POULTRY KEEPING

Press, Volume LXVI, Issue 20107, 10 December 1930, Page 8

POULTRY KEEPING

(Br Fancier.) ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT. A.M.- —Parrots' egjje nri "white sbcllcd and ■xarj" a bit in size and shape. NOTES. By the death of Mr Frank Hooper, -whose funeral took place last week, tho Canary fancy lias lost an ardent supporter, whoso passing "will be deeply regretted by many friends in C'hristchurch and South Canterbury. The death of Mr .Tohn Cracroft Wilson, of Cashmere, which took place last Wednesday, removes a most prominent breeder, exhibitor and importer of hi eh-class poult ry. Fanciers an'l others will learn with rc,*;ret. Hint tho well known breeder and judfje, Mr -1. D. Gubbe, met will) a bad uC.'i 'leu! la.-f. wee'; by niHiu ; v off i '■li'Mer while painting a hon-^e. Sis Langshnns continue to le.vl at liawkc.-ibury College and .\m-tralirm teats generally, with a store for '-"2 days of 1035 T!:e best single ■■•■ cores are 'Khaki Campbell Duck, I'•>'eggs in 227 days. The best score for hens are Black Orpington 209, -aid Lmgshn.ii 20" c <jgs ill 232 dnv> . The ITuiti'd L'ig--pt. ran'W.t* "!ub will meet this "vrirr:; ::nd not Jigaia until tho second y/.-i!o>. s-.lay of .''r-ntwrv. The secretary, Mr Fred. \Y. Chambers, states that a good ent.rv has been .received for the produce show, and that a record number of marking rings had been distributed. From now to the end of the month there will be a bisj demand for table fowls. It is better that the birds reach the market steadily, nnd not all at once, at the sales just before Christmas and New Tear. At this time of the year all classes and ages of birds will be sought for as at no other ."eason. Purchase World Record Hen. I Holland, Mich.—"Te Kawau Princess," Australorp hen which laid 304 eggs (3 soft shelled eggs included') in ■ Egg Laying Contest, has been purchased by Osborne Farms, here. The above paragraph is from the "Poultry Tribune," (U.S.A.), just to hand. The hen was owned by Mrs D. M. Waddell, of Taranaki. The weight cf the eggs averaged 24 ounces 12 drams per dozen. Poultry on the Farm. Poultry is needed more on farms in greater numbers, not merely for producing eggs ijjiid fowls for the market, but to provide a change of diet for the people on the farms. The mutton killed on the farm is very well in its way but one tires of mutton as of other things, and poultry allows varieties in food that 'will provide a welcome change to mutton. Turkeys, guinea fowl, pheasants, the ordinary fowl pigeons, ducks and geese may be kept for home use and the change of food, and kept with but little trouble. Weight of Eggs. The importance of the size and state of eggs for hatching and for the market niaiy be discussed at another time. Hero I am prompted by an article I read recently, which contends that high fecundity means small eggs. No reason is given why certain birds put up records, or why their egg 3 lose in weight. Jull at Mac Donald College, Atwood at the \gest "Virginia experiment station, and the investigators at the Charlottetown Station, foond in none- of these three instances did high production necessarily mean low egg weight. - In the British Press, Miss D. E. Kitchin cited the weight of eggs laid by a number of champions, and many of them laid big eggs. Long distance layers may be called freaks, but investigation shows the eggs to fulfil the standard demands. The Bath. The ordinary hen cleans herself in dust, and it is called the dust bath. Road sweepings are often mixed with ashes and. put into a box in the fowl run. But hens like best tho earth to be a little moist and in a cool place. Dig round a bush or a tree, and the hens will enjoy it until spoiled by too much rain. Geese and ducks will, of course, use both water and dust, and others again like to roll in wet grass. The main thing is to see that the birds have a bath, and if tliey don't take one, spray them with a fine spray. Whether in or out of cages, they need wator to bathe in, and pigeons like a tin with water. They also like to go out in the rain. .Canaries and some other cage birds also like water to bathe in. Tho water bath or the dust bath should be before the birds at all times. - Mass Production. Since hiß return from the World's Poultry Congress, Mr Rumball, , the Queensland delegate, has given his impressions to poultrymen. After giving figures showijig imports of eggs, Mr Kumball concluded that Australia was up against a tough proposition, and X may add New Zealand will be worse. Of the famous Cook's Farm, Mr Bumball said: "Cook's Farm at St. Mary's Cray, is now managed by tlje late W. Cook's daughter, Mrs Frazer. It is 125 acres in extent, and employs 35 hands; a monthly poultry journal is published, and prepared mashes are produced. Hundreds of chicks are incubated and reared by broody hens in little sheds on free range on this farm, and a popular style of shed for weaning of young stock iB in the form of an ark with slatted bottom." Again of the other farms he said: "The large farms do not rely solely on egg production, but many carry on other business, such as factories for the production of poultry equipment, prepared mashes, laying sheds, etc. Time of Egg Laying. More arid more facts aro constantly being learned in respect to differences between high record and low record hens. One of the interesting differences that has been brought out through careful trapnest records is in the time of day at which most of the eggs are laid,, says ''Hoard's Dairyman." The time of laying is closely related to the cycle, or rate of laying, and since this in turn is an important factor in determining whether a hen's record for the year is to be high or low, there is a difference in what may be called the laying. schedule of good and poor hens. Not many hens are able to lay an c ££ a _ day for an extended period, so that in ( the majority of cases it requires more than twenty-four hours to complete the formation of an egg If a hen lays every other day, she may lay at about the same hour each time, either morning or afternoon. It is not very common to find hens laying thirty or forty eggs in as many days, but when it does happen they are likely to lay at seven o'clock in the morning, or even earlier, during' the entire period. One of the first indications that the cycle is nearing an end is the tendency for such a hen to lay a