FANCIERS' NOTES

West Coast Times, Issue 10533, 17 July 1897, Page 4

FANCIERS' NOTES

(By Fancier.) round the pens. Mr 0. Nightingale, one of the latest converts to poultry fancy, has got together a nice useful pen of Golden Wyandottes ; the hens took first and second at our last show when % in the ownership of Mr Barton, and the cockerel is a bird obtained from Canterbury and from Dr. Brittin's celebrated strain. The first mentioned hen is a well marked bird with legs at present rather light ; with good head points, and of fair size, and would, mate better with a darker cockerel than Jbhe one she is mated with. The second hen is dark, not so well laced as the first but a bigger bird, with a very fine comb, fitting like a cap. She should nick particularly well with the cockerel, which is rather light and showing a little " grizzle" in the tail — a feature that Colonial judges were, until lately, divided in opinion as to whether it showed cisquality or not. It has now been decided that it is a serious defect, but not a disqualification This cockerel promises, when matured, to be a big bird, but is ab present too long in the shank in my opinion, although I understand that the majority of the birds now shown are inclined to legginess. but with the short-legged squatty hens Mr Nightingale has mated him with, I think he has reason to expect some good chicks from the pen. Upon visiting Mr Breeze, the father of the poultry fancy here, I found him in his green house surrounded by young " mum " plants, flower pots and poultry, most of the latter destined for the Nelson Show. The birds of this enthusiastic fancier are so numerous that it would take more space than I have at command to deal with even half the number of birds individually. In the training pens were a spangle, white, orange red and black-red cockerels, all looking in good hard feather, and making the place ring with their crowing. In a pen by himself was the old spangle or lace neck game, the veteran of the yard. The bird is said to be about twelve years old and he is still hearty and full of fight, and would, I think, be one of the finest birds to be got to breed birds for pit honors. He is game to the back bone and a sure hitter. Running in the yards were a number of game .^pullets among which were some good spangles, some very fine blacks and a few black-reds. In a breeding pen I saw the old black-red with the tail. This bird has scored every time shown for the past two years, and I think his successes havf boon mainly by reason of his splendid tail. In another pen I was shown a quintet of Brown Leghorns, but the owner does not enthuse over these as ho does his beloved Game. Two of the hens in this pen are good well coloured hens, o£ good size and bone, with good combs an J very little rust, bufwith legs rather li/hfc in co'our. The cock is a good large bird, rather dark in my opinion, with good style and a fairly good comb. In the yard are a pair of Indian game Assel fowls. These birds are small compared with the other game birds. They are very hard in feather, and decidedly pugnacious. The jhen is similar in color to the Malay hen, but, of course, not nearly so large. The other occupants of the yard are a few Langshaas, Auctalusiau hene, and Pekjn, duckjji

the situation of the yards being too dry s and sandy for the latter which do not thrive as well as could be desired. In another yard, running with a nice „ wheaten-breaeted hen, a black Muff, a large dark Game hen, which looks to have j. a cross of Indian Game in her, and one or two others, is fine bird of the variety I apprehend are called Australian Game, but J whatever the variety he belongs to, he is an ideal Game cock, twelve pounds ' .in weight, standing about thirty linches in < height, legs as thick as a, mail's thumb, * good sound dark red top color, with black undorparts, shoulders luce a soldier's] and '. feathertas hard as a shag's. He looks fit andJwilling to do battle with anything that '. has feathers on. The chickens from this yard should be feathered giants.