Poultry Notes

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXII, Issue 19478, 26 December 1925, Page 21 (Supplement)

Poultry Notes

By

“CHANTICLEER”

THE POULTRY BUSINESS IS A BUSINESS AND A VERY HARD ONE TO LEARN.

j The real magnitude of the poult i” i industry is appreciated by the cox Iparatively few—hence there are com I parativcly few real successes. It i.- ! not to disparage the prospective hos that is entering and will enter thi growing industry that I say this. It i is rather in justice to the industry it I self. It is no credit to it that it reap.- . such a crop of failures. To a <-erte extent that idea, that held forty year ago, still holds, that the raising of chickens is a fool’s occupation, and :• man who has failed in everything elscan buy a few hens, set a few eg.;--, and in the natural course of human events, in the course of time, own and possess a flock of pullets. These pullets will lay for him a certain number of eggs at so much a dozen, naturally bringing him a cerI tain income. It is then not a business ■ at all—merely a matter of arithmetic. : How many hens - 'll lay how mmiv I eggs, that will sell for how much .’ jit is as simple as the elemental two | plus two, but paradoxial as it max ■ seem, the equation is not always four; | but more often with such it is two pin. two minus experience, minus know I ledge, minus respect for the business. . equals zero. I What then should bo the incentive of I him who either early or late in bfe turns to the good old biddy as a means of livelihood? If I were to be re I strictcd to a single sentence, where with to answer this question, it woul' jbe without hesitation—love of lb- ■ game itself. The chicken man—the | real chicken man, is he who from da mi I ary to December goes out into his i pens, and by handling, by trap nest ling, by painstaking examination ami ! comparison, day after day, week after week, with infinite patience, mates ■ male and female, to produce a. certain thing—his mental vision of a bird yet i unborn—which down through countless 'generations will carry its influence, the I direct result of his clearness of vision, his knowledge and his discretion. N< I jungle business about this, but a v< \ possible success, and, this man doo j this prompted by no mercenary motive.

Iho does it for the love of the' thing it ■ self. Not everyone can bo a. successful poultry man any more than every man can bo a successful merchant, doctor, or musician and one of the most serious mistakes of beginners is their failure, to realise this fact. Almost anyone i can keep fowls on a small scale, but the I management of a poultry plant calls 1 for certain definite personal qualificaI tions. Without them permanent success in the work and enjoyment of it can hardly be expected. More enthusiasm over the possibilities of poultry keeping is not enough, though enthusiasm is important. A thorough practical knowledge is absolutely es | sential. Few realise the multitude of ! detail:; associated with the proper I management of a poultry plant, or how ; completely success depends upon at i tending to them. The man who is ac I customed to having his work planned j for him, or has worked for many years 'as part of a thoroughly organised busi- | noss concern where each man’s work is ■ highly specialised, will find it ■ extremely difficult to conduct a busi- ! noss requiring much personal iniative. :or to enjoy a work in which success • depends upon the regular and proper j performance of a continuous round of ' a large number of more or loss disconI nectcd details with external conditions demanding continual readjustment in methods adn equipment. It is true that much has been done in recent years to simplify methods and olimin ate, details, but probably the time will never come when the poultry plant can be run in the automatic way which characterises the management of so many other business enterprises. Constant Application. While poultry keeping does not require hard labour, perhaps, as some other forms of agricultural work, it does demand constant attention am! long hours. There arc few holidays on the poultry farm, at least, until it i? thoroughly established, and little time for amusement. Al any men grow restless and inattentive under such condi tions, and often are tempted to neglect the work and seek recreation at most inopportunate times. No one who grows discontented or rebellious under monotony and isolation has much chance of success in poultry keeping though, for some reason, the poultry business appears to appeal most strongly to those whose chief interest

in it is the hope of escaping the “steady grind” of present employment. Doubtless they have more liberty and opportunity for recreation now than they could hope to have as poultrymen. A good deal depends on the possession of a genuine liking for

