SELECTING THE BREEDER.

Dominion, Volume 4, Issue 1013, 31 December 1910, Page 14

SELECTING THE BREEDER.

A CONFERENCE PAPER. ' ■ The following paper read at.the Poultry Conference by i\lr. F. Brown should be read by every farmer: ■ At tho outset, Mr. Brown, who was received with applause, said there wero many systems of selecting tho layer, but to his mind tho only infallible guide was to keep a record of the eggs laid by each' individual bird, by means or.a trap nest or the single pen. Thelaying of each bird can be exactly ascertained by the use. of tho 1 trap nest, said Mr. Brown. These can bo made by one possessed of a littlo ingenifity at a ,™all cost._ Trap nests are also valuable_for .finding the peculiarities of individual birds which lay, badly shaped, double-yoked, or infertile,eggs. An excellent means of selection is by means of single pens. Two birds that lay. different coloured eggs may be placed 111. the one enclosure—a small coop-for them to roost and lay in, with a small run attached, will servo the purpose. Each bird is marked by a ring number. This: system is strongly recommended, and .'entails much less labour than the trap nests,, This means the form oh individual birds can bo better . studied, and if tile initial cost be greater tho saving of labour and' -reduced interference -with -'the birds are great compensating advantages. When a flock of poultry has been laying for several months and the breeders aro required for the-following season, a rough and ready system which answers very well is to study the fowl's ,t ; ail. It will generally, be found that- with their tails worn down to a stump are the best layers, whilst those with the tail not worn are: the I 'drones. ' This applies more to the Leghorn and breeds of, similar,/type. This .systom- is only of use when the birds are laying in small .and high'nest boxes when the tail always meets an obstruction; obviously, more often the bird visits tho nest the more ragged the tail becomes. Trap nests'and single pens aro valuable in' determining .th.o .'actual .laying power of individual, birds intended' for the breeding peiis, the idea being to test one season in order to breed from them the next, '■ and this is essential where a. man is . not a student of laying typo. The_ greatest success will not be achieved, however, unless a mantis able io ; pick out according to laying type the best pullets for trap nesting, for obviously, to select birds at random for trap nest testing may exclude the best laying birds in 1 the flock. A knowledge of..selecting.according, to type is therefore essential' success. Somo are specially gifted in. having a natural eye for form, but to select the type desired is a. qualification which may easily be developed ljy observation and study; and to the keen poultryman this is a most fascinating work. As pointed out in speaking of table poultry there are two distinct types in producing egg and table specimen. • ~ ; ...••• Selection by- Form.. . The shape, of the hen .denotes if she is .built for heavy laying' or-'for/'meat production. /..'The; typo I would recommend is of medium size, with the maximum amount of laying points, having, at the same'time a fair table specimen. The ;main -points to bo observed are alertness,; small head, fine texture of comb, face fine 1 and free from feathers and wrinkles', legs of medium longtli, with flat arid fine bone, and well apart, keel short, feathers tight and „ dense, body oblong shape, fall 1 at crop but tapering from ' thighs to head,-' thus forming a wedged shaped appearanco; and, above - all; large- abdominal development, and .this of. fine texture and free 1 , from any fleshy feel inside. -This type -.of bird ■• is mostly . tho first' to mature,'first'off the perch in the morning;,; and last; on at night, and has a business-like'.'.-appearanco. -. The loose feathered hen-is invariably the poor layer. The -legs of a good layer always appear short, because of the fullness and depth of the abdomen. This, of course, is not noticed'in the pullet before commencing to Birds that largo heads,'overhanging eyebrows, exceptionally long legs, iloose feathers, long beaks and long narrow should not be bred from. Birds that are found above the average weight of. their breed should be culled out. It. is a sure indication tliat they are-utilising the feed for fat as against the others that, are converting it into eggs.

