Buying Laying Birds for a Household Poultry Flock

New Zealand Journal of Agriculture, Volume 84, Issue 4, 15 April 1952, Page 271

Buying Laying Birds for a Household Poultry Flock

Reminders for May Winter egg production is the most important of the year. In addition to feeding No. I standard laying mash and grain, keep a trough or tin of pure meat meal in front of the birds at all times. Extra meat meal is an aid to winter laying, and the birds will not eat too much of it. Colds . have a serious effect on winter . egg production. Coddling the birds or allowing the house to become stuffy may induce colds, but draughts and damp conditions . must be prevented and the litter kept dry. ' Supplies of good greenfeed* may be difficult to maintain at this time of year. Use a fish oil l in the mash to give a satisfactory level of vitamin A, the supply of which | ■ substantially, affects winter laying.

BEFORE BUYING laying birds the household poultry keeper must consider a number of aspects, including when to buy, what class of bird to buy, and the source from which to obtain them. These points should be clearly understood if the householder is to make a success of poultry, and this article by the Animal Industry Division discusses in detail the main aspects of buying laying fowls.

THE NUMBER of birds to be kept will have been decided when the size of the laying shed was planned, and stocking the shed with more birds than it was intended to hold is most unwise. Overcrowding invariably leads to trouble with either the health of the birds or their production. ■ Beginning with pullets is economically sound for reasons which, will be given in a future article. A pullet is a bird during its first laying year. All . birds are subject to an annual moult, when they discard all their feathers before growing new ones. Thus a laying bird is a pullet until it goes into its . first annual moult and thereafter is termed a hen. Likewise a male bird is a cockerel until its first annual moult,, after which it is referred to as a cock bird. : Time to Buy The first essential is to know when to buy . pullets, and household poultry keepers who lack knowledge of this subject are likely to meet trouble. The main hatching season for poultry is July to October. Heavy-breed birds such as Australorps and Rhode Island Reds are best hatched between July and mid-September; light breeds are hatched satisfactorily up to early October. Pullets hatched later than the months quoted are usually less satisfactory, being slower in growth and late coming into production. Growth and sexual development of

pullets may vary from season to season, but household poultry keepers are recommended to buy birds hatched within the periods named whenever possible and cautioned against buying late-hatched pullets. The age at which pullets come into production will vary with the season, the way in which the birds have been managed, and to some extent the strain of birds. As a guide it may be assumed that heavy-breed pullets should be in production at about 6| months of age and light breeds at 5 to 5J months. For crossbred pullets such as Australorp-White Leghorns the period is similar to that for Leghorns. In general commercial poultry farmers, from whom pullets are usually bought, tend to retain the earlier-hatched pullets for their own use and in consequence household poultry keepers are often sold September- and October-hatched birds. This means that heavy-breed pullets will not start laying until March and light breeds a month earlier. Many owners are fortunate if their pullets come into lay in these months. Many household poultry keepers make the serious mistake of omitting to order pullets for the approaching laying season until the end of the year or even well into the new year. By this time most good commercial poultry farmers have either sold all pullets surplus to their own requirements or have booked up for all they

intend to sell. Such pullets as are available at this stage are likely to be late-hatched or poor-quality, slowdeveloping- birds left after the best have been sold. Neither late-hatched nor cull birds are likely to be satisfactory, as the first will come into lay late and thus not produce when eggs are dear, and the second are likely to be lacking in constitution and be poor producers. Consequently poultry keepers are advised to place orders for pullets not later than the beginning of the breeding seasonthat is, in July. Age of Pullets The first stage in the rearing of chicks is brooding them. In general brooding lasts about 6 weeks, during which time the chicks are given heat, the amount being decreased as the birds increase in age. When they are hardened off and away from all heat

the birds are usually taught to perch. The perching pullets commonly advertised are from 6 to 10 Weeks old. The price charged for pullets varies with their age, young perching pullets selling at from 6s. to 10s. each and ready-to-lay or in-lay birds at from 18s. to 255. each. During their growing period after the brooder stage pullets undoubtedly develop most satisfactorily in both constitution and frame if given a free run over good grassland; even a grass pen of adequate size for the number of birds is an advantage. Consequently the householder may well gain in the long run, though the initial cost is greater, if he buys well-developed pullets instead of confining 8- or 10-week pullets inside a laying shed during the growing period and up to laying stage. The average household poultry accommodation, limited in space in both shed and outside run (if one is available), does not afford the best conditions for running growing pullets. Growing pullets must not be mixed with adult laying birds. If that is done, the older birds bully the pullets and prevent them from obtaining their fair share of food. The result is stunted pullets, late laying, and possibly losses. Choice of Breed -In general terms there is no “best breed” for egg production, but much may depend on the strain of birds selected. Laying ability depends to a large degree on how the birds have been selected and bred for production over a period of years. The householder has one marked advantage over the poultry farmer: Pullets produce best m small units such as the six or a dozen kept in the garden, in which there is a lack of competition for food and the. minimum of bullying. Like animals, some birds are timid and nervous and others are robust or even ruthless bullies.

