ADVICE TO POULTRYMEN

Dominion, Volume 11, Issue 164, 1 April 1918, Page 8

ADVICE TO POULTRYMEN

PRESENT DAY DIFFICULTIES ADDRESS BY GOVERNMENT EXPERT Miicli interest wns manifested by tho Poultry Conference, in an address delivered by Mr. Brown, Chief Government Poultry Expert, which dealt at length with different phases of tho industry, and touched upon the progress made in recent years. In pointing out that tho egg-laying competitions had sounded the death-knell of tho mongrel fowl, Mr. Brown remarked that_ there wns still room for, improvement in the present system of conducting theso competitions. Probably the greatest weakness in connection with the tests at the present time was that birds were allowed to compete ■which in no way conformed to the breed characters under which they were entered. Any birds which did not come near to tho standard requirements should 1,0 rejected. * Great improvement was needed in tho methods adopted by many people in. marketing their poultry, hi this connection it was very unsatisfactory to know that in spite of the work done by the Department in disposing of settings of eggs, and birds of the heavy breeds at an extremely moderate rate, that few producers went to the'trouble of marketing their surplus e<-ckerels in anything like proper condition. By far too many birds were marketed in merely' store condition, and thus sold at merely store prices, i'et, on ttie other handj cockerels marketed at tho right ago and properly primed brought highly, profitable returns. Not,- ouly was there a great weakness in underfeeding the table cockerel, but ihero was also much money being lost l\v holding on to if beyond a marketable age. The over-feedirjs Myth. Continuing, the speaker said that until recent years the advice usually given was: "llon't over-feed the laying hen." To-day, tho sound advico was: "You can't ovor-feed the .good layer." Even at the present day, it was surprising the number who continued to believe that the laying bird should bo kept on a. scant ration. In the many visits paid by him to utility plants, ho invariably found that it was only when the food was supplied with an unsparing hand that the egg yield was satisfactory, whereas, where any attempt was made to calculate for each bird the food required, the results in egg-yield were generally disappointing. We never heard of any warning being given the dairy farmer not to over-feed his heavy milkers, yet both were on a par with each other. Of course, the feeding of a*-highly concentrated food could bo overdone, but jf the food was of' tho right quality it could not bo fed to excess., •

' After stressing that it was essential to provide poultry with good, roomy, and well-ventilated houses, kept in a sanitary state, Mr. Brown went on to comment on the show movement. In this connection it. was gratifying to know that the difference between fanciers and utility breeders had been greatly narrowed down, and that now both parties had come to see that there was really nothing to prevent the two classes of stock being judged by the one standard of excellence. , The adoption of artificial chick production on the farm and the day-old chick system were also commended. The latter system had much to recommend itj providing, however, that thero was some gnaranteo that the chicks purchased came from ■ approved and selected laying stock. After detailing the good work of the egg circles, especially with regard to raising the quality of eggs, Mr. Brown incidentally pointed out that cases had, however, come under his notice whero very inferior egge, bearing an eggcircle stamp, had been sold to the- consumer. This was to be Tegretted, as a good name once lost would be very difficult to regain. ■ Some Drawbacks. In outlining the prosent-day difficulties of the industry, Mr. Brown stated that sufficient eggs were not being produced for our own requirements. This was borne out' by the fact that large quantities of eggs had to bo imported for local consumption, and yet eggs were retailing at 2s. 7d. a dozen, in Wellington. The cause of the present shortage- might be summed up in a nutshell, viz., the food question. Since the outbreak of the war, the scarcity, and, consequently, 'the high price charged for food, had given the industry a serious setback. Many had been, compelled to go right out of the business, : whilst, generally speaking, there had been a great wceding-out of stock, and a curtailment cf hatching operations. Previous to the war, the industry was making rapid strides, so much bo that tho question of exportation, to remove the surplus production, was being seriously considered. , A similar position prevailed during" 1907 and 1908, when food soared to high values, which had a serious effect in checking development. , Unfortunately, the present outlook in. regard to food supply did not look any too bright. Taking into consideration the present shortage of wheat, and the anticipated reduced quantity that would be grown in tho near future, it would, appear that, to a great extent, 'we must find a substituto for this favoured diet «f a fowl. Further, he drew to the experiments carried out by the Department during the past three years at its Milton Station. The object of these tests was to determine what results could be obtained from birds fed'on a dietary from which wheat was eliminated. ; .These had proved ihat wheat and .even pollard were not indispensable in the ration of the heavy layer, when substituted by oats, maize, and lucerne chaff or meal. The birds which took part in the completed tests were Brown and White Leghorns. At the present time, a similar tost was being carried out with White. Eocks and Black Orping- , tons. This would conclude in the course of a feiv wceliS, and the results, which would appear in the Department's Journal, were very satisfactory, and beyond expectations. It would generally be found,, the speaker continued, that poultry-keeping as a sole means of livelihood, was only successful under exceptional circiimstanco.s,/the'chief of which ivas that the man in chargo had a combination of necessary characters found in few individuals. In the first place experience was imperative, but enthusiasm, busi' ness capacity and eye for detail, togethor'with a love for cleanliness, worn qualifications which must bo possessed in greater or less degree. It was also imperative that the necessary capital was behind tho venture, while tho site and the location miist be near to a good market. The business of poultrykeeping on a large and extensive sciile was indeed so exacting that it could not be expected to succeed, except with a small minority, 'n view of Ihis, smd taking into consideration that the fool question did not affect tho small farmer to tho same extent, as tho poiiltryman, it would appear that rather than look to the poultry-farmer to increase production, we must depend on the smull settler on the land. Our great aim should be to ennouragr and assist him, so that he might obtain a higher ogg yield from this branch of his opprations. This could only bo awomplishefl hy supplying profitable stock at a moderoto rate, and disseminating tho best knowledge we possessed in regard to their management. Viewed as it should be as a properly conducted side-lino on tho.

farm or tho suburban holding ; thoro wore great possibilities of tho industry becoming au important wealth-creating medium. Mr. Brown was heartily thanked for his address, and the conference adjourned, till this morning. In the evening delegates fraternised at a "smoke" concert, which passed off very successfully.