POULTRY-KEEPING.

Hauraki Plains Gazette, Volume XXXVIII, Issue 5146, 1 July 1927, Page 1

POULTRY-KEEPING.

' THE BREEDING PENS.

(By F. C. Drown, Chief Poultry Instructor, in the Journal of Agriculture.)

The season has now arrived when the breeding-pens should be mated up. This is one of the most important phases in the poultry-keeper s year. It is, indeed, a time when his judgment is put to a severe test—that is to say, if the good qualities of his stock are to be improved or maintained. In the work of selecting the breeding birds the first essential is to have purebred stock to select from good specimens of the breed they represent. Therefore, if any real advance is to be made in holdihg the good qualities of a flock, the poultrykeeper must necessarily have a knowledge of the standard requirements of the particular breed or breeds he is working with- ln Oder to become familiar with the various standard types of the most useful and popular breeds of poultry the novice cannot do better than study closely the plates, together with the text describing tfle breed characteristics, in the Dominion Utility-poultry Standaids. Copies of this booklet are obtainable from the Publisher, Department of Agriculture, Wellington, at a cost of 3s, each, postage free.

It is pleasing to notice that utility poultrymen are now taking a greatei interest in the poultry shows of the Dominion. It is to be hoped that the show movement will rapidly spread and increase in importance, as this, is practically the only means we have of preserving in a state of purity the many useful and beautiful breeds of poultry that are at our command. One of the greatest mistakes made in the past was to assume that because a bird was built on utility lines it could not be a good specimen of the breed it represented. Thd old practice of treating phenomenal egg records, the width of the pelvic bones, etc., as the chief qualificaiop. of a breeding bird—which practically meant the ignoring of breed characteristics—is fast passing away. On most successful plants more .attention is now being given to the maintenance of breed type than ever before. Beauty and usefulness are not inseparable, but in the absence of show competition this fact is apt to be ignored, if not lost sight of altogether. Of course, a first cross—that is to say, the progeny of two pure breeds will sometimes give good results, but it is yet to be proved that from a general standpoint such stock are more profitable than stock bred in a state of purity. If any argument is required to bear out this contention it is surely conveyed by the high egg records produced by purebred stock in the egg-laying tests. In any case, it takes two pure breeds to produce a first

cross. Having purebred stocky the next great essential is points indicative of constitutional vigour. It cannot be expected that a bird bred from a weak parent will have the stamina to withstand the great strain on the body which, heavy egg-laying entails, nor have the power to digest and assimilate the food necessary for the production of a large number of eggs. Profitable production implies profitable stock, and the securing of this rests chiefly on the class of stock mated. Many poultry-keepers, especially . farmers, make the common mistake of using eggs for hatching purposes, from the yflholle of the flock, whether the birds be good, bad, or indifferent. Such a practice soon leads to deterioration of a flock, however well they may be bred. If a flock is to be built up and maintained nothing but specially selected birds should be bred from. GENERAL APPEARANCE, As a guide to the novice the following points, may be mentioned as indicative of strong constitutional vigour in both sexes. A clean face free from wrinkles andi feathers, promin-ent-bright eye, short stout beak, legs set wide 'apart, sjhort shank, tight feathering, and a well-developed crop. Hand-in-hand with these points should go signs suggestive of laying power such as a long deep body, and a well-developed abdomen, soft to the touch, surrounding the abdominal region. In addition, the back should be broad, while generally the bird should present an alert, businesslike appearance. Birds with coarse heads, long thin beaks, heavy feathered eyebrows, dull sunken eyes, and wrinkled skin surrounding the usually indicate poor egg-capacity land low vitality, and should not be bred from. As to size, it is now generally* recognised that the medium-sized bird of its breed is the best layer. It should, however, be clearly understood' that the most productive hen is not necessarily the best bird to breed from. The danger of improving one character by weakening another should always, be kept in mind. It is. always advisable to choose for the breeding pen the hen of a slightly larger size than that of the ideal layer. THE MALE. In the mating of stock the male bird has an important bearing—he is more than half the flock. He should, above all things, possess, -signs of undoubted constitution. Further, he should be the son of a healthy mother with a record of egg-l.aying performan&? behind her and a producer of first-grade eggs. He -should also possess strong masculine characteristics by being stouter and more cobby than the female. The hen should be feminine in all respects. The feminine-looking; male or the masculine female shou Id never be bred from.