Poultry Notes

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 79, Issue 66, 20 March 1935, Page 11

Poultry Notes

ITEMS OF INTEREST The poultryman to-day can find many ways of improving his business methods. A few years ago he had little knowledge of how a laying hen differs in appearance from a non-layer. To-day he can estimate within a dozen or so eggs just what a hen s production has been. Illumination has given him the power of controlling the length of the hen’s working day and througl it the time of her production. Recent work at Cornell University, America has disclosed some of the results that may be obtained by the proper selection of breeding stock, and has further shown that by selection of eggs for hatching, eggs produced by the flock may be improved. Dr. Earl IV. Benjamin, author of A Study of Selection for the Size, Shape, and Colour of Hens’ Eggs,” is one of Aineri'ca’s foremost authorities on eggs and egg marketing, and in speaking of the importance of egg selection, he says: “There is a certain type of egg which especially meets the need of buyers in different markets- To get the highest price for his eggs the producer must meet this demand. It is usually, not practicable to grade eggs closely, and so it becomes more economic to select and develop the flocks, thus reducing the proportion of eggs unsatisfactory to the customer to the minimum. “The wholesale trade of New York City and its markets,” continues Dr. Benjamin, “requires the size and shape of the eggs to be such that the eggs are not crowded, but fit snugly, in the fillers. This means an egg about 2 3-8 inches long and 1| inches wide, and usually weighing from 2 to 2 1-8 ounces when fresh. Shipping only eggs of proper size and shape ensure? less breakabe, better appearance, and a resulting higher sale value.” It is to the direct benefit of all concerned to keep the egg product of this country up to the highest possible standard. The fowls selected for the experimental work at Cornell were single comb White Leghorns, chosen because they are an important commercial breed. Their eggs suit the New York City market, which consumes onetenth of the eggs sold in America, and they are further suited to the work since they are hardy, breed true to colour and type, and provide plenty of opportunity to select eggs of varying types. The plan carried out was to select eggs of different types fromthis breed, incubate them, and see how the style of egg affects the incubator record, the chick hatched, and the eggs which that chick ultimately produces if it be a pullet. It was found that all characters studied were transmitted equally through either the male or the female parent. This that in improving any of these characters in eggs, the breeder will obtain equal benefits through adding either better males or better females to his flock. The mating of two opposite characters always caused the production of a medium character. In every instance the type of egg incubated and the average laid by the pullet hatched from it were similar for shape and size, but less stability could be plated upon a reproduction of colour of eggs selected for hatching. The size of the egg increases rapidly during the pullet year, but there is little difference in size after this year. There is no difference between the shape of eggs laid by pullets and those laid by them later

as hens, but the eggs produced by hens are more likely to be darker coloured. This darkening of shell colour does not continue after the second year. There seems to bo a tendency with each year’s production for the eggs to become whiter during the first five or six months of production, and then to become darker as the end of the laying season approached. EGG QUALITY A short-cut to trouble with egg quality is to allow the eggs to become dirty in the nests and afterwards soak them for some time in warm water to soften the dried egg material on the shells. Complaints about quality will not be long in arriving. An egg shell is porous, and this type of cleaning would carry moisture and filth through the shell, there to start mould growths inside. When eggs must be cleaned, very little water should be used, but no cleaned egg is as good as ono that has never been fouled, and the care necessary to prevent dirty eggs is less than that expended in attempting to clean them. In the nest boxes of the usual wooden floored type the straw in the centre very quickly becomes Scratched away, exposing the boards. Since a hen stands up to lay, the egg will tall some distance on to the board and may easily become cracked or broken unless the nesting material covers the floor. A good layer of sawdust under the straw is a great help, and, moreover, the nest is then more easily cleaned if an egg should be broken. A nest with a floor of fine mesh wire netting is excellent, for it is springy and practically self-cleaning, and where the nest allows the eggs to roll away from the birds it is rare to find a broken or dirty egg. Broody hens should be immediately transferee! to a broody cage, if only to encourage them to resume egg production at an early date, but if they should be left in the house they do less damage if nest boxes are wide. There is no need for numerous small nests except where trap-nesting is practised, and the removal of partitions would do much to prevent breakages by broodies. Lastly, the presence of a male bird in a pen is only necessary when fertile eggs for hatching are needed. A fertile egg which has been warmed under successive laving hens, or under some of the broodies, is not the best table egg, and may cause complaints about quality.