POULTRY YARD

Taranaki Daily News, 7 June 1930, Page 28 (Supplement)

POULTRY YARD

BY

G. H. AMBLER

. ■ . ■ i. SMALL AND LARGE EGGS. ■I ■ • We hear many complaints about small eggs at this time of the year, but it must be remembered that pul- . lets, as a general rule, produce eggs- of less than two ounces for the .first three or four weeks of their laying time. There are, however, some strains in which small eggs are a notable defect, and every effort should be made iii breeding to combat this tendency. Soyie breeders aro now paying more attention to the size of the eggs, and. already they are getting good, results by selecting birds for breeding which have distinguished themselves by producing good-sized eggs’and plenty of them. They may at the outset sacrifice a few eggs per annum .by giving attention to size rather than to mere numbers, .but they arc working .to maintain and increase; the output at the same time as they keep up the size. It is possible for any amateur to improve the size of the eggs if he breeds op the same principles, rejecting-/all birds which fail in this respect, however prolific they may be. Ho can commence to build up a large egg strain with one. hen that excels in ■ that respect, mating her with a cockerel from a lai+je egg strain. ’ ■ . . • WHY FOWLS SHOULD EXERCISE; Exercise is of. vital importance to the health of the fowl and to the proper assimilation of its food. Breeding, laying. and growing stock must have plenty of exercise to do well, and. to assist !;them in using their food to the best advantage through the proper channels. ■Without exercise, food, which under normal conditions should bo. used as •fuel and in the repair of tissues or in making egg-s, will be diverted into forming additional flesh or fat. Keep the fowls busy by putting a .portion of their hard grain where they will have to scratch for it. The busy, active hen that ' scratches for a living is usually the hen that produces fertile' eggs. With healthy hens' it is seldom necessary to force -exercise. Given the place and opportunity they will generally take sufficient without much urging. "Exercise is a good thing. It is necessary, biit it is possible ■to have too much, even of a good thing. Let fowls scratch' for & part of their grain,, but do not make them work for all their food. You do not want them to use up a considerable, part .of the food in unnecessary exercise; that is not economy in feeding. Neither should you get your fowls out of condition by failing to give them the opportunity to scratch and run about sufficiently to keep their digestion in good order.

THE SHOW SEASON. The show is an educational factor, and wo are now in the midst of the show season. Every poultry-keeper, whether an exhibitor or ribt, should visit one or more of A good show is a benefit ,in many ways. It gives the breeder an opportunity to show his stock in competition with' the best, and the winner is always pleased. It also gives an opening for the beginner to look round to See what his variety is like, so that he may gauge the qualify of'his own stock. Some jteople cannot understand how a bird can be good enough and not win; but when you remember that out of a class of 30 only half a dozen are really good, and. these very much alike all round, there must be a deciding point, and someone must be; in the sixth place when he could easily have been first. I admit’ that sometimes birds win which ought never to have . done so—at least in the opinion of many breeders —and yet the judge must have a good reason, for putting them on top. . If you are an exhibitor be a little more generous. to the judge, unless you believe that h& has failed to find the right ones, and try to see the class tfs he has seen it. You know it is much easier to judge a class or even pass an opinion upon it when the cards are up than it is be ; fore, for with the awards made eo many start off to see what fault they can find with the winners, and never look for the good points. The judge, on the other hand, sets off with a class, say, of 20; he picks out the best seven, and then proceeds to sort these out in order of merit. He works down to three, and has found many evidences of quality, size and shape, constitution, colour, condition and correct training; but now he must hunt out their faults, and he must be able to correctly place them. It is quite possible for the third to be as good as the winner, and the judge has found some minor ’fault, for which the • bird has been dropped; yet the owner might never have noticed fit, but in sizing up the other good qualities have passed over this fault. AAHien you are always with a fowl, and one’i which you prize highly, you can be-, come blind to all its failings, so that | when it is put in. the show pen you arc i disappointed and inclined to blamo. thejudge, though the fault was there all the time. This you yourself should have discovered. It is always a good plan to look for tho faults in exhibition birds. I have never yet seen the perfect bird. It is only . by. finding the faults and bad points that you will be able to eradicate them. When at the show look through the okisses to find some good points in the winners, r no matter whether your own breed or not. You will soon find that the show has a new meaning.