A Valuable Comparison. By. means of several pictures of varying types of birds Mr. Brown conveyed a .striking lesson of the vast difference in form between the table and tie laying fowl; He. used'a' picture of tho Red Game to • show. the type, of bird bred solely from a fancy, standpoint, the characteristics being legginess and plump body; with a great lengtli of breast bone,' leaving'no room for heavy egg production,- the main development being in the fore end., He used then a picture of tho, Dorking to' show aii extreme typo of table bird^low-set,. arid with a lengthy body," which; however, had the principal development in tho breast and along its great keel. Then the picture of a high, typo utility, White Leghorn was displayed. Hero'tlio principal development,- was shown to be at tho egg department end, tho ;breast .• carrying little flesh, and the breast bone being short, thereby . leaving; a great space between.it and the pelvic bones. This, with the good- width of the bird behind, gave a great additional development. It was pointed; out by Mr. Brown that this exceptional formation was the direct result of cultivation by . selection and careful breeding. The White Leghorn illustrated was declared' to ,be a model of the high type layer, but being a .pullet just coming to lay did not have tho depth behind she 'would have wh,en he'r laying, functions were fully developed. Speaking generally, of egg type, Mr..Brown referred to the. weakness, of poultry shows ; a.t; the present time, and instanced the '.lesson in this connection conveyed by,the live stock show. There were tlirefi distinct classes for the beef and the dairy type's .of cattle, tho draught anil 'tho light horse, and tho mutton and the wool types of sheep. With poultry utility characters were entirely eliminated, and one of the most valuable branches of domestic stock, from food. supply point of view,. was judged entirely by reason of its fancy characters. 1

Mating. Coming to tho question- of-.mating,, it is not to bo considered that because even on' the trap nest system the best egg producers have been determined that everything is in order for-mating. Something' more is required. No matter how good tho cock or hen, from, tho laying point of view, they aro'iiseless for breeding purposes unless possessing the. necessary constitution. Constitution does not imply coarseness and size, as many people imagine. The ideal lien for the breeding pen is that ■ which conforms to the points as given undpr tho heading, ."How. to seleot a Good Layer," with the constitution combined. As with all other stock, breeding from fixed types of , purebred animals is tho only keynote ..to maintaining and advancing the standard. It is practically impossible to find many high typo layers in the mongrel flock. A cross-bred bird may- have produced a big egg producer but not possessing the necessary fixity of type cannot transmit her laying qualities, and will bo an exception to the rule that like begets like. Even when two»noted laying strains : of the

same breed are crossed it will frequently happen that,one, strain will.not n\cli well with ...the oth'er, and the laying power of tho progeny will in consequenco bo affected. It has to bo ; remembered m breeding -that undesirable qualities are as often transmitted as good ones, but this applies more to the croßs-bred than, to the pure-bred. The direct introcmction foreign blood is invariably a mistake, for it destroys fixity of type and opens the door to rorcrsion and tho appearanco of latent undesirable characters. If it is desired to bring in another -strain,, this should bo done through t-be half blood, and'then only after careful consideration. If tbo breeder has.a flock of.undoubted.layers, which it is thought are sufficiently inbred, and that, fresh blood is required to maintain the necessary vigour, the best policy to pursue is to set aside a small number of -the hens and put them to a male of the, strain to be introduced.' Several strains may bo mated in .this way; tho progeny of each should be carefully marked. .The mating that produces pullets nearest to the desired type should be trap nested for one season, and if found to be heavy layers the males of the cross should bo used with the hens of the flock, or vice versa. Pointers. 0 Tho male bird should be a strong crower with a fine active carriage. The female should be feminine. Avoid hens with cock tail, sprirs, and masculine tendencies. Select a male bird to breed from that is tho boss of tho yard and has a dis-' tinct masculine appearance. The cowed male, or one with feminine appearance should never bo bred from. A bird with a; cold shank indicates poor constitution: ' Fertile eggs may bo obtained after the birds have been mated forty-eight hours, but in the majority of cases eight to ten days are necessary. Hens aro no doubt the best. for breeding from, but there is uo objection to breeding from an early hatched, well-matured, pullet after she has laid thirty or' forty! eggs. She' may be mated to a well-matured, vigorous cockerel. . . ' ■ ■ Constitution is lost when .striving to secure fancy feathers or other show points. . There'are many theories,' but none have yet been proved to be correct, as to how to secure a high percentage of pullets v Cross-breeding is an effective means of raising birds for table purposes, and in'some cases - good 'egg records, are obtained from' thtm, 'hut,; they', should not be bred from. -In selecting birds for breeding purposes, the_ history of the strain from which selection is t-o be made should be known. \