“POULTRY FOR PROFIT”

Taranaki Daily News, 11 September 1934, Page 27 (Supplement)

“POULTRY FOR PROFIT”

EVOLUTION IN TARANAKI SUPPLEMENTING FARM RETURNS. ORGANISED EFFORTS INCREASE. “Poultry for profit” has been the subject of many treatises and books. Like many farm operations, poultry-keeping is still in an evolutionary stage. On some Taranaki farms “the fowls,” so long as they lay a few eggs, are given as little attention as the wild birds, and when they don’t lay it is put down to the cussedness of things and few efforts are made to see where the faults lie and what can be done to rectify them. At the other end of the picture are the properly organised poultry farms where the care in breeding and feeding is as meticulous, and, to the ignorant, as miraculous as the improvement brought about in the dairy herd by the same methods. Like the cattle-owners respective breeds of poultry have their supporters, but here again specialisation is the keynote. As in other farm husbandry, poultrykeeping by rule of thumb ,is no longer profitable. Nor is there any reason why such slipshod methods should continue. There is plenty of advice available, the literature in regard to poultry and poul-try-keeping is available to all who can spare a few shillings. The various breed societies . are enthusiastic and always willing to give information, the Press gives full publicity to matters that concern the poultry industry, and those with actual experience are usually willing to give a novice assistance.

To the farmer or the farmer’s wife or family who think they would like to add to the farm earnings by keeping poultry there seem to be a few general rules that must be followed. The first of these is to decide for what. purpose the poultry run is being established.. The work must be planned ahead, and‘a definite aim worked for. The type of buildings and (he lay-out of the pens and runs will depend a good'deal upon the circumstances of the beginner and the space he or she has at his disposal. In regard to those details the Department of Agriculture is always willing to give advice if requested and particulars of the holding are supplied. The second factor is the keeping of proper books showing the costs, capital and current, so that it can be seen at the end of a season whether anything more than additional exercise has been received for the trouble taken and the expense incurred in keeping poultry. If the results are unsatisfactory it will be necessary to seek advice, but the foundation of poultry farming, or of any other kind of farming for that matter, is that it shall be laid in accordance with a well thought-out plan, and that careful records be kept. Those records will probably upset a good many fond beliefs. They have done so in regard to milking herds and for the pig rearer as well.

Of actual methods of breeding, rearing and feeding poultry many volumes have been written. To keep them comfortable, feed them with a properly balanced ration, keep them free from vermin, and treat them kindly seems to ; be the gist of the general advice given by experts in regard to the keeping of poultry. The novice is well advised to get eggs for sitting, or young stock from a recognised breeder. For if he has not the right type of poultry his efforts will be wasted, and it costs just as much to feed a hen that is a poor producer of eggs as it does one that can make records.

The poultry industry in Taranaki has had a good many handicaps in past years. It has had to pay high prices for wheat and Wheat products, there, has been a lack of co-operative effort so successful in dairy farming,, and there has been too much “chopping and changing” in the class of birds reared and the general organisation of the industry. There are signs that these failings are.being remedied. Once more a little wheat is being grown in Taranaki, and with more co-operation the grain supply might become a smaller burden upon the poul-try-owner than it is at present. The tests carried out at Normanby and at Massey College show the interest taken by breeders in improving their poultry, and the success won by -Taranaki birds demonstrates the suitability of the province for poultry-rearing. It is true that prices for eggs have not been good. The corrective to that is

cheaper production, and co-operative effort might do much to bring that about. Some farmers in Taranaki have proved conclusively that poultry-keeping can be made another source of farm revenue, and there seems no reason why the number of successes should not be increased considerably. But those who undertake it with that aim in viewmust not suppose that revenue will come without being worked for. Poultrykeeping for profit implies hard work, careful planning and constant supervision and attention. Anyone who is not prepared to give it that attention will be well advised to try some other plan of increasing farm earnings.