POULTRY NOTES

Waikato Times, Volume 113, Issue 18929, 26 April 1933, Page 10

POULTRY NOTES

EGG PRODUCTION. With hens that are recovering from the moult and are .again well leathered it must not .be supposed thategg' production will- immediately, although -ih&new P may be complete. If these are handled it will be found that they are soft and lacking in condition. If these birds are intended for the breedingpen we prefer to let them regain condition gradually, and a good rest will restore vigour and fit them ior the r duties; but if egg production is the. sole aim, a more forcing system can be adopted by giving /stimulating food, which, if the birds are not too much reduced by the moult, will bring them on to lay again within a few \v6 eks. Advice to Duck-keepers. * Duck-keepers should now be getting the young ducks on to lay at a rapid rate, for the weather has been very favourable, and no better conditions can be found for duclcs in the autumn than free run on grass and access to a pond or stream. These birds, however, are generally more affected by cold or frosty weather than hens, because they are deprived of their only means of exercise, and they have no use for the scratching-shed. * Nevertheless, ducks must have a cosy but well-ventilated house, and as they sleep on the floor, shutter.s should be opened in front at the top. The floor must be dry and plentifully littered. Ideal Fowl for Farmers. The ideal fowl for the farmer Is the bird which will “rough” it a bit at times, and which can be reared with a minimum of trouble; the type of bird which will give a fair return without any elaborate housing or expensive feeding. The farmer’s fowl must be able to withstand the vagaries of the weather without immediately sinking in condition and ceasing to lay; it must also be a good forager and able profitably to consume Of the by-products of the farm. . HOW TO IMPROVE LAYERS. A glance at the particulars of egglaying at the Papanui egg-laying competition which are published weekly in the Otago Daily Times will show poultry-keepers who have strains of no particular merit what has been done by breeders who have by careful selection over a number of years endeavoured to improve the laying capacity of their birds. Those competitors who have birds laying in the neighbourhood of 280 to 300 eggs a year have succeeded in producing them from flocks which not so long ago laid no more than, say, 144 eggs a year, and what they have done others can do. One slight improvement each' year is all that is necessary, All one has to do is, each succeeding year, mate up his best hens with a cockerel of better strain than his own. Or by producing a sitting of eggs, a few day-old chicks, or a trio mated up from one of the flocks of the owners of the leading birds at the competition a giant stride in improved production may be made in a single season. ' Considering the high cost of poultry feed at the present time, it is unprofitable to feed birds of poor-laying strain. One hundred and twenty eggs per annsm per bird may pay expenses, but it is poor economy to be satisfied until, at no more expense, the egg production is increased to the point of showing profit. EGOS TO HATCH. Be most particular about the size of eggs your hens lay, otherwise you will have to set purchased eggs,, for only 2oz or over eggs are suitable for hatching purposes.