EGGS FOR ALL

Auckland Star, Volume LXXIII, Issue 124, 28 May 1942, Page 8

EGGS FOR ALL

BREEDER'S PROPOSAL

BACKYARD PRODUCTION

A few fowls in every back garden, and housewives feeding them on the family scraps, instead of throwing valuable oddments and leavings of food into the garbage tin—such was the simple remedy for maintaining the national egg supply suggested to-day by Mr. C. M. Williams, of Pokeno, a poultry breeder of long experience. It is his conviction that no more practical war effort could be undertaken by the people.

"I'nder normal conditions," said .Mr. Williams, "roughly IS per cent of eggs produced in New Zealand were placed on the market by commercial poultry farmers engaged full-time in the industry. They are farmers with a thousand or more hens. About (50 per cent of supplies came from small, part-time and sideline poultry farmers, with from .'JO to 1 "50 hens each, and a few with, say, 500. The balance of eggs came from home production—from folk with a few fowls in the back garden.

Mr. Williams suggested that the Department of Agriculture should embark on a course of instruction on the use of alternative feed, such as soak-grain feeding and other foodstuffs. Dairy farmers could be asked to produce eggs, using whatever foodstuffs were to hand on the farm. What was needed was not so much large-scale production, but rather a

widespread small-scale effort with everyone, especially the back garden hen keepers, adding a few eggs to available supplies.

The Department of Agriculture could give lectures to the "back yarder" on the best way to raise and feed poultry, and the department could inaugurate a scheme among the big poultry farmers under which more pullcis could be produced for purchase by small people —mostly "backyarders." It had to be remembered that the back-garden fowls were fed mostly on kitchen scraps, which was all* to the good. In England county councils were collecting all edible scraps, putting them through steaming machines, thus breaking down and preserving the food, and then making the stuff available to people in small quantities. I'nder this system poultry keeping was being maintained. Most satisfactory results were being obtained, the stock in many cases thriving on the food supplied in this way.

In New Zealand it would not he necessary to have such a svstem. as people on our high standard of living could be encouraged not to waste their scraps. I'nquestionablv great quantities of food went to waste in New Zealand per medium of the rubbish tin. There could be no more practical solution of maintaining the egg output than to come back to the "back yarder" on an organised basis.