Managing Pullets for Winter Egg Production

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 74, Issue 3, 15 March 1947, Page 237

Managing Pullets for Winter Egg Production

By

F. C. BOBBY,

Superintendent of Poultry Husbandry, Wellington.

WITH the present shortage of eggs and the accentuation of that shortage during the winter months, winter egg production assumes even greater importance than in more normal times, though it is always important because the higher price of eggs in that season vitally affects the income from a laying flock. The winter has not yet been reached, but the method of handling a flock of laying birds beforehand has a considerable bearing on production during the winter. A number of factors which affect winter egg production are discussed in this article.

WINTER egg production is an inherited characteristic, and therefore pullets which are known to have laid consistently through the winter are valuable as breeding hens in the following spring. Though it is difficult to be certain about winter production unless trap nesting is employed, ordinary egg recording per house or flock unit will indicate the qualities of pullets. If a flock does well through the winter and other required attributes are satisfactory, those birds should receive first consideration as breeders.

Though that point cannot be made use of for 1947, it should be borne in mind in future breeding programmes. It is not uncommon for commercial producers overseas to trap nest pullets for the three winter months, when work on the farm is less than at other times of the year, to find the best winter producers from which to select breeding birds later. For the same reason special awards are often given to pens of pullets putting up the best egg scores during the winter at laying trials. Winter production as an inherited characteristic should not be overlooked if the best results are to be obtained from egg production.

Time of Hatching

Without doubt winter egg production is influenced by the date at which pullets and September-hatched lightwhich they are reared to the laying stage. Though there may be much to be said for the well-grown, earlyhatched pullets which rear easily and often with low mortality, there is always a risk of an autumn or early winter neck moult just as egg prices reach the peak for the year. To have a good flock of pullets out of production at that time is exasperating. Therefore it is generally considered that August-hatched heavy-breed pullets and , September-hatched light breeds are the most- successful for winter egg production. It must be admitted, however, that whether pullets go into a neck moult will depend largely on management and weather. A point which must be emphasised is that late-hatched pullets,

whether heavy or light breeds, usually come into production too late to supply eggs when prices are best; in other words they are not good winter producers. Pullets hatched out late in October and November do not rear as well as those hatched earlier in the season, and are often slow coming into production if the weather is poor. Good Rearing Necessary Good winter egg production depends to an appreciable extent on. a good rearing season. Satisfactory production can be expected from well-bred birds which develop good frames and sound constitutions. Pullets should not be forced too quickly but allowed to mature quietly. Perhaps the most harmful condition for growing pullets, apart from an outbreak of disease, is overcrowding, which checks their growth and undermines their constitutions. There is little doubt that if that occurs egg production suffers later. Pullets should be moved into the laying houses as soon as their combs begin to redden. It is desirable that they should settle down in their new quarters before coming into lay. This is the time when a good .bed of dry litter must be built up, as it is essential to avoid having to clean out

after the summer weather has broken. Once new litter becomes damp in autumn or winter, maintaining dry litter in the house is almost impossible, and excessive cleaning out becomes necessary. Damp litter is dangerous, as it assists in bringing on colds, one of the worst detractors from satisfactory winter production. A good depth of dry litter built up in late summer is the best method of avoiding later trouble from damp floors. That is an essential management factor in winter egg production.

Winter Housing

The method of housing birds to ensure good production will depend considerably on the district and the winter weather expected. Good ventilation is essential, but warmth, freedom from draught, and dry conditions are all conducive to good production. Poultry producers in the South Island, where winter conditions are harder than in the North Island, favour laying houses low at the front and higher at the back. That type of house benefits to the full from the low-pitched rays of the winter sun and in consequence tends to be warmer than houses built with the reverse slope high at the front and low at the back. Lofty, cold laying houses are far from ideal for winter production. Local conditions will also have much bearing on whether birds are run intensively or semi-intensively during the winter. In districts subject to cold winds and rain, and where the soil is heavy, better production will be obtained in most cases by running- the birds intensively, particularly if any grass run available is limited in size and well worn. But the birds should either be run intensively throughout the winter or be permitted to run out at all times irrespective of the weather (snow-covered ground excepted). Keeping birds in when the owner considers the weather unsuitable and letting them out at other times often leads to colds. Birds can stand inclement weather if they have sound constitutions and good housing to return to after running outside.

Importance of Feeding

Without doubt the feeding programme for pullets during the autumn and winter is one of the most important factors in egg production at that time of year. Good and consistent feeding is difficult at present with poultry foods in short supply and regularity of distribution a major worry, but while acknowledging these difficulties, poultry producers will still be wise to give careful thought to feeding for winter egg production and to feed their birds as well as the situation at any time will permit. Certain fundamentals must be ex- . amined. Unless pullets have inherent winter laying qualities, no amount of good feeding will produce the desired results. But if fecundity is inherited, good feeding is essential, the object being to persuade the bird to eat sufficient food to maintain body weight, maintain body heat in cold weather, and yet have a surplus to produce eggs.. If birds which come into lay in the autumn are not given food of sufficiently good quality and in adequate -quantity, they will produce eggs at the expense of their body weight. Once that occurs any check caused by bad weather, a change of food, or mishandling will put such birds into a partial or neck moult. Food- consumption must be in direct relation to egg production. The statement that laying birds in production can be overfed is a —they can be wrongly fed but not overfed. .It is also true that during cold weather birds require more feed to maintain body heat—after all, the same applies to human beings. Finally, food is required to make those winter eggs; they cannot be produced from an inadequate amount. In winter pullets require increased quantities of protein-rich foods. Without extra protein the pullets may not be stimulated into satisfactory production. They depend almost wholly on the owner for protein at that season, as insects, worms, and natural proteins are almost unavailable even if the birds are running out.

