POULTRY-KEEPING.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XXXVI, Issue 3, 20 March 1928, Page 209

POULTRY-KEEPING.

THE WINTER LAYERS. On most poultry plants the great .majority of the adult hens will now be preparing for or passing through the moulting process. Consequently in most cases they will not come into profit again till the end of winter or early spring. Obviously, now is the time when the pullets must be looked upon to fill the egg-basket, and for this reason the chief concern of the poultry-keeper during the next few weeks should be to give the pullets the best possible management, in order that they may produce to their maximum capacity. In the first place, the greatest care must be taken to prevent them going into, a moult. Reference is, of course, made to the pullet which has been bred to lay* in winter and is now about six months old. It is realized that the great bulk of the earlyhatched birds, which have been producing for several weeks will now be moulting or be on the point of it, and this in spite of anything that can be done for them. In the case of pullets which have only just started to lay, or which are on the point of laying, it is entirely different. If these young birds are given proper management they should not moult until next autumn, and will continue producing till that period. On the other hand, if they are subjected to improper treatment now or in the near future it is more than likely that they will moult with their elder sisters, and at the expense of the anticipated winter egg returns. The first thing necessary to prevent the pullets which were hatched out to lay in winter from moulting at present is to provide them with every favouring condition ; above all, the, management they receive must be uniform to a degree. They should be placed in their winter quarters well before the laying-period commencesthis in order that they may get over the changed conditions and feel at home before commencing to lay. A change of food will usually upset any laying flock, but this applies with double force when young pullets are concerned, having the effect of putting the birds into a premature moult.. There is no doubt that sudden changing of food and quarters is more responsible for pullets going into an early .moult than any other cause. Not only does the maintenance of one diet often vent, a false moult, but it also encourages a bird to maintain maximum production. That laying birds require frequent changes of diet is one of the theories which does not hold good where pullets are concerned. Laying pullets should not only be provided with a liberal and uniform class of food at regular periods, but in addition it should be of a high-grade character. Beware of poorquality foodstuffs, especially when the feeding of the pullets is being considered. . . • Some of the. so-called pollard and, indeed, wheatmeal which is being offered to poultry-keepers is next to useless for promoting winter eggproduction. In buying food the best is always the cheapest in the long-run, even if its cost is a little greater. It should be remembered that one egg in winter is worth two in summer, and that any additional cost in securing the winter egg is more than paid back by the increased price obtained for it.

In order to obtain a heavy winter egg-yield, animal food, such as boiled meat or its substitutes— or meat-mealis essential. Where milk is available this may to a great degree take the place of meat. Sharp gravel-grit, crushed oyster-shell, and clean water should be always available to the birds. The house should have ample roomnot merely enough for the birds to roost in by night, but sufficiently large to accommodate and provide exercise in comfort during unfavourable weather. Exercise is a most important matter, and the best way of inducing this is to cover the floor of the house with litter, in. which the grain foods should always be scattered. It is also a wise course to feed the birds in the house at all times, as waiting about in the yard for feeding-time on cold, wet days is not conducive to heavy laying. It is only the pullet provided with dry footing, both by day and night, that can possibly give her maximum egg-yield during the winter months. In short, everything. should be done to provide as near as possible conditions similar to those which prevail during spring and summer— natural laying season for bird-life. , MORE ABOUT CULLING. On well-managed poultry plants the chief culling of undesirable stock will already have been carried out, but this is not to say that further culling is unnecessary. Indeed, if the best results are to be obtained the weeding-out of inferior birds should be done to a more or less extent throughout the whole year. It is a mistake (although a common one) to conclude that because the weak specimens have. been eliminated from the flock in, say, February or March all the remaining stock on the plant will pay to keep for another year. It. should be. remembered that every inferior bird retained on the plant is a drain on the profits made from the heavy layers, and when the drones are in good numbers they may easily make the difference between success and failure. The keen poultry-keeper is always on the alert when working among his flock to detect birds which give evidence that they have passed their best period of usefulness. A fowl may give every indication during the autumn months that it will be profitable to keep for another year, but there is no telling when, owing perhaps to some abnormal internal condition, or through impaired vigour due to strain brought about by heavy egg-production, the same bird, in the eye of the practical man, will instantly be declared a cull. ' In these days of - priced foodstuffs the hard maxim should always be applied that when a bird is not paying its way, nor likely to in the future, it should be got rid of. Again, any bird must be regarded as useless if it does not possess the desired constitution, as it will then not be able to maintain its laying-power for any lengthened period, while, worst of all, it is always specially susceptible to disease and parasitic infection. ■ To the student of egg-producing form a striking illustration of the type of bird desired may be seen towards the close of a year’s egglaying competition. Having the available individual egg records to date of birds representing noted breeders from practically all parts of the Dominion, an opportunity is afforded of not only studying egg-laying performance, but also the external signs indicative of high,

medium, or low egg-laying capacity. The birds in the running towards the end practically all bear a somewhat similar general appearance, having an oblong tapering body (broad and deep behind), and a well-developed crop, running to a fine neck, carrying a clean alert head, also flat-boned legs set well to the rear and wide apart. The feathering is tight, and the birds are thickly clothed all over, or what is known as “ hard ” feathered. They also look full of life, and in many cases bear every indication of laying-power and the ability to maintain it to the end. Where small nest-boxes are used the tails of these good laying birds will be more or less broken, and in some cases worn down to a stump. Obviously, the more often a bird visits its nest the more ragged or worn the tail becomes. These leading birds are constantly on the move, and although they possess their old feathers and worn-down tails they present a strong appearance. Perhaps the strongest point to be observed about these birds that are fighting out a finish in the competition is that they are too busy to go into a deep moult. They usually moult by degrees, and continue laying at the same time. Any feathers cast are rapidly replaced by new ones, until by degrees a new and complete plumage is produced. To the unobservant eye, however, such a gradual moult would never be noticed. The weak pens, on the other hand, will have gone through their moult and be carrying their new plumage. Obviously, the latter type have been resting while • the late moulters have continued producing, and doing this at a time when the market price of eggs is on the up grade. Not only this, but it will usually be found that the leading birds and late moulters will be laying again before or as soon as those which have moulted early. It is not advisable, however, to choose breeders on late moulting and laying points alone, for the late moulter, or, indeed, the best layer, is not necessarily a desirable breeding specimen. In selecting hens for breeding purposes, points bearing on production-capacity are matters of prime importance ; but in combination with these the birds should possess breed type and conform to standard weight requirements of their breed if a heavy-producing strain is to be built up and maintained. Even at the termination of egg-laying competitions it is not uncommon to see in the front rank of performers more or less weedy specimens of the breed they represent. Some are practically broken down, owing to the year’s egg-laying having impaired their constitutional vigour. On the other hand, birds are to be seen that are probably only a few eggs behind the others, but have ample “ timber,” with good breed - type and constitutional points stamped all over them. Obviously, specimens in the former category could not be expected to produce desirable progeny. After all, in poultry-keeping it is not the fact of having an odd phenomenal producer that spells success, but rather the possession of a good average laying flock. This can be maintained only by a sound system of breeding, feeding, and general management. Breeding from birds on egg - laying performance alone will not attain the objective.

—F. C. Brown,

Chief Poultry Instructor, Wellington.