4,3,6,4--31 811 12 W. Hamilton 3,5,3,4,3,4,2--21 812 28 K. Finlayson 6,5,6,2,4,5,5--33 811 IC J. Strang 5,5,5,0,0,0,4—37 807 '.',:'. James Strang 4,4,5,0,2,4,0--31 801 it James Ireland 6,5,5,5,6,4,5--36 751 8 C. Clayton .. 1.5,5,1,4,1,5--28 7)8 30 Rillstone & Dav ies 5,4,3,4,0,5,330 717 10 Enterprise Poultry Farm 5,5,1,3,5,4,1--27 738 Mrs Carr .. 5,2,3,5,5,0,4--30 7:s7 :ul Tracey King 5,4,3,1,5,4,0--31 7:::! 15 C. Matheson 4,4,4.5,5,3,5--30 730 21 T. E. Davis .. 5,2,0,3,4,5,4--211 717 20 F. Ormc 5,4.1,5,5,4,4--:;i 7117 1 R, Ross 5,4.4,0,5,5,5--34 705 27 H. Fortune .. 5,6,4,5,5,3,5--33 052 19 R. \V. HawUe 3,0,5,1,5,5,4--32 018 18 C. Raines 4,5,3.1,1,5,4--29 592 Black Ort lingtons. 37 •R. Ferguson 3,2,2,2,3,1,3--10 750 29 *J. H. Hurrell 2,0,1,1,1,3,3--11 514 White PIj 'mouth Kecks. 11 T. E. Davis .. 4,4,4,0,5,3,5--31 078 Ca mpi nes. 17 R. Duiilop .. 4,5,3,0,5,1,1--25 g;:s Columbian Wyandottes. 1 Mrs J. Mills 3,6,4,5,2,4,31 -27 5;';! 103 2 19,111 ♦One bird dead ; live in pen.