THE POULTRY INDUSTRY.

Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 1953, 9 January 1914, Page 9

THE POULTRY INDUSTRY.

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Pale-yotkedjEgssgfe : :o:;s ; .'V;At' this v ■ usual: thing .■for'' , 'thc^eggs^tWa^*ifro':'.l.aid' : to a. ! is that Because of reason'js-ahd a\ secondary :'foii'eWs'{'tli'as;in-;, ■ sumcicnt. animal-food' ■ food;:and animal s food 'aro the 'yolks'.'are 'to-'havo' a;yrieh ; :'-'c'aloiir; and it is a'simple matterKto'provo,'.tho statement. ■•' In' the; spring months the yolk-is riclv.'in 'col-, lour, because of. the 1 fact"that f ;'there, is plenty of natural'grass about,';and any number of insects.,; Later., onHlio summer heat' kills the grass, arid the insects disappear .under tho ardent '■ attentions" of tho sun.: Then, tho-yolks become pale Fnrthcr/'proof may. bo found in the fact'that the eggs from ithe- south-castcni/■.districts.ware richer'in-yolk, colour, as a'rukVrthan thoso'produced north of ■Adelaide,' particularly after the advent .of. the summer.- Tho reason is. that''the''cooler conditions favour ■ the ■ growth of natural grasses, and enable them to hold on longer. The largo buyers of eggs usually made their contracts during August, September,", and October..:' for forward delivery in next March, : ' April, and May, when prices are at theihighest POmt. .. (~. ■ ..... . '■'.-.;, s,'vJftM- - s V .'" "The Reason Why. One reason for making th« early contract is the fact that prices,-; are- ■ at their lowest" in-tho spring months'(all Nature awakes, and gets .to, work-'at this time with the result that the' production *of ■ eggs reaches'' ■ its .'Sliighest point for tho,year). Another reason is that the spring eggs'are held by tho trade to be.the best/for storage.'" Tho bens have waked up after,, a long per-, lod of rest 'caused by tho moult,/the grass is at'its best as regards nutriment, .insect lifois abundant, and,-pos-sibly, the .eggs aro stronger (if the, term may be. used) because they are laid during the natural -breeding time and according to the original plan are intended to nourish' and produce strong chickens. . These points cover another good reason why spring eggs are .in demand.: ■ ' . . ; . . Tiie Suburban. Yard, '[, Tho foregoing remarks apply to the eggs that are produced on country farms-where the hens.roam about at liberty, and pick up the grass and consume insects at will. , 'flic suburban poultry-keeper is in a better position or obtaining rich coloured volks.. Ha has the water laid on, and mav grow green stuff right through the summer. i don t know the exact difference in richness between tho palo and tho hiEhcolourod yolk, but do know that tho ■otter is by far the more attractiveand palatable, and held in higher regard by tho pastrycooks,- which'is'a point that must be borne, .in mind bv the sober of eggs. ,Tho suburban keeper is also in tlie position of being able -to supply . mcatscraps, which are rwimrcd to produce high-coloured volks, and it, is Ins own fault if he does not have them. ■■■•■-. ~.-,., . ■■ ;.. Fowls Draw, the Colour Lino. .'. Fowls cannot count; you may add extra chickens to tho Iqt running with a hen and she won't kick so long as thev are of the- same size. She knows tho difference m size, arid she knows the ditierenco m colour, so don't over try to give her some black chicks to run iv'th white ones, for instance. Fowls have a, keen knowledge of colour. . liad^' threo houses;'one green colour, one red, and tho other white in a yard with 20 birds in each. . After a week you could remove the fences and let 'the birds run together, and they would not make- a.single mistake.-.about roosting in thoir-oivn sheds. ■ .-■ 'sH^V ;:,.