Those who do not find enjoyment m the ' aily care of fowls, will rarely understand their requirements or have the patience to attend to their needs. Many disappointments grow out of the failure to discriminate between I real Jove of fowls, and mere restless-im-ss. dissatisfaction with present em- ! ployment, or a desire for a larger inINBHEEDING. j SUCCESSFUL AVITEX CAREFULLY PRACTISED. I Lay members of the poultry industry believe that inbreeding weakens stock, hence neighbours borrow male birds from one another. The fact is, in- | breeding, when rightly understood and | wisely practised is one of the most : valuable adjuncts to the poultry breeder’s business. I. have in mind the poultryman I who is in the business primarily for the i purpose of commercially marketing eggs. If .1 show him how lie can get twice, or even one ami one-half as many eggs, from the same number of , birds as h • i- - -<>w earing for, it should I prove of interest to him. ' Buy a cock and a hen from soma ■ some reliable breeder who has trap- ■ nested, whose liens have a, high egg i yield, whose stock i- - sturdy and reasonably near the standard requirements. Do m»t hesitate to pay a good prico , for the pair. If you can’t afford it, you can buy a setting of eggs from the [same birds, and get the same results, though it wiil take longer, of course. ! For the purpose of illustration, let U 3 • ■ start witli the pair. At the on ! of the first season, we have gome likely looking pullets—not ■many, to be sure, but most of them true to their parent stock. Wo will have a number of cockerels, the strong- ; est ami best,-shaped being the ono w 0 i | will later mate to the dam. ; The pullets wo will rigidly cull, <lif»- , carding the frailer ones and those that ■ show marked undesirable features as . to shape, etc. They are sent to iho yards for laying purpose-- - , their no-fer- , tile eggs being marketed. The rest are trap-nested, the best of . them bred to the cock, and, at the end

i of the laying season, those of the, low- . est egg yield, together with their offspring. are discarded from the breeding pens. Those remaining are rigidly 'culled, as was done the previous season ’with their mothers. ' Af the original cock and hen word ; also mated’this season, there will be stock from that so <e. especially .'cockerels, that will be available fot • ■ future use. ; The following year. the cockerel, ' which is now a cock, having been kept i until fully matured, is mated with his dam—the last season th: L you will i probably use her. Thu process can now be carried on from generation to generation, indefinitely. Records must be kept, of course. When your pc: s have increased sufI ficiently to supply your needs, it is bet- ' ter thereafter to discontinue the practice of breeding from pullets. Choosfl your cockerels from your best layers, ; and for their hardiness and shape. Brother and sister may occasionally bd 1 mated, if especially desirable to perpetuate some distinctive quality. Several years will enable the breeder build up sufficient breeding pens to replace all of his mediocre slock and th< new stock will contain no 4‘deadl heads.” Above all cull mercilessly the , i weaker ones. Your breeders will transunit the qualities they themselves have, ■ ( and, if hardy themselves, their offspring will bo hardy also. Your flock, ; too, will have a uniformity of appearance that will bo a marvel. Comfortable Roosting Quarters. Your slopping place is of prime importance to your health and happinessSo is the hen’s. Iler night’s rest is as valuable in keeping her a hundred per cent, fit as your’s is to yon. The birds • i must not be crowded. Ever sleep ! three-in-a-l'od? If you did you didn’t i feel very pleasant the next day. "When i i hens have to fight for u place on the ' roost every they will be tha • I worse for it the next day. Their I roosting quarters are not comfortable unless they have plenty of room. And then, beware of drafts! It lakes a mighty small crack in the wall ad- > jacent to a hen’s head to give her a chronic cold and a fin d ease of croup. ■ ■ She will go on strike surely if you , j keep her shivering all night. Warm i but well ventilated sleeping places will I do as much to give you eggs this com- | ing winter as any amount of kind of

I teed you may give them. It will not I d■>. hov c\ or, to box them up in an air 'tight space where the oxygen will bo exhausted before they get to sleep. [ Smothering is among the quickest ways |to Kill your flock off. Pretty nearly as | quick as the hatchet and the bloelt.