A SUCCESSFUL VENTURE

Bay of Plenty Beacon, Volume 10, Issue 13, 19 August 1946, Page 6

A SUCCESSFUL VENTURE

SCHOOL POULTRY FARM NATIVE MASTER’S ENTERPRISE One of the most outstanding achievements as far as Native School instruction is concerned is the successful culture of poultry at the Waiohou School, where Mr and Mrs Raymond Judd have established a thriving school industry for the benefit of the pupils. The poultry farm section is a neatly arrayed group of houses and runs on the lower grass level west of the school house. The whole venture has been crowned with unqualified success, and pupils, who have been given the responsibility of looking after the run have themselves, in one or two instances, become enthusiasts and have started their own private ventures. 111. Applicable Methods The timetable calls for the complete replacement of two pens annually, as the hens reach mateurity; and, in addition, a'few odd replacements are hatched each season in case of need. Artificial incubation has been considered, but up till now has been rejected because (a) It is rather out of touch with methods that can readily be used by Maori boys on their farm; (b) It would be a temptation to allow the poultry farm to get out of hand. With regard to (a), it has always been endeavoured to use methods and materials that are likely to be available to a Maori farmer, and in this way, to keep the work as practical as possible. Each boy is encouraged to the view that this is work that he may profitably undertake on his father’s, and later on his own, farm. Encouragement has been lent by the knowledge that great improvement has been made in the keeping of poultry on at least eleven farms in the district, and that at least five boys are at present, actively engaged in poultrykeeping at home. The second point (b), illustrates the tendancy that all such projects contain, and that in the end may defeat the main object of the course, and that is, to enlarge until the project, with the work attendant upon its success becomes overwhelming and cumbersome. There is a ready sale in the district for almost unlimited numbers of fattened cockerels and for young pullets, and the school poultry farm could make large profits with the introduction of artificial incubation, but the main purpose of the project is not profitmaking. The time to be devoted to this work is limited by its value as part of the whole school syllabus, and in consequence, a watchful eye is kept on the whole course, mainly valuable as a school department, and not, except incidentally, as a district poultry headquarters. Full records are kept by the poultry farm organisation of breeding, laying, etc., and of all factors influencing the production of eggs, such as poor weather, alteration in foods, lessening in skim-milk supplies etc., and careful comparisons are made between the egg production of various breeds and between the results from first and second year hens.

Feeding Feeding is carried out as under:— Morning: Mash (Stock meal, Meat meal, Skim milk from school cow, Cooked vegetables). Evening: Grain (Summer —wheat; Winter—mixture of wheat and maize). The feeding programme is linked with the work in the other school departments, e.g.—•, (1) Dairy Science; (a steady supply of skim-milk, butter-milk, and whey, from the school cow is used for mixing the mash. (2) Gardening and Agriculture; (fairly large crops of carrots, turnips etc. and of silver beet for green feed, are grown annually in school gardens, which in turn, benefit from composted poultry manure. In this way, an endeavour is made to show how a poultry farm may be a particularly valuable unit on a dairy farm. All workers are taught the correct methods of killing and dressing fowls, and are given practical experience in this work during the season. When dressed, fattened cockerels are sold locally. The poultry farm supplies a continuous source of handwork and carpentry work, all with a practical purpose, and the increased interests of seeing the products in actual use. The following may be listed as typical;— (1) Buildings and repairs (new houses, yards, etc.)

(2) Improvements; (new types of doors, nest-boxes and perches are always being tried) i • (3) Tin work; (malted milk tins are made into a variety of useful grit and feed tins, of which several types are in use). (4) Concrete work; (floors, troughs paths and pools have all been attempted). (5) Painting and whitewashing.

(6) Making of temporary coops, broody-boxes etc. The work is spread over the. year so that two or three boys are continuously at work during handwork periods on poultry farm carpentry work, reporting back to the monthly meeting on progress made. Boys are encouraged to submit to the plans and make the improvements and are then allowed to work out plans and make the miprovements suggested. Many valuable accessories have been worked out in this way. Sale of Eggs The eggs are disposed of in thi'ee ways, viz.:— (1) By school supply; (The school kitchen pays full rates to the poultry farm out of its own profits). (2) By preservation; (Carried out by the girls of the cookery classes for winter supply). (3) By district sales; (For many years, the district has been unable to meet the demand, and the school feels that it has performed a community service during the war years, when eggs have been difficult to obtain. Lately, a falling-off in demand has been noticed, owing to the fact that so many farmers have improved their own stock by purchases from the school, and no longer need to buy eggs. Sale of Stock An annual sale is held on December 20, of each year. At this sale, all surplus stock is disposed of, that is, two-year hens which are not retained at the school, but which are still useful for breeding. A second sale is usually held in February, of all fattened cockerels not already sold, and of all culled pullets. The benefits to school and district of the work carried on in this school department over the last seven years may be briefly summarised as follows:—

(1) School Benefits; A constant source of interest and observation to children of all ages. (2) Practical problems in arithmetic, drawing; material for morning talks and discussions; practical discussions at meetings. (3) A steady income for pupils’ funds. (4) An adequate egg supply for school cookery, and for meals in school model kitchen, where lunch is served daily to sixteen pupils. (5) Practical work in handwork, carpentry, concrete work, painting etc.(6) An opportunity for boys whose abilities are practical, rather than academic. In this connection, it should be mentioned that all boys who carry out three periods successfully as poultry-farm Supervisors, are granted a poultry-keeper’s (school Boy Scouts) badge and a school poultrykeeper’s certificate. District Benefits (1) A constant supply of vital food in the community. (2) An improvement in the quality (and quantity) of district stock. (3) A rising generation of trained poultry farmers. (4) Added district interest in the school and its work. (5) Young housewives from the school model kitchen trained in the dietary value and domestic use of eggs. Attaching to the poultry farm, there is, of course, some measure of responsibility thrown upon the teacher. When such a project is undertaken, the teacher must be prepared to make arrangements for the feeding and care of the stock during weekends, and particularly in vacations. The feeding of hens during weekends is not a specially onerous duty, and in the case in point, is usually undertaken by the teacher himself. During vacations, no difficulty has been found in getting senior pupils with the help of their parents, to look after the poultry farm, and as district interest has grown, so has the amount of help offering in holiday times. It is felt, that the poultry farm has achieved the objects which it set out to achieve, and has been of great benefit to every pupil of the school as a “centre- of interest,” making the school in question, a place of real practical interest and work.