POULTRY NOTES

Wanganui Chronicle, Volume 80, Issue 101, 2 May 1938, Page 11

POULTRY NOTES

WELL-KNOWN BREEDER. The name of Mr. H. Williams, of Christchurch, is familiar to poultrymen because of the splendid performances put up in egg-laying contests by his White Leghorns and Black Minorcas and also for his Kapai brooders and incubators. . The importance of line-breeding has often been emphasised in these columns and as Mr. Williams is recognised as the most successful and consistent breeder of White Leghorns in Australasia, his methods of breed- ' ing should be of assistance to all, especially the novice. When Mr. Ridley, of Melbourne, won the Papanui competition, Mr. Williams purchased the leading pullet, which laid 306 eggs, for £4O and when criticised by breeders for paying so much for one hen he replied that he wanted to have the best as in the end he believed it would be the cheapest. He then purchased a cock bird rom the same breeder for £lO plus £2 10s I freight. When the bird arrived by , the boat his new owner took excep- j tion to his lanky appearance and im- i mediately pulled his neck, but afterwards when it was too late found out | it was one of the peculiarities of this i line-bred strain on the male side only. I Another cock was purchased and mated to the 306-egg hen, but unfortunately after laying three settings of eggs she died. The chickens from these three sittings laid the foundation of the Kapai White Leghorns, which have produced such noted layers as Lady Venus 354 eggs, Lady Maitland 341 eggs (Mr. Williams sold tc Mr. Maitland a breeding pen of birds and this bird was bred from them and won at Papanui, afterwards being purchased by the present owner) three-bird team which broke a world's record with 934 eggs, an average of 311 a bird. Mrs. Canon, of Taranaki, later purchased a threebird team from Mr. Williams and entered them in the Taranaki competition and they made a fresh record of 946 eggs, an average of 315 eggs. Several other members from this flock have laid over 300 eggs. The lesson for the beginner from this is to buy the best and line breed; there is no other successful way. Laying Batteries. Mr. Williams is very enthusiastic about some battery-laying cages he is trying out at present but he prefers to wait until after tne winter before he says too much about them. However, for 14 weeks 16 hens have averaged 13 eggs a day which is a far better average than he • getting from the best of his birds in o.xlinary houses and these 16 were only aver-age-looking birds. The cages are made of wire with wooden paritions separating the birds and are 15 inches wide, 18 inches deep and 18 inches high. The floor of the cage is wire-netting sloping from back to front. This prevents the birds from eating the eggs as they immediately roll out to the front of the battery and are always clean. Plenty of ventilation is very important. In Mr. Williams’ first attempt at the cages, he fed the birds on wet mash but it was a thorough failure as the birds got too fat, but on the present dry mash mixture which consists of bran, pollard, ground oats, m: ize, peameal, meatmeal, grit and green food, the above excellent results have been obtained. Points to recommend these laying cages are that one man can look after 3000 birds and only half the shed space is required; that is. if a shed holds 100 layers in the ordinary way it will hold 200 on this system as the cages are built three high and placed back to back with a four-foot passage between the rows. There is economy in labour as they require watering and feeding only twice a week and the eggs can be gathered just when*required. There are i o broken or dirty eggs, no rests or straw and the cages require cleaning only once a week in the summer and twice in the winter. Egg records >t every bird can be kept separately. There can be no feather picking as there is only one bird in each cage and practically no vermin. If lice are seen on a bird a drop of Black Leaf 40 on her breast is enough. The fumes will soon rise from the heat of the body and destroy all lice, and so on. Points against the system are cost of installation which would be roughly about 5s a cage; and the disposal of wet manure in a small place. Five shillings a cage may seem a big amount but when you consider it costs threepence a week to feed a bird at the present price of feed (21b. a bird) and it takes two tggs at their present price to pay for a week's feed, it would not require a great increase in production to pay the original cost. Autumn Hatching. Autumn hatching and laying batteries are things we have read about being done in America and other countries and few realise they are being successfully carried out in our own land. Mr. Williams hatched chickens on May 1 and they began layihg on October 1 and laid right through till the following winter before moulting and he now has 7000 eggs in his incubator. If the battery system continues to be a success he intends filling it with pullets from a White Leghorn male mated to Black Orpington (Australorp) females, the progeny of which will be pure white and extremely good layers. If crossed

the opposite way (Black Orpington male and White Leghorn female) they will come white with black feathers and the pullets will show dark shanks after about six weeks old and are inclined to become very broody. They will be naturally poorer layers. In a number of White Leghorn strains to-day we find birds with willow-coloured legs, which comes from a cross of the Game. Others have red feathers or brown breasts, the result of a Brown Leghorn cross and others with black feathers, the Black Orpington or Minorca cross. Il a black bird is crossed with the white and carefully bred the black will not appear, but. nevertheless that black factor lies dormant in the blood and sooner or later will make its appearance as soon as two birds carrying that black factor are mated. The White Rock is a species of the black and barred varieties, yet if the white though bred pure for one hundred years and then crossed to an Indian Game cock, all the pullets will be barred. A hen transmits her laying qualities to her cockerels and they in turn pass it on to their pullets. An Inherited Factor. Hatchability is an inherited factor, and for a bird to give a hatch of 85 per cent, or more it must receive the factor for high hatchability from both its parents. Consequently, in pedigree recording, this quality should not be lost sight of. Hatchability declines with age, and this is usually more rapid in the case of the male bird. Close inbreeding, such as father-daughter matings, do seem to reduce hatchability slightly. High egg production immediately preceding the breeding season, such as by the stimulus of artificial lighting, does not reduce hatchability—in fact, both the fertility and hatchability of birds in full production are usually good. A deficiency of vitamin A, which is present in yellow maize meal, carrots, and cod-liver oil, or vitamin D, which occurs in good qualify codliver oil, or is produced in the bodv : by arradiation of direct sunlight, reduces the hatchability. It is thought that vegetable proteins, such as soya bean meal in the ration for breeding stock, reduces hatchability, and until this is proved or disproved it is wise to utilise animal proteins such as white fish meal or meat meal. The frequent collection of hatching eggs, especially in bad weather, and the maintenance of clean nest-boxes are advocated. If hatching eggs are candled before incubation, defects, such as hair cracks, blood and meat spots, watery whites, etc., may be detected and the incubators relieved of eggs with a very poor chance of hatching from the start. Eggs slightly over 2oz. in weight give the best hatchability; extra large eggs may require special management. Eggs should not be stored for more than a week before incubation, because excessive evaporation takes place and probably undesirable chemical changes in the egg.contents.