Poultry Notes

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume LXXXIII, Issue 19828, 30 April 1927, Page 21 (Supplement)

Poultry Notes

THINGS WORTH KNOWING An egg in the autumn is worth two in the spring. To keep laying ducks it is necessary io feed generously. When supplies of fresh green food become scarce, turnips and mangolds ! can be resorted to, the roots being cut I in two. [ Huns that arc to do duty in the i breeding pen next season should ba I allowed plenty of time to recover from i tho moult. I In making up a laying mash see that it contains an adequate quantity of nitrogenous food, such as is lacking in | many (■■■real foods. I It takes a vigorous hen to put up a | good egg record; but even such a bird I can only lay well if she is given plenty | of suitable food. | Poultry can bo made tho most profitI able of farm stock if ihi v uro managed [on up-to-date lines. The r subs will depend on the farmer, not on the lons. j A common cause of liver trouble among poultry is tho excessive use of moat-meal and fish-moal, which are oxI eellent foods when given in reasonable I proportions. A draughty house is liable to cause colds among the laying stock and io I interfere with the busim ss of oggproduction. j Poultry shows should serve an ediiI cative purpose, since visitors should j be able to recognise the desirable types i in vogue. I Laying competitions provide praet’- | cal tests of laying character, and they i also serve as a valuable means of ]>ub- | licity for breeders. . As a rule it is not economical to : keep laying stock for more than two ' seasons. I The" best results in poultry-keeping i are obtained by those who are enthuI siastic enough to study the habits and I reauirenients of their birds. [ A good laying hen is invariably of I tractable character, and will readily j become tame enough to eat out of tho ‘hands and rnibmit to handling without getting excited. EGG PRODUCTION ' SELECTION OF LAYING STOCK. The question whether it is possible to forecast actual egg production from i 'he appearance aud general conformation of a pullet has not yet been satisfactorily settled, and it is evident that further information on this point can only come through jractical experiments covering a large thick and extending over a long period (says ar. English correspondent i. A few years, .".go thc public were h'd to believe' that certain methods of judging exhibits in so-called “utility” classes at shows afforded trustworthy indication of productive. c.'i pucil y ; bat judges wore no* [long in disclaiming the power to fore J east product ion. and latterly they ap- • near to have adopted a theory whirl disposes of the hope of obtaining fur Ither information fioiu that source. In these rircunisianc's it is bettor I to turn to those cegaged in commeroal j egg production and see what means j they adopt in their selection of likely j layers. I >uring tho next few weeks tipwards of 12.000 pullets will be, be- • finning a season of pioduction in th(’ | various egg-laying trials, and it is reasonable to conclude that a largo proI portion of these have been selected | with special care, and have even underi gone a measure of training Io fit them for a long season id’ production. To I large extent, no doubt, selection de- | pends on thc manner in which birds . g<‘t into condition for laying at or I about the right time, while it will ba agreed that a. rigorous constitution i» important. In a geiu ral way it is assumed in lhe absence of scientific proof to the contrary, that every puiI let comes into tin* world with the means of producing <‘ggs, and ev m with, the eggs themselves in an embryo stage: but th<‘ actual number of I eggs she will bo able to develop and I produce, and thc size ot’ egg and the I rate id.' production, depend upon environment and cireunistanecs that are i mainly under human control. j If this theory is correct- and snu’i ! rosean h as has hitherto been conducted [does n<»t disprove it —there is good rei- ! son for attaching imp<»rtan-«‘ to pbyI sical character as revealed l.y a sturdy [iXame ami 2. good appetite. A good [ layer must Ik* a big cater, though it must bo remembered that often a pul- | let docs not rcvc:il her nppclito until i she is in l ull lay ami the claims of production quicken her desire for food. With the limited information available, it will bo wise to be. content for I the present with the principle that laying cap: city ir iplics feeding capacity, and that a high standard of riI gour is essential. [ Onlv a few ye.irs ago poultry-keepers I wore being taught that laving capacity, 1 and oxen actual production, could l»e judged by tho position aud width of tho pelvic bones, a theory based upon an unfortunate confusion of cause and [effect. A wide pelvis Is lhe result of production, therefore it points to little more Ilian that the' bird, is in full lay nt the time: for a feu.- wo--ks later temporary cessation of production is indicated bv a narrowing of the pelvic arch. Obviously thert' is danger of misapprehension in referring to the pelvis as an indication of capacity,*’ and it is desirnbl •. in the interests of farmers ami others who require some guide to the selection of layers, that, the investigation of this subject shou l l ho included in experimental work of tho National Poultry Institu t o. Th'* need for research is proved by the f.i - T that e'.en the most m tuto and exp'ripn'*ed breeders sometimes make a mistake by sending to a laying test a pullet whose low r< cord suggests that she should never have been selected.