THE POULTRY INDUSTRY

Dominion, Volume 6, Issue 1782, 21 June 1913, Page 15

THE POULTRY INDUSTRY

\ « (By Chantecler.)

The Busy Season. On. every hand thero are indications that poultiynien are going to have a busy season during tho coming sprint;. Never has there been siich a demand for breedin" stock, efflj's for sotting, and day-old chicks, as this year. A great incentive has ba«n given to tho industry by the liigh prices that rule for eggs during the winter, and the big demand that as to bo occasioned in the summer through the' extra number of eggs required'for preserving purposes. Every poultryman should lay himself out to raise ns many birds as possible, as they aro sure to be good property. The table poultry bi'.sinois 19 also full of promise, and high prices aro expected to rule again this spring. Numerou.l applications for eggs and poultry are being received for the export trade, and there is no doubt that much can. be done towards strengthening the lildnstry in this way. . ■ ' Qaite a largo number of beginmers are entering the poultry ranks this season, and we wish thorn to remember that it is not the number of ohicM they h&tch, but the number of chicks they raise, that oounts for profit. It is a.sinjple matter to hatch chickens, either Iff hens or incubators, but the question of raisiiig them is anbther problem. • The greatest of oaro must bo exercised that the chioks are kept warm and clean and well fed. Umstdiit attention is the keynote to sncccsa, offid the slightest fleglectnl&kte for failure. Poultrymen are beginning torealiso the great value bf-Wiping the chick towards maturity without its receiving the slightest chock-., Onco .it ffcta ft wl-hack iE nover- again .obtanns its robUst imshtution, and consequently fate m its taiSiofl ni, o layef. See that the birds are carefully. mated from tho Wt of stock, Also that they arc.prtvided M exercise, and pure waMT' .This should help towards healthy, 1 , strong ohlokcns,

which, once hatchcd and well cared for, are tho layers during the dear egg season. Egg-Laying Competition. We have received a copy of the report of tho cgg-loylng competitions, held in South Australia, compiled by Mr. D. I l '. Laurie, Government Poultry Expert. It contains a mass of information of valiio to poultrvmen. Mr. Laurie has taken a koen interest in competitions, and it is probably owing to this that South Australia has gained such a good name for ita production of first-class white l<ghorns. No doubt there is moro South Australian blood in our layers to-day than from any other State. Mr. Laurie claims that competitions serve a practical purpose, and that they have not by any means fulfilled their mission. Our New Zealand egg-laying competition has done much to foster the. poultry industrj, and while they have taught us how many eggs it is possible to get from a pen of there is much educational work that remains to bo done through tho competitions. The quality of, oggs miLs romvo | greater attention. It is) not sufficient to Save a pen of hctt9 to lay a large number of small eggs. This leads to ruination of the breed, and spoils the market value of the products* It is better to have fewer eggs and better quality. In South Australia they have a rule that all eggs must attain an average weight of 240z. per dozen by July 31. If tliey do not attain this weight, they are ineligible to participate in the pnze money. SOTeral pens Were disqualified in the Australian tests last yeaT, because they did riot attain this weiglit. The .new competitions that are being held this year not only rtake thorn ineligible to participate in the prize money, but on July 31 they are returned to their owners This is a wise rule, and .should be adopted in Now Zea ' ltad. Anyone who studies weights of the

>ggs obtained at Papanui must wdm. ;hero aro scores of birds that should 11 30 competing for tlio prize, Lhc rule ma> seem a hard one, but to preservethe> nlustTj, {ind to protect our stock, it suotuu ;ertainly bo adopted. Cause of Small Eggs. Titers are many reasons why the size jf eggs deteriorates. Producers do not ;ive enough attention to their stock, ilioy breed from young birds, and often tney iro tempted by precocious birds v,lO 1(11110 on to lay early in life, behoving that these will reproduce good layers. This immaturity leads to a stunting ana retarding of bodily growth, and them unfitted for reproduction. Second iiul third year liens are far more prolitiblo as breeders. It hits boon the custom to market hens in their first year s laving, and thousands of good birds have boon, lost to the country. Birds are quit® profitable to keep for their second years laying, oven for marketing purpose-, while up to three and four years they may bo kept for breeding purposes. Only tlio best of eggs should be selected, ana all birds that fail to lay eggs 2 to 21oz. should not bo used as b T , e . e(l . er ®; If cockerels arc bred from small-sized MRS, that character is sure to be transmitted to the pullets, therefore it is ot tho utmost importance that every caro should bo taken in the selection breeders. Commercial Tests. Wo note from Mr. Laurio's report tlint ho is anxious to hold a commercial test, Ho claims that six birds do not civo a fair enough idea of tho commercial value of poultry, and that _ th© oinp tions should bo run lin which 50 01 IUU pullets should oompoto m one pen. IJtw would enable the fanner to see exactly what oould bo dono with a flock of birds of a similar strain. It would be probably hard to get breeders to enter such numWs of these birds, but I^. loh would bo of great value It is possible thit a similar tost could bo hold m ftow Timlin whieh case the prize « would require to ba good to wmpensite for tho number of birds sent to tho test, Poultry Fertilisers. A correspondent asks _ tho value oi poultry manure, which is as follows: (1) Tanneries give up to £2 10s. per ton for clean stuff, free from sand or othei matter. As a fertiliser, it tanks high. The composition varies according to tlw feeding—and whether birds ore at liberty or i confinement. Analvs s of air-dned manure tnado at Merle les ° "J 1 ,! aa hiuh as 6.52 per cent, nitrogen, 2.77 pei cent, phosphorio aoid, end 1.57 per cent notash (2) The manure dropped in s \reek by birds in. a test at Merle Cfcllc?< was as followsA Gib. Wyandotte cock, lib. 130z. manure; a 71b. d ' ack. 61b. lOJoz. manure; adult goose, 101b. loz manure; adult turkey, 4lb. 1 1 " 3oz ;, m "." f per week. Thus tho year's result, woilr {--Wyandotte, 941b. ta. fresh manure 38li>. dry; duck, 3iGlb. 14oz. fresh, '61b soz. dry; goose, 5231b. fresh, 911b. <iTy turkey, 2151b. fresh, 5311b. dry matter.