DOES BREED COUNT?

Hokitika Guardian, 18 January 1930, Page 8

DOES BREED COUNT?

CHOOSING BETWEEN LIGHT AND HEAVY POULTRY FOR LAYING. The relative economic value of light breeds and heavy breeds is a subject of frequent discussion among poultry keepers. But no definite conclusion is reached, h ecause the advocates of one type or the other often permit their enthusiasm to ( outrun the facts gained by actual exeprience. RECQRD EGG -P ROD UCERS. A commercial egg farm is rarely seen which does not depend largely lip on White Leghorns, and this fact in itself appears to furnish reasonable proof of the sound value of White Leghorns for commercial egg production. Rhode Island Reds, White Wyandottes and Light Sussex are the most popular of the heavy breeds and their value as layers is proved in the records they put up in the public laying tests. The cockerels of these breeds can be sold as table birds at a profit, whereas the breeder of ‘White Leghors can rarely dispose of the cokerels without loss.

FOR SMALL RUNS. This advantage of the heavy breeds is off-set by the facts that White Leghorn pullets cost less to rear to productive maturity and later lay rather more eggs in a year than heavy breed pullets. Though the heavy breed pullet lays better than the light breed in the winter, she loses a good deal of time in spring and summer through broodiness, but again she is more productive towards the end of the firt laying year. It is generally admitted that the light breeds and particularly the White Leghorn, are more suitable for keeping intensively or in more or less confined areas. BROWN EGGS PREFERRED. The issue, is further complicated through the brown eggs of the heavy breeds having a rather higher commercial value than the white eggs of the light breeds, and another point is that the heavy breed is worth twice as much as the light breed when disposed of after her profitable laying period. When all is weighed up it is doubtful whether there is any substantial difference in the value of light and heavy breed flocks, provided they are of equally developing laying strains. The latter is the all-important point. —J. N. Leigh.