POULTRY-KEEPING.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXX, Issue 2, 20 February 1925, Page 129

POULTRY-KEEPING.

CULLING. The coming month is an excellent period for culling the second-year hens. Any of these showing signs of moulting should be disposed of at once, for as a general rule it indicates that their profitable layingperiod has passed ; moreover, the early moulter is always undesirable for the breeding-pen. The marketing of birds should not be delayed until the moult . has practically set in. They should be disposed of immediately they commence to take their rest prior to going into a moult, as from a poulterer’s point of view the bird in heavy moult is difficult to dress and does not present an attractive appearance. In addition to weeding out all two-year-old birds that show signs of having passed their best period of production, the first-season layers should also be gone through and the weak ones discarded. As a general rule the latter will- commence to moult before the former. Thus when one-year-old and two-year-old birds are running together, and there is no mark for age-determination, the time of moulting will not give a good guide in the work of culling. In such cases the only safe course is to discard all birds showing a weak constitution. No sentiment should be allowed to enter into this matter, as in practically all flocks birds are found that will not pay beyond their first laying season. Especially is it necessary to keep only high-class laying stock in these times of exceptionally high cost of foodstuffs. Birds it is intended to cull at the termination of the present laying season, and which are now in a laying condition, should be forced for egg-production by including a good supply of meat, milk, &c., in the ration, so as to secure every possible egg from them before being marketed. Even if an odd bird shows the effects of the forcing condition by ovarian troubles, &c., it will pay to destroy it rather than retard the laying of the others by providing a less forcing ration. - Returning to the question of culling out the early moulter, it is sometimes claimed that the bird which moults first must necessarily be the first to recover from it, and will naturally be in a producing condition when the feathers of the late moulter are being renewed, thereby showing as good a profit for the year as the latter. This may be true in isolated cases, but in a general way it is not so. It stands to reason that for a bird to be a heavy egg-producer she must' necessarily be a long-season layer, and obviously to be a long-season layer she must be a late moulter, for it is rarely that fowls moult and continue laying at the same time. It will generally be found that the high-type layer (the late moulter) will lay for several weeks Longer in the autumn (when the price of eggs is on the up-grade) than the early moulter, and then, after renewing its feathers, will resume laying before the bird that moulted first. Of course, no rule

is capable of universal application, and, not unlike all other things connected with poultry-keeping, local conditions must always be taken into account.

PROSPECTIVE BREEDING-HENS.

The next breeding season is certainly far off, but nevertheless no time should be lost in selecting the best hens for future breeding operations. If the best specimens are to be secured the selection must be carried out before the general moult sets in. At this time certain signs manifest themselves indicating laying - capacity and constitutional vigour. These signs generally vanish as the moult sets in, and are not easily observed again until towards the termination of the following laying season. The signs include late moulting, tight feathering, bright prominent eyes, clean face (often the head being devoid of feathers), deep abdominal development, with fine texture 'of skin, well-developed crop, and an active businesslike appearance. These points should be combined with breed characteristics, and, above all, the birds should conform to the standard weights of the breed they represent.

As the birds are selected they should be carefully marked and placed by themselves, preferably on a free range. They should not be forced for egg-production. Such birds should receive a plain ration and be kept in a healthy but not overfat condition, and otherwise given every opportunity .to recuperate after their exhaustive laying season. It must be remembered that they have the moult to go through, which is in itself a considerable drain on the body. This must be made good before the ! laying season, as if the birds are to leave highly desirable progeny they must have the necessary vitality inseparable from good health when called upon to produce eggs for reproductive purposes. When considering the birds that are to be kept for future breeding purposes it is a good plan to have trap-nests, so that birds which lay small eggs may be discarded and their places taken by better stock. The matter of small eggs is becoming a serious one, especially in view of the fact that they cannot be exported to the same advantage as, say, the 2 oz. product. There is no better way of raising the standard weight of eggs than by eliminating from the breeding-pen birds which lay eggs of an undesirable size. ' DEAR EGGS. During next month the majority of the adult hens will be preparing for or passing through the moulting process. It is therefore a time when the pullets must be depended .upon for the main egg-yield. Obviously the pullets should ,be provided with every favouring condition if a maximum of dear-season eggs is to be produced. Of course, they should now be settled down in their permanent winter quarters, and the management they receive should be as uniform as possible. Changing the birds from house to house just when they have commenced to lay, or are on the point of laying, is apt to bring on a premature moult and a loss of winter eggs. Any sudden change of diet is also apt to have this undesirable effect ; any change should be made as gradually as possible..

If the birds are to lay to their maximum capacity some forcingfood, such as boiled meat, -meal, &c., should be included in the ration. Beware of poor - quality foodstuffs, especially where the laying pullet is concerned. Some of the samples of ground food upon which my opinion . has recently been asked would be dear at half or even a quarter of the price charged for themespecially some of the so-called oaten pollards. These chiefly consisted of ground husks, which are of no food value and next to useless for promoting egg-production. The cost of good-quality foodstuffs is certainly high at the .present time, but nevertheless it is a penny-and-pound-foolish policy to purchase damaged or inferior lines because they are cheap.. A much better way to economize is to . cull out . the poor layers and give the remaining stock the best-quality food that is obtainable. Poultry-keepers ■ who have a supply of last season’s wheat should reserve this as far as possible for the pullets, as a sudden change from old to new wheat will probably , bring on a premature moult. Above all things should be remembered the important influence, of prevailing weather conditions on the pullet bred to lay in winter. In last month’s Journal some advice was given regarding the common causes of pullets catching colds, but it. is well to emphasize the necessity of their not being subjected to extremes of weather. Again, in order to obtain eggs in the cold dear season • the pullet should be given every opportunity to take exercise in comfort when unfavourable climatic .conditions prevail. For this purpose the floor of the house should be well covered with litter, in which the birds are compelled to scratch for their grain ration. Among other things they require is plenty of succulent green food, gravel grit, crushed sea-shell, and clean water.

F. C. Brown,

Chief Poultry Instructor.