POULTRY NOTES.

Franklin Times, Volume 9, Issue 778, 24 October 1922, Page 6

POULTRY NOTES.

CHARACTER IN HER]! TA ICE. Will the daughter of a high producing- animal be as’ good as her mother ? Such a question often faces the breeder and is perplexing because each- of the parents must have some influence on the progeny. This study of character qf offspring comprises many features which are not only interesting but instructive to the breeder. There is but little definite infor. mation on the subject and improvement, even by the most careful selection and attention to .the laws of heredity, cannot be made in leaps and bounds, except in instances where the animals are very poor to jptai't with. it is useful however, to know the little that has been discovered on the subject in order to progress in <the right direction. Inheritance in Poultry. Investigation has probably been carried farther in regard to poultry than in other classes of farm ctcok. Hig egg production and low -egg production are separate characters which may be transmitted separately from the parent, to the chick. Most birds possess the low egg producing character, for ithe high egg producing character is a difficult one to breed. It has been found that the male bird transmits the character for high egg production to the female offspring and, that the hen has the power of giving the same character to tJhe male offspring only. From this information, the necessity of using a male bird of a good laying strain is apparent. If a ma,le bird that does not possess the highlaying character is .used. there is apparently no chance at all of getting high producing hens. Even if the hens that raised the flock were all high layers, their offspring - still would be only medicore layers because the mo'ther bird cannot trans. mit the character of high egg production to them. On the other hand, if a good male bird Could be secured and; used with even mediocre hens, the product of the mating would be high laying females. True as this may be, the great’difficulty remains qf getting a good male.bird. This is the greatest task of any poultryman and also the greatest hope. A rooster with the high egg laying character cannot be recognised: by appearance. He is not only most difficult to produce, .but there is no way qf .determining whether he can transmit the 'high egglaying character except by studying the records of his matured daughters. Under ordinary conditions, the rooster has been consigned to the boiling pot before that record is established.

IVEiPk Yield and Rli'k Quality, The inheritance of milk production in the dairy cow is another subject that has been steadied by many scientists. The results have been slow in coming and very meagre owing to the time it takes to produce a mature cow and study her records. A few points, however, have been definitely established and chief among these is the knowledge that mid: yield and milk quality are inherited characters. But milk production is hot inherited in the same way as egg production. The. theory is that the parents are jointly responsible for the milk yield of the offspring! This means that every improvement in any part f othe herd wiii result in a corresponding improvement in the 'offspring., It also indlicates that one side of an animal's pedigree is as important as the other, as far ‘as their character goes. In regard to milk yield it is s : so known that calves resulting- from the cross qf a high producing parent or a low producing parent are in general much nearer in their milk yield to the high, producer. This is explained by the fact that high yield and low yield are separate characters w<‘hin an animal and the high yield is the stronger or the dominant one. Quality in milk means a high percentage of butter-fat. (Phis character is also known jto be inherited rather than a 'matter of feeding. In; this instance, however, althougn’ the parents aie jointly responsible. the poorer fat testing parent has the greater influence on the offspring and its test will be nearer that of the lower parent than ithat of the higher. These few .facts not only aid in explaining some breeders' disappointments but they are helpful in the building of a herd or Hock. They show that pedigree and milk records when wisely -used should be helpful, and in fact that little can oe done to ifaise the general standard unless they are both freely studied and used. Pedigrees in any class of stock have their greatest function in aiding -the breeder to make the most intelligent use of the laws of hered- j ity to bring about improvement j through the wisest matings