THE POULTRY INDUSTRY.

Sun (Christchurch), Volume VII, Issue 2046, 4 September 1920, Page 3

THE POULTRY INDUSTRY.

A PROGRESSIVE SOCIETY. lEdited by J. B. Merrett.] Tlic Canterbury Egg Circle is !o be j eongratulatod on the stand it took to keep the price of eggs at 2/- per dozen during the summer months. It required! some determination to do this, as there lare strong forces to combat. The com- j [mercial reports in the papers placed the price a,t 1/6. Grocers were offering 1/8, j while by auction eggs realised 1/9 to : 1/1(1. In the face of all this, the Circle, with its 400 members, decided to make, j the price 2/-. The decision was arrived I at after considerable discussion, and if! 'the Circle is unable to maintain this 'price, outside poultrymen will be to; iblame. It means an additional £IOOO to the Circle members for the next three! months. When one considers the cost of j food the price is not too high, aud'poul-1 itrymen will have to protect themselves 1 ; ■ or go out of business. For many years i they have been unorganised, and taken! I what was offered. Organisation is needed j |for success, and the loss made for want I of it runs into many hundreds of pounds during the summer. Were producers j banded together and supplies eoncen-1 trated, they could instruct their agent j to sell at a given price. Even the price ! of "/- could have been increased if all i supplies were made secure to complete contracts. During the week the ageut for the Circle definitely booked orders for 45,000, while inquiries for eggs run j into live times the summer supply. As ! evidence of the growth of the Circle, more eggs have been sold during the] week than in the first year of the Circle's existence. A factor in the decision to fix the price at 2/- a dozen was a standing offer for export at that figure. There was no wish to take the eggs off the local market, so the American order is being passed on to Ans-' tralia. roultrymen should learn to con-1 centrate and guard their own interests. | Greater success would then be achieved j and the industry would flourish. j Woolston Tanneries Club. East Thursday Mr W. Wiggleswortli ; gave an address to the members of the j Woolston Tanneries Club on "Poultry" Feeding.'' He dealt with the method's of his own system, which lias been sue- <

Jcessful. The club now numbers 42 niemj hers. Mr Gartou, the manager, gave a ispecial prize for tiie bird which laid the I most eggs during the winter months. [The club is doing good work, and the management contemplate doubling the competition in size next year. The Care of the Sitting Hen. Prepare for the comfort of the sitting lion before yon wish to set the eggs. The first tiling to decide is where to set the hen. Select a quiet place where i she will not be unduly disturbed. See i that the nest box is set high enough to iprevent flooding in the event of heavy ! rain. See that the nest is free from draughts and not unduly exposed to sun; it must be well away from other hens, so :that the sitting hen can be fed in peace. The nest should be neatly cut iout of the sod (soup-plate shape), not too deep, and lined with sweet hay; 'avoid dusty, mouldy hay. Next come (preparations for feeding. If other I fowls can get to the food, it is neeesjsary to have a wired-in run, but other|wise a much better plan is to use string ito tie up each sitting hen with. Take | a piece about Ift Bin in length, and I make a loop at each end of the string iabout 4in long; one loop is placed on |the hen's leg, and the other end attached |to a stout stick stuck in the ground, i Three or four hens can thus be put out ito one water basin, with the advantage I of being able to put each hen back to ! her own nest at a given time. j Selection of Hens. I With regard to the selection of hens 'for sitting, the heavy breeds should be! I chosen, as there is always the chance of I the lighter breeds sitting for a few days land then spoiling the whole batch of' I eggs. Avoid hens in very poor coudijtion." Having got the lien, now comes I the testing part. Put two or three pot i eggs under her and allow her to sit on : them, till such time as you are perfectly I satisfied that she can be trusted with [real eggs. When the real eggs are given | they should be of a uniform size to each nest. During the days of probation dress for vermin. Once the hen has fairly settled down, the routine becomes daily the same —maize, water, and grit at a regular time every day. As a | general rule, 20 minutes "may be i allowed for feeding, but care will have jto be taken on cold days or the eggs I will be spoiled if the hen is left off too ilong. The nest boxes should be washed land disinfected before use.