SUCCESSFUL BREEDING

Taranaki Daily News, 17 August 1935, Page 24 (Supplement)

SUCCESSFUL BREEDING

CHOOSING THE IDEAL MALE. SELECTION OF THE DAM. What is the most interesting branch of poultry? Very few poultry-keepers have not at some time or another mated their birds with a view to hatching, some chicks, and as far as the pedigree stock rearer is concerned this duty is the most interesting and important of the season. On it depends the success of his chick rearing and the whole future of the farm, so that it needs considerable experience and judgment. Most of the large breeders have already mated their pens, and some have hatching operations in full swing.

It is easy enough to introduce a male bird to a pen of hens or pullets, but that is not breeding with a definite object in view. Unless all birds with faults are discarded and only those selected which possess the characteristic desired an increasing number of the resultant progeny will perpetuate the demerits of their parentage. The first thing to understand, therefore, is exactly the objective in view.

The chief aim with certain breeds, particularly White Leghorns, is to produce layers, but contrary to general belief it does not necessarily mean that one breeds layers from layers. If a man were asked to put a certain coloured paint on a wall he would probably put together two colours to get the right shade, and the same thing applies to poultry breeding. It does not follow that by breeding from a hen with a record of 298 eggs that all her daughters will lay the same number; there are other points to consider, mainly the cockerel. The male must be from a dam of not fewer than 240 eggs, preferably more.

A general rule in nature is that the best layer is “little and good,” and because this is so the tendency is to breed from the smallest' birds until they become mere bantams. The quickest way to get bantams is to use the hens that lay the most eggs. A bird, however, which lays about 260 eggs in her pullet year should have quite a .-fair sized frame, and the first consideration in breeding should be frame or body. Many novices think that the poultry breeder lias secrets; but breeding is more a question of science applied to mating, and undoubtedly it is open to anyone to follow the, principles of breeding, feeding and other departments associated with poultry keeping generally. , SELECTING THE SIRE. Supposing bne commences with a breeding pen of ten or twelve hens, two of which have decided faults. If only 15 eggs from each are hatched it means that 30 birds with such faults are produced the next year.-. The following season these 30 will multiply by 15, and so the increase in defects goes on. ■The cockerel is the most important member of the breeding pen, because he is mated to every female in it and related to every chick produced. Do not select an > effeminate cockerel—the one that runs away. I like a cockerel which is very friendly and talkative, and one which will show fight to a dog which intrudes. The eye is a gdod guide to character, and this is very noticeable in the Old English Game - bird, Which possesses a bold eye and causes one to think twice before putting one’s fingers within its reach. Let the cockerel be full of life, vigour and quality. Jf a second-year bird is used, choose for preference one which comes through the moult and looks as young as a cockerel. Quality denotes breeding and is indicated by texture, and texture in its turn, is shown in the feathering. The point for the breeder in handling and selection is to tell the difference between feathering which is like sheep’s 1 wool and that as smooth as silk.

This is the truest test of texture, right through a bird, for whatever the feathering is like, so will be the skin and bone. A male which has come from a hen which laid 240 eggs has feathering like wax and slippery, tight and pot long; the bird looks comparatively small but handles big, with a deep chest, wide across the back and between the legs, and has fully four fingers’ measurement between the brest-bone and pelvis. The best texture is always on the “little and good” bird while coarse, woolly feathers denote the big coarse fowl. There is another type—the bird with long feathering, causing it to look big but handle small. A further point in regard to the cockerel is that “externals” are very important for any physical deformity he may have is usually transmitted to his sons. SELECTING THE DAM. A hen should be selected not only for her record but also for her temperament and size. Supposing a cockerel to be all that is desired, except that he is a little on the small side, then his hens should have plenty of size to counteract his lack, but if the hens are rather small it is folly to mate them to a small cockerel Realise what are faults, and never mate faults to faults. Girth (the measurement round a bird’s body at the deepest part) is a good guide to capacity and will indicate immediately what to expect from a closer study of the usual points in handling. A fujl chest is necessary for stamina, and a bird so possessed will continue laying for long periods with but few breaks. One with a small chest may lay & fair sequence and then miss for a l<ng period until it regains what is has spent on egg production. The wish-bone should be well up to the crop, and that gives the construction of a deep chest. If any excess is introduced in mating, such as long legs, it means that the body and usually the chest suffer. There is nothing like a long leg to rob a bird of its body. In handling one must not be led away entirely by the number of fingers’ space between the breast and pelvic bones. The measurement must be in an almost upright position, so as to obtain girth with it. These, together with depth of chest and width of back, are the most importent things in the selection of cockerels and hens. NUMBER OF HENS TO A PEN. On the subject of how many hens should be run with one cockerel, a great tendency is to run too few, but the number depends on the vigour of the cockerel. In light breeds some will do far better with ten or twelve birds than with a smaller number, and frequently hens will be worried if there are not sufficient of them in a pen. This is a matter for observation—a very necessary attribute in poultry keeping. Where heavy birds are mated, and especially in exhibition stock, fewer hens will suffice because the male is not so active. Unless a hen is properly mated

the result may be shown in bad fertility, and my belief is that too late mating and setting eggs immediately is the cause of a preponderance of cockerels from the earlier hatches. If second year males are used it is often advisable to remove their spurs to prevent damage to the hens. This can be readily accomplished by tending the leg with wet tape, heating a strong knife until it is red and cutting off the spur. Another way is to press over the spur a red hot potato for a couple of minutes, when the hard shell will come right away. Finally, it is wise to study environment and place the breeding pen in a quiet spot, such as an orchard, with free range for preference.