-■:■<. -5 - c On Brsedln3. ;; -y-':; : >;.;:¥<' s -'' The people who have young pullets coming on should begin to do some hard thinking about this time. Eggs will moan good money before long—the next threo months will be a glad' period i the egg-producers—so it may appear-to bo sound business to rush 'the pullets along, get them to turn in to lay quickly, and so handle the good money. This policy is all right if the birds are of good size, strong and matured, and likely to drop a good average.egg, but it a. all wrong if they are immature., and small,.because they will only lay a small '?ggj and it will also- be a big strain on them to do it; and, don't forget' one big fact: anything that is rushed is net likely to last. Hard experience, teaches that, if permanent results aro desired, there must be a broad an 3 sound foundation. In tho caso of th,? layers the. foundation must be strong and'vigorous parents, csiid strong and lusty propony, not under six months old when they havo tho forcing tucker whacked into them; this for Loghornn.' ■ The heavy breeds that have a bigger frame to grow, and more meat to put-on;, should be eight or nine months old before being, pushed, and I feel sure tho Log'hontr. | would do better work in tho long run if j they were sevon or eight- months old before turning in to lav Some poultry keepers used to proudly talk-of their birds turning in to lay at 1? to'lß weeks old, and they wouldn't listen to the .experienced man when he told them it was all wrong and couldn't last. -They know better now, just because tlie bottom, fell out. They found that tho .pullet which began to Say at four months opened with a small egg am! kept it up, and failed to )ireduce ... strong chickens when asked to do so later on. Tho'reasbn was simple—it was that the bird'assumed tlie strain of layins too' soon. Early maturity means early \ decay,- as some of the breeders have found out by..this time, for how can any''poultry keeper maintain his stock and reputation'when ho has to breed from a.decaying strain? Tho Way- . The. way.'to'keep it tip'is .to* select the strongest, and.:most vigorous pullets, thoso with tho tight feathers, stout legs,- and firm, muscular bodies— neither the biggest nor tho smallest- 1 but those of good, medium size! These should be regarded as the future breeders, and should lie placed 'by' themselves and nllmved to siowly-aml steadily arrive at maturity,' Abundance.olVexorcisc and green food .should be supplied, and_ miiy. enough, meat given to. keep them-grow-ing; ' At .'the. end .'of .'.12/ months', they.; may-he uscd'as brceders',':;with 'afstout;' robust. IS-moiiths-old. jfbird/.&.and/ '" if'! .breeding. were -continuously ■'•*.conducted■ along, these -lines,', liie-general.; results 'would be materially'.'improved,;always provided that every isjknocked. ' on the head as as sits,, weakness is established. ■■■; ; :'^-'?Jfehsf£is*j%t'&'-. Feeding "During'the. v£||||f?:; Provided descendants' of stron'g; : stock;.!.'and iare, well -housed ...and..-ltd, no I ;'variation.: in; tho feedingf'is''-required '; ;i /hiri!!g-"'' ; :,the : moult. \. It is -true .that iihe '.strain';.''oii ; the system.of prnducin'gVa : ;neW£.coat of feathers' is considerable; 1 -.but.!it'..should not.be forgotten that'.'.thcibird'.daes not; lay,'' in the great.:l)ulk ; !oif.ca.E'es,'-:whilo'-she is engaged in Hhe'dressmaking! process.'' The.. stopiMgc';. ofvdaying'!' isVNa-. ture's safeguard . against|.toy';'greati.pa drain on the stren^tii.-'.SSo'vitjwotks;(Kit ; this. way.''.',..'Whilcf in;|la'y ■.Uiesfowl;>eats'. a .lot. of- food;^vhich-goes;to.;hfako!feggs and feathers. *a strong bird as sho.'.bugbtUoj'bo if'tho poultry-keeper, knows his business—will eat somewhere .about the samet.quantity. .of-food which "will all be 'ava'ilablbjfor! bodily needs and the creation'of irnovv! coat"of.feathers,'.: Thus :hc? ; 'm'oiiltingj ■ hen does'all/right'on tii6' : .nrdinary". ; ra-'l \ .-'■ tions .-v soi.lona'?a's; : :<tho'.. I oodjisyproperly:

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■ compounded, as it will be, by the poul- ■ try-keeper who knows his business. There" is a . somewhat general opinion ■ that moulting fowls require a special scab «f feeding whi«h involves tho largo 'use of tonics, but tic belief is not borne out by : tho facts. Provided that tho .birds aro fed generously on plain, wholesome, food, including green stuff and moat,'and are warmly housed, no variation . is necessary, because the bird obtains all that .is required to produce tho-now..cost; . ■. .. ,/