Apart from their greater size, heavy breeds such as the Australorp or Orpington also differ from the light breeds in their tendency to become broody. Some strains of heavy-breed birds are far more broody than others, and some commercial poultry breeders take the trouble to mark and ultimately exclude from the breeding pens heavy-breed birds which show excessive broodiness, thus gradually reducing this characteristic. Lighter breeds show comparatively little or no broodiness. To some extent lack of

broodiness explains the popularity of the White Leghorn, as broodiness entails a temporary loss of eggs and the trouble of breaking broodiness in a bird when she wants to sit.

Against this apparent disadvantage of heavy breeds must be counted the fact that good laying strains of heavybreed pullets are excellent winter egg producers and on an average superior in this respect to light-breed pullets. Eggs laid in winter are more valuable, this being the period of short supply and high price. Furthermore, breaking broodiness in the average broody pullet is not as difficult as is generally supposed, provided the birds are handled properly; the less numerous excessively broody birds can be a real nuisance during late spring and summer.

White Leghorns are by far the most popular light breed in New Zealand. Brown Leghorns and Minorcas, though kept in small numbers, are usually difficult to obtain. Australorps, or Orpingtons, and Rhode Island Reds are the popular heavy breeds and good strains of both are excellent layers.

Crossbred pullets have become popular during recent years. Most of them are bred from Australorp males and White Leghorn females, though the reverse cross is also used; “Austral-Whites”, is a name sometimes applied to these first-cross birds.

Another crossbred which is excellent for egg production is bred from White Leghorn males mated to Rhode Island Red females. Crossbred pullets are highly suitable for the household poultry keeper, who usually is not concerned with breeding, for which pure breeds are required. The crossing of two distinctive breeds results in increased vigour and production if parent stock with good constitution and productive ability are used. These crossbred pullets are intermediate in size between light- and heavy-breed birds, and their broodiness depends on the care with which the heavy-breed parent stock has been selected to reduce this characteristic. Health and Constitution Of equal importance to the laying ability of the birds is their health and constitution. Potential production is of little value if birds will not live and remain healthy. Public auctions are not the most satisfactory sources of laying pullets. Poultry farmers usually dispose of their discarded hens and cull pullets through the markets. Such birds, though they may be quite healthy, are really fit only for the table. If they were good laying birds, they would not be sent to the auction to fetch poultry-meat prices when they could be retained on the, farm for laying or be sold as laying pullets, at higher prices. The household poultry keeper in the main depends on the poultry farmer for his supply of laying pullets, the quality of which varies. Advertisements may be answered, but where possible it is a good plan to visit the farm from which the birds are to be bought and see the stock and conditions. A householder may not be a judge ,of poultry stock, but he can see whether the birds on the farm look healthy and are kept under clean and hygienic conditions. A tidy, wellmanaged farm is not difficult to recognise; the reverse is usually self evident. Accreditation Scheme For the past 6 years the Department of Agriculture has administered the New Zealand Poultry Flock Improvement Plan. Poultry farmers may support this plan voluntarily, their breeding birds being examined each year and accredited if they appear healthy and are up to a reasonable breeding standard. The names of poultry farmers whose breeding flocks are accredited are included in a list printed each year, a copy of which may be obtained from the Department of Agriculture, P.O. Box 2298, Wellington, or by writing to an office of the Department in any city or main town. The list also gives the breeds which each farmer keeps and the number of his breeding birds. Two recommendations are made to household poultry keepers: Book pullets early, and when a satisfactory source of supply is found return to that source each year; if in difficulty in finding pullets, approach Poultry Instructors of the Department of Agriculture, who are stationed at the offices of the Department in Auckland, Hamilton, Wanganui, Hastings, Wellington, Christchurch, Oamaru, and Dunedin.

Photographs by

Fraser Niederer.

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This Journal is a medium for the publication of the results of research and practical experience in the realm of Grassland Husbandry. Contents of Vol. 6, No. 1, 1951. 1. The place of the ley in farming systems. T. L. Bywater. 2. Lessons from American grasslands. William Davies. 3. Preliminary investigations on ley cropping for large-scale green crop drying. C. A. Shacklady and P. Newbound. 4. The grasslands of South-east South Australia in relation to climate, soils and developmental history. N. S. Tiver and R. L. Crocker. This Journal is published quarterly. Subscription Vol. 1,15 s. Annual Subscription thereafter, 30s. per volume. Orders to Secretary, British Grassland Society, Fakenham, Norfolk.