POULTRY KEEPING

Press, Volume LXVII, Issue 20177, 4 March 1931, Page 6

POULTRY KEEPING

(By Fancier.) NOTES. A meeting of the Christchureh Canary Club will be held this evening. Judges for the annual, show of the Christchureh Poultry Club will bo elected at a meeting of members next Monday evening. The United Pigeon Fanciers' Club will hold the third table show of the season next Wednesday evening. The breeds to be tabled are Fantails, pouting pigeons, toys, utility pigeons, Carriers, Dragoons and Show Homers. Mr H. Wiltshire will be judge. Mr A. B. Smith, a prominent fancier who left Christchureh some months ago for Wellington, is now in Hastings assisting in the restoration of the telephone service. Mr W. H. Hagger, the well-known Conciliation Commissioner, will shortly retire from that position. Mr Hagger is a keen fancier of racing pigeons, and also a judge. Mr J. S. Walter, of Nelson, was in town during the week-end, and visited the lofts of some, local fanciers. He intends sending a big team of Modenas to the Christchureh show in June. Another Nelsonian, Mr Geo. King, also intends to exhibit, and is said to have something very rare in Black Self and Baldhead Tumblers. At the table show of the. United Fanciers' Club held last Wednesday night, the Tumblers shown were of a high standard, and I hear of others that were kept at home. It is pleasing to know that so many good ones are about. But there is still a big field for the importer, and for the importer of Tumblers alone. The sharp rise in the price of eggs will give heart to the egg producers, whose experience has not been encouraging for some time. Egg prices will continue to increase, for, although more and more pullets are coming into profit, more and more hens are going out, and will not lay much until tho spring. The latest, figures from the Commonwealth and New Zealand test show that the New Zealand birds are still doing well. In the Anconas class, J. W. Mathison (Timaru) leads with 248 eggs: in the Class for White Leghorns, L. Roache (Christchureh) is third with 256 eggs. In the A.O.V. heavy breed class, J. B. Griffiin (Governor's Bay) is second with 229 eggs, his Light Sussex hen being one egg behind a White Bock. These scores are for 306 days with single birds. The Khaki Campbell duck in this test continues in the lead of all breeds in Australian tests. Her score for 315 days is 310 eggs.'

Death of Mr W. H. Potts. The death is announced of Mr W. H. Potts,-aged 74, at Innesfail, Queensland. He died suddenly, and at the time was Commissioner for Malta. Mr Potts was a prolific writer on topics, and for years was the principal of Hawkesbury College, Richmond, N.S.W. Visitors to that college from all parts of the world -will recall the pleasure of being guided and entertained by Mr Potts, and poultrymen will remember with gratitude his assistance to them. Publicity Campaign. "Eat more egg#" is. to be the slogan of a great publicity campaign which inay be launched in ths pear future by the Now Zealand Poultry Association. A campaign of, this ltind' is long overdue. The practical slogan, "Eat' more should go far to solve the troubles that beset poultrymen and dp away with tho need of exporting their surplus eggs. To do tho public must be told the value of eggs dietary promotion of healthy When this is realised by the publio much greater consumption result.

Egg Pulp. Australian poultrykeepers have been advised that there is a payable market in London for egg pulp. It may pay some countries to send'egg pulp to London, but not. so for Australia and -New Zealand. For example,' the Chinese ship pulp to Vancouver then overland to an Atlantic part, and then on to Great Britain, and land the stuff much cheaper than we could hope to -do. - Experience has taught poultry farmers not to rely 100 much ort_ London., The "eat more eggs" campaign appears to the writer to be a much Abetter proposi-, tion. The Value of Oats. _ ■ Headers will remembe" that oats iand allied meals were condemned by two or three scientists becaus of some antivitamin in them. But stock keepers and Scots'have so loiig proved the value of oatS' and allied meals that their use in Siet for man and beast is not likely to suffer. Here is the opinion of a writer, in "Hoard's Dairyman'':"The Ohio' Agricultural, Experiment Station reports Borne interesting work replacing '■ a> percentage •of - the yellow corn in standard laying rations by oats. Only a 5 good quality'heavy 6at, about 35 pounds per bushel, was used. The tests have run over a period of three years, and 12 groups of 50 "White Leghorn /pullets each have contributed to the results. The nipe groups of pullets which received rations with 2p per cent, of the corn replaced by oats laid somewhkt better-than the control groups which were not fed oats. - "Based on the average of the "two tests, the groups of pullets whicli received the oats rations laid 15 per cent, more eggs than those which did not receive oats. The feed consumption was 10 per cent, more in the case of the oats, ration, which may be accounted for by the increased egg production" secured these rations and the indigestible ' fibre. carried by the oats, although the groups hulled oats ate slightly less and laid more eggs than the control group -without oats. Contrary to popular opinion, the birds .fed the oat rati,on averaged 3 per cent, mora in' weight than'the.| others. "The hatchability of the eggs has been unaffected by oat replacement of corn up to 20 per cent.; in fact, there has been a slight increase- in'hatchability where germinated oats were fed. "The test further proved there was no advantage in hulled over whole. or ground oats and that the best way of feeding them is better determined by. personal, preference and convenience."