POULTRY NOTES

New Zealand Tablet, 7 November 1918, Page 37

POULTRY NOTES

(By Mr. G. H. Ambler, Christchurch.)

COST OF PRODUCING BREEDING AND LAYING STOCK. An essential consideration for specialist poultry breeders is cost of breeding, hatching, and rearing fowls to what may be termed a marketable age. In the case of birds intended to be sold for stock purposes that is usually when they are from six to eight months old. After the age named the pullets should pay for ■ their keep by the eggs produced, so that if we take seven months as the average it will help in estimating the cost of rearing. Presuming, however, that on general farms the birds have abundant opportunities during the period of growth to obtain a considerable part of their food supplies the cost will be much less. As, however, breeding farms are usually run on more expensive lines it is desirable to deal in terms applicable to these. A further point is the number handled in accordance with the expense of labor and equipment, neither of which can be stated in actual figures. Experiments which I conducted some few years ago showed that chickens could be grown to twelve weeks, inclusive of the egg, oil for incubator and brooder, and food, at a cost of about. 9d each. If to that amount is added interest on capital, deterioration of plant, and labor, assuming that operations are conducted on a sufficient scale in respect to number of birds, a fair computation would be Is 3d each bird at twelve weeks old. From that age the food cost should not exceed an average of lid per week, so that at seven months old (thirty weeks) the actual expense will be 3s 6d, to which must be added the items already named, with risks of losses by death and weeding out of specimens which early show arrested development or for any other reason are unfitted for the purpose in view. My own estimate, therefore, is that, without allowing any margin of profit, the prime cost of breeding stock sold in this way at the age named is 5s per bird ; and if selection is rigid or the number raised small it will be higher. That may, however, be regarded as the minimum under the conditions named. This sum allows nothing for advertising or lor other expenditure incurred, though it may not be necessary, nor does it provide for exceptional mortality. On the other hand, the range farmer can probably produce such stock at Is to Is 6d below the amount stated. One of the most difficult questions which the poultry breeders has to determine is the price he shall ask for birds he has to dispose of. Very often this will be decided by what people will pay rather than the. actual value. There is, in fact, no fixed value. I have known cases where vendors have sold birds of the same flock to half a dozen different people at as many prices, simply getting as much as possible, within reasonable limits, from each. In this connection we must remember that the same bird may be worth more to one buyer than another. The vagaries of purchasers are very puzzling. Even though they never intend to exhibit or compete in the laying competitions, yet more money will .be given for stock advertised as from a high fecund or prize-winning 6train than from one not so designated, even though the latter may be vastly superior for practical purposes. Morover, popularity of a breeder or breed means much.

If a breed is being boomed and written up a demand is created which means enhancement of realisable value so long as the rage continues. All breeders have experienced instances of this kind. Take, for example, the white Leghorn. Previous to the war this breed had in England regained much of its old popularity, and I know of one well-known utility breeder who was obtaining as much as £5 per setting for his eggs. Further than this, my Palace and International Trophy ) winning white Leghorn cockerel (at the last Palace Show) I sold for £42. When the buff Orpington was first introduced one breeder I knew told me that his birds were what had been known as Lincolnshire buffs, and that the two names represented one race; which was undoubtedly true in the main, but that if he called them by. the former term he could get twice as much as was obtainable if dubbed by the older title. In this respect reputation is of great importance. A wellestablished breeder who has made his name can always secure better prices than those who are less known. That is so in everything. Some- there are who find it ' more profitable to sell their stock to the bigger men than to undertake the direct trade themselves. In | fact, there is a great amount of dealing of this nature ! much might be said on that score, but it is unnecessary. • The final vendor is really a retailer, buying from others in a wholesale fashion. A variation of method is placing out selected birds on farms and buying in the J chickens bred at fixed rates, which is certainly more legitimate, in that the original stock is owned by the vendor. From what has already been stated I am unj able to see that anyone can sell well-grown, typical, healthy birds at six to eight months old, even with a j very moderate amount of profit, under 6s 6d to 7s 6d each, and even that will not allow much margin for i trouble and risks involved. Such an average might pay ! the breeder who only regards the business as a supple- ; mentary pursuit. To the man who expects to make a | living out of it that would not be enough. Many buyers expect to get birds at 4s or 5s each, or even less, j in which case they must be content with inferior or late-hatched specimens, or such as are produced by ordinary farmers. Further, cocks or cockerels are usually 50 per cent, higher in price than females: and rightly so. A female can only influence her own progeny, whereas a male will exert his powers over every hen with which he is mated; and, moreover, he costs more to produce. A further point in this connection is that second-year birds which have not been used for j breeding in their first season are more valuable than \ -yearlings, and the males especially have cost more to bring to that stage. This fact is seldom recognised by | purchasers, who prefer young birds because they are j cheaper. The season of greatest sale in New Zealand ! for stock birds extends from May to August, though j there is a demand to a limited extent all the year round. Many of the more systematic breeders aim to J have disposed of the bulk of their saleable stock by the j end of June. At the same time they usually have a number of birds beyond their actual requirements, which can be retained if not sold, but are available if demand arises at paying prices. For the simple reason that everyone who takes up this work desires, to get rid of such birds as he does not require for breeding as soon as possible the great majority are so disposed of when six to ten months old. And as the buyers do not purchase until the time is approaching when

the stocks are to be used these influences make for a very extensive employment of yearlings. Though it be fully realised that this is undesirable,' I cannot see how it can be avoided. At the same time, the question is one of considerable importance, tending to debilitation if persisted in. What should be done is to impress the importance of retention of good breeders into the second and third years, and make the younger specimens fewer in number than those fully matured. The question as to whether first crosses or pure breeds are best for egg production has been frequently discussed, and I have just been reminded of this subject again by the receipt of a letter from a respected poultry-keeper friend who has for some years been conducting experiments in first crosses. He has succeeded in bringing about some extraordinary results, and has given me the record of a hen which is now four years old. This bird, my friend tells me, has laid no less than 600 eggs in two years, and at the present moment has only a few more eggs to produce to complete her 1000 eggs in four years. This extraordinary bird is a first cross black Minorca and black Orpington, and she lays a large, beautifully-shaped egg. She has never shown broodiness, though some of her sisters, bred (ho same, way, have displayed that inclination. To add to her record at laying, her attractive appearance ha- enabled her to win several first prizes in having-hen classes at tire shows. Another acquaintance some time ago attempted a cross with white Orpingtons and white Minorcas, with the idea of establishing a new breed of layers. The produce proved extraordinary layers of grand tinted eggs, but profit on tins cross was reduced because the birds were so slow in coming to maturity. Some of the specimens were as much as eight months old before they commenced to lay, so that he decided for one season at least to perpetuate the species, and he hatched chickens from parent first-cross birds and awaited results. lie found that the laying powers were not transmitted to the offspring, and not only that, but the second season the parent stock proved a failure as egg producers. It would seem from these experiences that whilst some considerable measure of success attends the mixing of two separate breeds, the same success is not achieved by the produce of the first class. My own personal observations have hitherto led me to the firm opinion that the pure-bred specimen •will nine times out of ten beat the cross-bred as an egg-producer. Much more could be written on this subject but space will not permit.