Ordering of Replacement Stock for the Household Poultry Flock

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 82, Issue 6, 15 June 1951, Page 527

Ordering of Replacement Stock for the Household Poultry Flock

ARRANGING for the purchase of chickens or perching pullets is a task which the ** poultry keeper should set himself to carry out in good time. Apart from the inconvenience which can be caused at the hatchery, postponing ordering may place the buyer at a disadvantage. He may have to take late-hatched chicks, buy older pullets at a higher price, accept whatever birds are left, perhaps even culls, or go to a second-rate breeder because the best are booked out. In this month's article for the household

poultry keeper

W. L. Mclver,

r, Poultry Instructor, Department of Agriculture, Hamilton,

advises ordering replacement stock now after carefully working out what is needed.

TOO many buyers of poultry take what they are offered or what is advertised instead of studying their requirements and seeking to fulfil them. Some. hatcheries specialise in day-old chick sales and do not cater for orders for perching pullets. Others will sell pul-lets of any age required, but some will quit them only at 6 weeks of age unless they are culls. Most newspaper advertisements offering perching pullets for sale quote a price for 6-week-old birds, but that does not prove that stage to be the best one at which to buy pullets. Three Stages of Poultry Keeping

The running of poultry may be divided into three major stages, with three different types of housing for these stages: The chick age, with the brooder house; the perching pullet age, with the colony-type rearing house; and maturity, with the laying house. A farmer making a feature of selling 6week pullets wants to avoid the second stage, getting rid of the chickens from the brooder house without transferring them to a colony house on free range. This reduces work, ' saves expenditure on housing, cuts down the area needed for the farm, delays the time when the land will become “poultry sick”, and reduces the danger of disease spreading on the farm. These safegaurds would be in order if it were in the best interests of the

buyer to accept delivery of pullets 6 weeks old. Too often the buyer does not realise that chickens straight from the brooder are not hardened off, and such birds can be affected severely by the change of housing, diet, and management. In some districts at some times of year heat may be turned off in the brooder house for a week or so before dispatch of the chickens, but they have been accustomed to sleeping with probably a couple of hundred mates, all supplying a little body heat to improve night temperatures. The buyer may have only 6 pullets, so night conditions are very different for the few.

Danger Period not Over

The poultry farmer may contend that the first 3 weeks of a chicken’s life are the period in which infection and mortality are most likely, that the next 3 weeks are the second most dangerous period, and that after 6 weeks mortality risk is low. Unfortunately, especially under new and less experienced management, the danger period is not over. Apart from the fact that the birds have not been hardened off, the next 2 weeks have a critical effect on growth, stamina, and resistance to disease. The. pullets can contract in their first few days of life a disease which may not ' show its effect for weeks or even months, so that the extra 2 weeks on the farm may not help them at all, but it may show its effect during that fortnight. Certainly, a conscientious farmer can cull and select 8-week-old chickens better than 6-week birds.

The best age at which to buy chickens depends mainly on individual circumstances the accommodation available and the time and labour which can be spared. If the householder has suitable space for young chicks, is prepared to buy or make a brooder, and has adequate time to care for them, day-old chicks are the cheapest, though because of mortalities they may not always prove the cheapest when the reared cost of each mature pullet is finally worked out. The size of the unit is a great factor, for the hatcheryman rears hundreds of chicks at a time and spreads his

labour costs over them all, whereas the average householder needs only about a dozen pullets and labour per bird is a big item.

Perching Pullets

Therefore there are good arguments in favour of buying perching pullets. Chickens 6 weeks old are not really perching. A few may have learnt to do so, but with a transfer to new quarters they are quite likely to revert to the floor and have to be retaught. Even at 8 weeks old all will not have learnt to perch, but nevertheless that is a desirable time at which to take delivery, for as the pullets grow the price increases.

Older Pullets

If the price is reasonable and can be afforded, least trouble will be experienced with 5- or 6-month-old pullets, but the profit a layer can give is the value of its eggs less cost to maturity, including purchase price and feeding during the laying year, even if its share of the labour costs and housing is disregarded. A high purchase price reduces the net profit. Most farmers do not cater to the demand for nearly mature birds, and if they do, they may be expected to select the best out of each batch for. their own flocks, selling only those which fall between the classifications of “commercial” culls and obvious culls. The older the pullets being bought, the more necessary is a knowledge of culling and the points of a good bird. Whatever the age of the chickens or pullets, the buyer should satisfy himself immediately on their delivery that they have arrived in satisfactory condition. If they have not, the seller should be informed at once.

Early Ordering Advocated

Early in the season is the time for the householder to decide his requirements, and an order should be placed in time to ensure that he obtains what he wants when he wants it. This series of articles has already discussed the best hatching periods for both light and heavy breeds. August and September are favourite hatching months and hatcheries cannot meet all the demands for chicks hatched then. Undue delay in placing an order may find all the better farms booked out.

Flock Improvement Plan

A list of all farms with flocks accredited and blood tested under the conditions of the New Zealand Poultry Flock Improvement Plan is available free on request to the Poultry Instructor, Department of Agriculture, Auckland, Hamilton, Palmerston North, Hastings, Wellington, Christchurch, Oamaru, or Dunedin.