FARMING AFFAIRS

Lake County Mail, Issue 27, 26 November 1947, Page 8

FARMING AFFAIRS

Egg-Laying Experiments At Massey College Egg-laying performances of 10 different breeds of pullets kept at the Massey Agricultural College poultry farm are being tested this year. In 10 pens, all of which are built alike, 13 pullets of each breed arc being individually tested with trapnests. A progress jeport for six months laying shows the breeds in the following order for production:—Barred Rocks, Black Orpingtons, White Leghorns, Logbars, Rhode Island Reds, Brown Leghorns, Gold Cambars, Welsummers, Silver Cambars, Black Minoroas. One Barred Rock pullet has laid 71 eggs in 71 days, which is the longest sequence established at the college this year. Those “ breed contest ” -figures should not be taken too seriously, as a test of this kind, to bo accurate, requires to be repeated over several years, and the light breeds usually overtake the heavy breeds in egg production in the last six months. “ Foreign ” Chicks Increasing The number of chiaka from eggs hatched in countries other than those in which the eggs were laid is steadily increasing. Orders from overseas for fertile eggs from New Zealand, for hatching purposes, have increased considerably this year, and the poultry farm has experienced a keen demand from Australian States, Fiji, and Samoa. It is stated that, when carefully packed and sent by air frejght, very fresh eggs usually give a good percentage of hatchings. This has not always been the case with imported hatching eggs. From a total of 60 eggs from one breed, sent in two consignments fram Australia, the college was able t,o hatch only five chicks. The cost involved in the order makes these chick* worth about £3 each at hatching time, and it is hoped that at least one of them will prove good enough to use for fresh blood. Another consignment of 52 eggs from overseas gave 46 strong chicks. Amongst the chicks from hatching eggs imported by the college is one young Light * Susses cockerel whose father was bred in Englamd. He was sent to Sydney early this year. A buye-r in Honolulu requested the college to send over 2000 day-old Australorp chicks, but, apart from the fact that the order was too large for tfxe college to supply, it was considered that the chicks would not survive the trip, although day-old chicks might travel well enough from the Auckland district, if hatched just prior to the departure time of the overseas air service. Among the unusual inquiries received by the poultry department of the college this last season were orders for 50 geese, a breeding pc.n of guinea fowls, a pair of peafowl, various kinds of bantams, and a breeding pen of Brahma fowls. Only commercial stock is kept at the college, and whilst the demand for exhibition poultry is keen, many old-time breeds of this type are almost extinct in New Zealand to-day.