SSoino men who attend a show if they do not win are positively miserable, and they try to make others unhappy, too. They abuse the judge, thinking this will help matters, but it so often ends in two menelosing their tempers instead of only one. Remember, you enter under a man because you think him good enough to adjudicate fairly and capable of dealing with the breed, or you may just enter the bird to got the judge’s opinion; but whatever it is, you should accept. the result, as being honest. For the future, the matter is in your own hands. When you enter your birds the judge is announced, and if you do not like a man do not show under him. . ' Every exhibitor who can should attend one or more of our big .shows. The beginner should carefully study his own breed; if possible, see the exhibits by daylight, and look for all the good points in, those which are left out. Such an event is .an ground, wherej'the birds are-the*subject

and the observer the pupil, and although hot at once apparent, there is much that can be learned. Ask some men what they think of a certain winner, a breed they are interested in; they proceed to pick him to pieces. When they have finished you wonder how the owner ’ ever dared show such a poor specimen, and yet it has won. Such a method, however, will not help a novice, for it confuses ideas. It is no herp at all to hear such a rating of the winner, no matter what its faults. The novice , with a few birds of any breed which die fancies, and hence has some notion of what they are .like, should se-t forth on his own errand, and, while carrying in his mind the points of his. stock, go carefully over the .winners to see. where his own birds fail. He should try to see what different mating.is necessary to reach the standard of the winner. To the' old hand the shows aro the means of exhibiting his wares .with samples of the best, but for the great majority they aro just a training ground., where inueh can be picked up which will benefit every poultry man in future years.

.GENERAL NOTESThe schedule of the- Christchurch Poultry; Canary and Cat Club’s 63rd annual fixture‘ is now to hand. As in previous years a large number of cups, trdphies and special prizes are being offered for competition. Several special ; ist clubs are holding their shows in conjunction with the Christchurch event. The following South Island Poultry Association championships will also be competed.', for:—Old English Game (female), Light Sussex (open classes); White Plymouth Rock (utility classes), Black Rosecomb bantam, Dragoon or show homer pigeon,' Yorkshire canary (self dr foul green), and-Persian (male), blue black or smoke, over six months. The judges are:—Poultry, :open; Old English Game and. game bantams, Mr, E. D. Barry, Nelson; Modern aiid Indian Game, Mr) T. Kennedy, Rangipra; Leghorns and Auconas, Mr. R. Wilson; Minorcas, Mr. A. B. Thompson; all other varieties show poultry, Mr. •, Joe Sykes. Utility classes: White Leghorns, Mr. J. Liggins, Burwood; all other Leghorns and Anconas, Mr..R, Wilson; Minorcas, Mr. A. R. Thompson; Rfiode Island Reds and. Orpingtons, Mr. T. Kennedy; all other varieties utility poultry, Mr. J. D. Gobhe; bantams other than game, Mr. T. Doig, Wellington; ducks, Mr. R, W. Hawke, M.P.; eggs and table poultry, Mr. C. P. Bradford. Fancy pigeons: Tumblers, Mr. W. Mabley; Magpies, Mr. G. Hales; all other varieties, Mr. W. Fraser. Junior and utility classes, Mr. J. M. McLean. Flying Homers: Old birds, Mr. F. D. Wilson; young birds, Dr. A. C. -McKillop: Junior and coloured classes, Mr. L. Wilshire. Canaries: Norwich, Mr. R. W, Thompson; Yorkshire and all other varieties, and eats, Mr. T. Wilkinson. ■ Mr. Patterson, publicity official for the Taumarunui Poultry Society, informs me that entries for the annual show have come in remarkably, well and the executive is looking forward to a most successful show. Mr. Tom Doig, Wellington, will make the awards. The following judges have been appointed for the Auckland Poultry, Pigeon and. Canary Chib’s annual show, to bo held in ’July:—Poultry, Messrs. W. A. Hanson, J. Nixon; fancy pigeons, Mr. N'. Hanson; flying Homers, Mr. V, A. Ryder;' canaries/-Mr. Stan. Wood. The recent controversy between the North and ' South Island Associations on “white in face” in Minorcas is evidently being freely discussed by most of the affiliated clubs. The Dunedin club at its last meeting decided to support the South Island Association in its adoption of the utility standard with -the-exception of- “white in. face.”