POULTRY KEEPING.

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume XL, Issue 4, 22 April 1930, Page 277

POULTRY KEEPING.

Seasonal Management.

If poultry-keeping is to be made a successful undertaking it is of the first importance that a sound system of management be resorted to at all periods throughout the year. In other words, doing the right thing at the right time is the keynote to success. The month of May is usually regarded as the leanest period in the poultry-keeper’s year, but for the man who has worked on sound lines by the culling out of all unprofitable stock, and who has only the best of the hens which have terminated their first layingseason, no surplus male birds, and a flock of pullets bred and managed to lay in winter, the forthcoming month should show a good return over cost of production. On the other hand, for the poultryman who has neglected to cull his inferior hens and pullets, or if his pullets through being improperly cared for have gone into a false moult, failing to produce, next month will probably show a loss instead of a gain. ‘ Although May can generally be regarded as a slack period of the year, there are several matters, apart from ’ the ordinary routine work, which require > attention if the plant is to be maintained at a high standard of efficiency. ■ ■ -In the first place, special attention should be directed to the feeding of the prospective breeding-hens. They should be 'well fed- but not overfed. Every effort should be made to-prevent the birds becoming in an overfat condition during the moulting-period or just before being called upon to produce eggs for reproduction purposes, as eggs containing-strong germs, and chickens that are easy to rear, cannot be produced from an oyerfat - hen. The birds ■ should- be frequently handled, and. if there is. a tendency for.them to put on surplus fat the ration should be slightly reduced. They should also be encouraged to exercise as much as possible as a- means

•of preventing the storing-up of bodily fat. In the case of a laying flock I believe in feeding the birds well from first to last,. but it is wise at times to depart from this rule where the breeding-hen is concerned. .

The prospective breeding-cockerels also require special food and attention in order that they may be in the best possible nick at mating-time. The young birds should be prevented at all costs from going weak in the legs. This trouble is usually the result of an oversupply of forcing-food or a lack ■of exercising-space. It should be remembered that once a bird becomes badly, affected with this trouble it is next to useless trying to doctor it. Prevention is the one and only safe course in dealing with this trouble ; the only reliable method is to eliminate rich food such as meat, milk, &c., from the ration, and to'allow ample opportunity for exercise. The ideal ■condition for the breeding-cockerel is a free range, as in this way a bird is given every opportunity of building up constitutional vigour, which is essential if desirable progeny are to be produced.

Secure Stud Male Birds early.

A common mistake made by many poultry-keepers who contemplate purchasing stud -male birds is to leave the securing of these till too late, thereby running the risk of having to be content with the culls of the stud breeder. The most successful breeders naturally retain the best of their cockerels for their own use, the first buyer secures the pick of the remainder, ■and so this process goes on until the last-comers have to take those that have been practically discarded. The wise poultry-keeper buys his sires well ahead, and is thus in a position to feed and manage them in such a manner that they will be in the best possible condition at mating-time. The sire is more than half the flock, and if he is to have the desired prepotency- power to transmit his inherent quality to his offspring he must be in the best condition possible, not overfat but full of life and vigour-.

If a stud breeder has to keep cockerels for a year, or nearly so, he cannot sell these at a moderate rate and show any decent margin of profit. The cockerels have to be fed and attended to for the whole of that period, as well as taking up housing and runs at the same time. Further, how many cockerels come through a year and develop into birds which would do credit to a plant ? A large proportion have to be potted by reason of natural defects developed with age, or by accidents, which will always occur, especially with pugnacious birds, as once a flock of vigorous cockerels commence fighting there is no telling what damage they will do to each other from a breeding standpoint. In short, the birds which finish their first year’s existence and are fit to send out represent only a small proportion of the cockerels raised. These birds when sold should return sufficient money to more than cover the whole cost of rearing the cockerels reserved for sale. Another drawback to the policy of waiting till the last moment to purchase a stud cockerel is that it is next to impossible to buy anything at all good in the spring. ‘

This brings to mind an inquiry recently received from a person who desired to purchase two White Leghorn cockerels from the Department’s Wallaceville Poultry Station. He intimated that he. would pay the price as stated in the official price-list, but did not want to take delivery of the birds until the end of August. This was asking too much, particularly in view of the moderate prices charged for the high-class stock sent out from Wallaceville.

At. the present time there are a good number of well-matured highclass cockerels and White Indian Runnier drakes at Wallaceville available for disposal at moderate prices, but unless orders are received for these in the near future they will be potted, as it is obviously unprofitable to

keep them longer even if all could be sold later on. In the advertising section of this issue will be found the conditions and prices at which birds for breeding purposes may’ be secured from Wallaceville.

Standard Grade Eggs.

The question of selling eggs according to their weight and internal quality is receiving more attention than ever before in many parts of the world, including England and Canada, and New Zealand is at last awakening to the necessity for this move. Should this much-needed reform be carried into effect it is safe to assume that nothing less than a 2 oz. product will be -regarded as first-standard grade. Under the present system of mar-keting-at any rate so far as •Wellington is concerned —the man with a. small-egg strain of birds is in a happy position, as he receives a similar price for his if oz. eggs as the man with a 2-oz.-producing strain. Obviously the consumer pays on this basis relatively too much for small eggs and not enough for large, ones.

The worst feature of this system lies in the fact that there is no inducement for the producer to breed for large eggs. I have in mind a flock of Black Minorcas which, apart from the early-laying stage of the pullets, can generally be depended upon to produce. eggs weighing from 2 oz. to 2J- oz. While the great merit of many strains of the domestic fowl we possess is undeniable, there is a tendency for the average flock to become smaller and smaller individually each year ; consequently the eggs laid are also smaller. Although the present system of marketing gives little or no encouragement to breeders to work up a large-egg strain, it is satisfactory to know that there are still in the Dominion strains which retain the needed size, stamina, and power to produce good numbers of first-grade eggs. The warning, however, is at hand that the consuming public will not ong continue to pay' top prices for eggs which rattle in the egg-cup.

Poultry- eeper ' possessing a small-egg strain would be well advised to mend their methods of breeding and management, so that at least the great majority of the flock will produce 2 oz. eggs or overthe size so much desired not only on the local market but overseas as well. Just as the number of eggs can be increased by careful breeding and selection, so can the size be increased by the same process. The tendency to small eggs will never be counteracted while yield in numbers is regarded as the one and only essential in a breeding-bird. A hen, however good a layer, should not be put in a breeding-pen if it lays a small egg. The birds laying the best eggs should be chosen—provided, of course, that their layingcapacity is satisfactory and that they possess points indicating a strong constitution. ■ /

As a means. of tracing birds which lay good-sized eggs the use of trapnests or single pens is necessary. It is true that the man with a trained eye for form can generally distinguish between the good and bad layer towards the end of their first productive season, but it is impossible to judge from the appearance of a bird at any period of its life the size of egg likely to be produced. It must be admitted that individual hens will sometimes lay eggs of varied size according to the season of the year, &c., but as a rule a normal product may be looked for a few weeks before the termination of the first laying-season. One of the secrets in maintaining a large-egg-laying strain lies in knowing that the male bird is the son of a mother that produces an egg cf a desired size. Obviously this cannot well be ascertained unless the use of trap-nests or single pens is resorted to.

F. C. Brown,

Chief Poultry Instructor, Wellington.