POULTRY FOR EVERYBODY.

Colonist, Volume LIII, Issue 13052, 11 March 1911, Page 3

POULTRY FOR EVERYBODY.

Under the aboie heading the writer oi a. series or special aim m^niy lineii't;tuig aitaltt, on ]/.mltry moping m tli 3 '•VvaiJurajKi .-ige" !i;iys : —ilie great points aoout running toivls to niaKe tne-m pay more than a detei.t 1.1----uig, am to sa»e timi1, save laoour, and save s^ace tv as gi-'-t eMfi;i iia ib consistent wj.tn strong, lieaiuiy, "vigorous layers. Xiiu question i.s, njiv much laiiu do I requne.-' Oi court.;.1, a lot depends on tilt: ixleiit it is inc-i.Kial to go in the business. A pci^on intending to run say 3UU birds and grow tlie necessary green food, have a good garden about tne House, bojides louni ror incubator, brooder, and feed house, and other necessary uiuldin^s, vvuulti need about one acio for the poultry, another for the aoove buildings ann growing of grocn food, and say a third ror gaiden, orchard, etc. Under the old style 300 birds would need ioi themselves alone from ten to twelve acres, and then not be on permanent grass. Going back to the question ot VVill poultry pay P 1 think 1- said last week that I would endeavour to show that they would on an average egg ■yield of 144 eggs and an average price of Is per dozen (net). Let us take Gs as the sum needed to feed each bird, and this leaves 6s oves: cost of food, out of which has to b? deducted a failsalary for the person attending to them, depreciation of plant, freight,. repairs, egg crates, and incidental expenses, such as tonics for the- birds, etc. Under the system advocated by myself, 4500 fowls can comfortably bo accommodated on one acre of ground; and if the ground be level and the plant laid out with a view to saving time and labour, one/ person could attend to two or more such acres as will be explained later. Now one such acre would yield, at 6s per bird over food, a total of £1350, and if these birds were of a fair table br«ed (or cross) they would realise fully Is 3d each, in addition to which Is 3d should be easily netted for ma-mire. This would return another £621, or a total of £1971 for the acre, over cost of food. The acre of ground would nbt cost more than £550 to com-pletely-equip, and we will allow another £100 as the price of the acre, a total of £650 to carry interest or to /repay if necessary at the end of eighteen months. ' - , Now we will allow a'salary of £250 per' annum to the person in charge, proprietor or otherwise ; allow say £100 for freight and egg crates; £50 for depreciation and another £100 for re- • pairs and incidental expenses. Add to this 2s 6d per bird as the cost of raising them to a laying age. This means £563 more, and raises the-whole expenditure to £1113. We will assume that the person starting was called upon when his pullets had finished their first year's laving to repay the whole of tho money the plant cost him to put down, with 5 per cent, added. That would, mean an additional say £650, with 5 per cent added, or £688. When this sum was repaid it would mean that after paying the whole cost of the plant, with interest, a good salary to Himself for eighteen months, and all other expenses .incidental to tho business of utility poultry culture, hfe would h,ave remaining £170.