THE POULTRY INDUSTRY
— 0 (By Chantecler.)
Congratulations. e A week or>so ago reference was mado .. to a Nortli Island breeder who secured tho first prize for greatest weight ol ! eggs iii tho two-year test, ending last v month. It now becomes, a pleasant g matter to 'extend cougratulat'ons to t Mr. H. Leger, Wereroa, wlio is the . j breeder referred to. To produce a number of eggs less than tho winning j pens, and yet to exceed them in weight, j is an achievement to be proud of. Tho j general tendency is to ignore quality c and strive after numbers. Doubtless, hens could bo bred to average 300 eggs each, if sizo of egg is to be ignored, . but. whenlthe market has to be consid- , ered, sucli| procedure is injurious. Mr. ( Leger thinks and acts\ otherwise, and ] his results speak for themselves. | The Egg Standard. 1 Ab tho late poultry, conference a , standard for eggs was set up. Firstgraded eggs were rated at 24 ounces to tlie doz. Iu the writer's opinion, this . grado is too low, and it is to be hoped ; that next year the standard will bo ' raised to 28 ounces for first-class qual- J ity eggs. ' Tho'Danish standard is 28 , ounces to 30 ounces, , while at I'eta- . luina, near San Francisco, the 30-ounco standard is adopted. What are wo doing in New Zealand to come' so far below these countries? We anticipate a good export trade, and yet we are not catering for the grade that will' bring tho business. Tho industry must be guarded against a harmful in- I iluenco that has a tendency to creep in. ! We want eggs in any quantity, but we want quality that will command prices. Tho Victorian Average. Last week the statement was made in this column that at the Burnley competition, which finished on April 14, the lirst 72 hens on the list averaged 201 eggs for the twelve months. 1 have sinde been asked to give the figules of each pen for general information, and here they are: — Six Hens in Each Pen. J. H. Gill, White Leghorns 16G7 W. G, Swift, White Leghorns ... 1517 E. H. Bridge, White Leghorns ... 153'J .Moritz Bros. (S.A.), White Leghorns 1522 I'hirkoll and Smith, White Loghorns 1498 C. J. Beatty, White Leghorns ... 1495 J. S. Spotswood, White Leghorns 1490 G. W. Robins, White Leghorns 1477 A. H. Mould, White Leghorns ... 1473 J. 10. Bradley', White Leghorns ,1470 0. B. Bertolsmeier (S.A.), White Leghorns 1462 l f. A. Pcttigrove, White Leghorns 1458 Divided by 72—18,098, gives 251 per hen which is a grand-performance, showing, as it does, that these twelve competitors did splendidly, with their selected teams, and that the competition authorities knew what to do in regard to feeding and handling the birds. ' • That tho first 72 hens should have j averaged 251 apieco is a very fine performance, but the care that was exercised in selection, and the good and skilful management that was exhibited, show tip better still when the figures for tho < whole lot of the birds are "taken." Thus I Thero were 378 liens of various breeds (though mostly White Leghorn) in the competition, and they, averaged 213 eggs apiece for the twelvo months. Queensland (at the Ga.yQ,'L,P. O .!?.PS^U on ) • got an average of 218 .trom 240 hens, butr considering tho larger number in tho Victorian larger the number tho smaller' the" average,lsolds good in theso cases —to say nothing of the colder climate, it will be agreed that the Burnley bulk record is tho better of the two. This paper heartily congratulates every one connected with the Burnley competition (competitors,, poultry expert;; and all) on the magnificent results that were attained. Notss for the Novice. To do well, fowls must have small, sharp stone grit (for purposes of digestion), charcoal (as an internal cleanser,' absorbent, and antiseptic), aiul green food (to supply mineral and vegotablo salts that tho system requires, and which are not found in wheat, brau, or pollard). There is no better method of keeping fowls than to have a good big shed (7ft. high at the front and 6ft. at the back) with a run in front of it. In the cold wet weathor the birds may be kept shut up in the houses, and do" well with plenty of . litter on'the floor for exercising purposes. Thero will be more eggs — the warmer conditions will cause them to be produced—the eggs will bo cleaner, and they will look better and should sell better; the hens will keep cleaner and look nicer, and will increase in selling value to the extent of, say, 10 per cent. The-birds may be kept in the shed right through the cold weather. Some of the closed house men keep the birds in tho shed all tho time., and never let them out into tho open. I like a bit of both my-sejf, and would keep them in the sheds for the threo or four winter months with a run outside on dry, sunny days. With the advent of warm weather I would have them in tho open yard, talking care to shut them up on "wet days, and on those days when the weather changed from warm to cold, as it so often does in the summer months. The big shed method is in strong operation in New South Wales and Victoria, and is rapidly coming into favour in South Australia, where several men have adopted the system, which has so many points in its favour that it may be expected to bo in general operation within the next few years. ■ .When fowls begin feather picking, thero are but two effective cures, so far as my experience goes. Ono is to give them free range, and feed so that they are always on the hungry side, and consequently always busy. Tho free range exercise gets tho birds into better physical condition, so that they forgot all about tho feather picldng. If you cannot turn the birds looso, the only certain cure that I know of is to watch out for tho offenders and when found to kill them. The habit- is usually set up in small vards, whore tho birds have nothing to do, bctome fat in consequence, and got into a'generally unhealthy condition. In a'fight with another bird they pull out a mouthful of feathers, find blood in tho butts, like the tasto of it—probably because of the salt flavour supplying the craving which is. set up by the diseased bodilv condition and the habit is at once established. You jnav reduco the food, feed plenty of preen stuff, and generally get tho birds into a thinner, toughor, and healthier bodily condition, and so mako lots of difference, but during a long experience I have never seen any bird cured of tho habit once it. was thoroughly established —except by killing it. When mixing the mash, the feeding value of tho bran will be increased if it is scalded with hot water. Direct sunlight should reach every part of the house during as much of the day as possible. Sunlight is the - best germ-destroyer known, and it also brightens up tho birds. As the result of experiments _ which have been conducted at experimental colleges in 'America, it has been found that: (1) Chicks appeared to need both cracked and ground grain. They grew more rapidly on moistened mash than nil dry masli." (3) That when given a limited amount of meat food for tho first three weeks tho chicks grew .bettor than those fed on on egg substitute for meat. That's it; the same as every
experienced poultry-keeper knows —a little of all sorts is .the right way of poultry feeding. If you aro thinking of keeping hens under tho intensive system (that is, where thej T are always shut'up in a shed), you may put 80 birds in a shed that is 12ft.- wide and 30ft. long, 7ft. high ill front, and 6ft. at back. _ The best way to find out how many fowls a house will hold is to multiply its length by its breadth and mean height, and divide by eight; this will give you roughly the number of birds it will carry. If you have' chicken pox about the placo you may euro it by rubbing nn a mixture of sulphur and olive oil— enough oil to make a thin ointment. Epsom salts in tho mash—dissolve a packet for 25 grown birds—oneo or. twico a week is the internal treatment. Mr. H. Leger, the well-known White Leghorn breeder, of ■ Wereroa, Levin, is the winner of tho two years' greatest weight of eggs test, ending March 31, 1914, at Papanui. Tho weight was 341.2121b. This period covers tho highest scores mado, including two big world records. Mr. LcgeT's pen, which is third in numbers, overtop 3 the 'whole in the aggregate weight of eggs..
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Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2144, 9 May 1914, Page 15
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1,482THE POULTRY INDUSTRY Dominion, Volume 7, Issue 2144, 9 May 1914, Page 15
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