Adding extra meat meal to the mash in winter is not necessarily forcing, though it would be if given in early autumn when the birds are coming into production or in spring when the natural flush season occurs. A winter laying mash can well carry 15 per cent, of total digestible protein without being forcing. That means in the average mash up to say 10 or 12 per cent, of 60 per cent, protein meat meal. Where maize meal is available up to 20 per cent, in the mash is an excellent winter feed.

Artificial Lighting The best evidence about the quantity of food required is the value of artificial lighting during winter. There is a mass of practical evidence, experimental and commercial, to demonstrate that lighting in winter is a successful aid to production. The reason is the increased food consumption and not, as is sometimes suggested, that the birds are active for a longer period of the day. Activity helps to maintain their health, but it is the food that produces the eggs. Thus winter lighting of pullets’ laying houses can be recommended, but poultry producers are urged to use this lighting in the manner found by experiment and experience to be most efficient while yet not placing an undue strain on the birds. Details of artificial

lighting for winter egg production may be obtained from the Department of Agriculture. Where lighting is not practicable food consumption during the shorter winter days may be increased by careful feeding management. With birds fed dry mash and grain an extra feed of wet mash in the afternoon before the grain feed will help. If fed in the morning, this wet mash will only replace what the birds would have taken from the dry mash hoppers. If it is fed later in the day, the birds are induced to eat it in addition to their dry mash because of the palatability of wet mash. When birds are fed wet mash and grain it has been found that a feed of soaked grain, including meat meal, will induce greater consumption, particularly if given early in the morning as soon as the light will permit. ■ Whatever the system, a full grain feed at night, including where possible some kibbled maize, is a means of maintaining body weight. Any programme of increased feeding means increased labour, but in a cold climate that labour is amply rewarded in increased egg production. Obtaining high winter egg production is skilled work: Production for the remainder of the year is largely a natural function checked only by ' mismanagement.

Colds are Expensive Colds among pullets are probably the worst enemy to be faced by poultry producers during winter. If neglected they lead to roup and severe trouble, but even in mild form they reduce egg production to an extent that results in heavy financial loss. As all experienced poultrymen know, once colds start in a flock in winter they are particularly difficult to eradicate. The important point is to avoid these colds rather than to cure them. That is not always simple, but the following points should receive attention: Avoid damp litter. Avoid draughts in the laying house. Avoid overcrowding.

Ensure good ventilation; stuffy houses are more conducive to colds than even moderately draughty ones. Remove cull birds. A sickly, weak bird is often left among a batch of healthy pullets, and equally often these weak birds contract colds which remain with them for long periods. Such birds start an outbreak among the healthy birds and reinfect them after the healthy birds have been successfully treated. The bird of poor constitution is not only a poor producer or a passenger but a constant menace to the healthy birds in the pen. Sulphathiazole Treatment Many forms of treatment have been recommended for the common cold but most are only partially successful. Another method, and one that is stated to be effective, can now be added the use of one of the new sulpha drugs, sulphathiazole. One pound of this drug in powder form is added to every

hundredweight of mash in dry form and the treatment continued for three days. Sulphathiazole is expensive and requires a veterinary officer’s prescription before it can be bought. With average food consumption treatment for three days costs 3d. a bird. If one or two eggs a bird are saved and the colds are eliminated, this treatment is really not expensive. It must be made clear, however, that no claim is made for a cure of diphtheric roup by the use of sulphathiazole. Green Food Essential Most poultry producers today are so well acquainted with the necessity for feeding green food that no undue emphasis need be laid on this essential subject. Green food contains vitamin A, which is associated with the building up of a resistance to disease and troubles such as colds and roup in poultry. It will be appreciated, there-

fore, that the feeding of green food is essential in any programme for the production of winter eggs. The method of feeding green food varies, but it is suggested that consideration be given to feeding it late in the day during the winter. Green food is bulky and birds’ crops have only a limited capacity at any one time. If fed early in the day before a mash feed or incorporated as chopped greens in the mash, it must limit the quantity of mash which can be eaten. Though important, green food in itself is not an egg-producing food, and,' as it has been demonstrated . that increased mash consumption is desirable during the winter, the feeding of green food should not be at the expense of other consumption. If it is trough fed late in the day, the birds will still eat a reasonable quantity, as they have a natural desire for it, and the consumption of egg-producing and bodybuilding foods will not be reduced.