POULTRY BREEDS

Te Awamutu Courier, Volume 52, Issue 3756, 15 May 1936, Page 3

POULTRY BREEDS

THE HARDY REDCAP NOT SO POPULAR NOW. Over 150 years ago Redcap poultry was well known in Derbyshire (England), and the district round Bakewell is still its home. Because it has been reared so long in the Derbyshire hills the Redcap is one of the hardiest breeds extant. Unfortunately, however, the same tale is heard again and again the “ foreign ” breeds ace boosted at the expense of our native and well-tried breeds. ’ Redcaps deserve more attention. They are, as I have said, hardy. They are also good layers, fine table birds, and long-lived, like so many of our native breeds. Redcaps are not a big breed. The cocks weigh 6 lbs, and the hens 45 to 5 lbs. They are neat and shapely, and are easily distinguished by the big rose comb from which their name is derived. The Redcap male has a red neck and red saddle hackles, with deep black edge. The wing bow is rich red, and the coverts are red with a black spangle, thus making a band across the wing. The other wing feathers are red on the outside and black on the inside. The rest, including the whole tail, is black. The hens have neck-hackle like the male, but the red is not so deep—the standard calls it “nut brown.” The rest of the hen’s colour is also brown, spangled with black. A point in favour of the Redcap is the fact that a breeder who knows the breed can spot cockerels at a day old, the comb being in evidence. This point seems to have been overlooked by our sex-link experts. GENERAL. WIRE-NETTING FOR POULTRY. Wire-netting has many uses on the poultry farm,. There is considerable difference in the quality of wire-net-ting. A well-galvanised sample is essential otherwise it will very soon rot. Various strengths have been found correct for certain uses as followg: Poultry runs: ■ Chicks: One-inch mesh, 1 gauge, 2 to 3 feet high. Hens: Two-inch mesh, 19 gauge, 6 feet high for small pens, 5 feet high for field or on the range. (A larger mesh can be used at the top of tlje fence.) Bottom of nest boxes: Quarter-inch mesh, 20 to 22 gauge, woven-wire square mesh. Open fronts and windows: Halfinch mesh, to keep out rats, mice, and birds, 20-22 gauge. Covering droppings board: Twoinch mesh, 16 gauge. Sun porches and wire floors: Baby chickens: Half-inch mesh, 18 gauge. Four-weeks-old chickens: Three-quar-ter-inch mesh, 16 gauge. Eight weeks and older: One-inch mesh, 16 gauge. Turkeys and fowls: Three-quarter-inch mesh, 15 gauge. The square mesh woven wire is usually recommended for floors. It should be galvanised after weaving. It lasts longer, but is more expensive than wire-netting. Sides of sun porches: One-inch mesh, 18 gauge. Stands' for feeding and watering equipment: Half-inch to three-quarter inch mesh, 16 gauge.