DEATH TO THE COCKEREL

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 5, Issue 60, 3 June 1942, Page 2

DEATH TO THE COCKEREL

AUTOSEXING FOWLS SAVE FEEDING STUFFS New breeds of fowls- which proclaim their sox at hatching by the colour of their plumage are, as they become generally adapted, saving many tons of Britain's precious' animal feeding stuffs. For this is the only 100 per cent accurate method by Avhieh cockerels of a pure breed be detected and killed off at hatching, leaving the available feeding stuffs for the more valuable eggproducing pullets. "Sex-linking" of different breeds 1 , to give cockerel chicks the colour of the hen and pullet chicks that of the cock, has been practised for many years, but the disadvantage is that pure breeds have always, to be used, for re-crossing destroys' 1 the colour difference. Another method of determining the sex o>l" the newly hatched chick is the old method of examining the papilla on the vent, not even in the most skilful hands, which may prove rather costly, only 95 per cent accuracy isi obtained ; moreover, the fragile chick is apt to suffer damage through clumsy, 1 handling. But the new self-saxing breeds evolved at the Cambridge School of Agriculture as the result of studying the barring on the feathers of poultry, now fix the colour differences, permanently, and any backyarder can go en breeding indefinitely with them, telling at a glance which' of his chicks are pullets and which cockerels. Breeds so far evolved are the Cambar (from the Campine and Barred Rock), Dorbar (Dorking-barred), Brussbar (Brown Sussex barred) and Buffbar. These breeds arc already developed to a commercial egg-lay-ing standard and it now remains'for British breeders to devote to them tiie selective breeding skill they have used with such success on ether pipular varieties like Rhode Island Keds, While and Black Leghorns, White Wyandol'tes and so on.

One of the latest devciopments of the science of indies, sex-linked heredity was originally observed in swell human defects as colour blind--ness and haemophilia (or "bleedin;*'), in which, nit hough only males were all'eeted. many of LJI o females! of a family were able U; transmit the defeet. to. their sons but not to their daughters.