THE POULTRY INDUSTRY

New Zealand Times, Volume XLIV, Issue 10290, 27 May 1919, Page 8

THE POULTRY INDUSTRY

, • . CULLING. ■ In these, days of high, cost of production’it is imperative that rigid economy should be exercised in .every department of the poultry plant.. Every leak should he’searched for and-removed. Of course the urea test leak is . the unprofitable layer. And there is probably not a plant in the-country where some unprofitable layers are; not .to he found. The successful. breeder of any class of lira stock'is-he who drastically culls at all times. Even, when feed is plentiful and cheap he, culls because, he recognises in the poor layer, a robber of the profits made by his -good birds. Not only does the poor layer cost more-to keep, but it is an all-round drain the plant. It takes'up roosting space, scratching space, run space.- and '.thus often! curtails the advantages’ which the profitable birds should enioy. . The necessity of frequent- bulling in- order to eliminate unprofitable animals is the great lesson being . learned to-dav with all classes of stock. ' The dairy -farmer, with his higher price. <jf land and' increasing cost of production, is finding, that- he can make-more money on half'.the area with half the cows, whereby ascertaining the milk yield of each animal for the whole year he’ can separate the profitable from the unprofitable cows. • Not'only are h'S returns per head enormously increase,d. but ■ his expenses are proportionately rediiced. There are poultrymen to-day who are. paying for labour who, were their plants planned, on labour-saving principles.; and ’ only 5 -really profitable birds were kept,- would .be'able to do the whole of the work themselves. There is.no industry associated'with live s f ock where culling is so little practiced as, it is with poultry-keeping, and there is no business -where drastic culling would show greater relative’ Profits. ,i If the noultryman is not sufficiently versed in the important subject of selecting the birds on laving tvpe,then he should communicate with, tbe Department of Agriculture, rind if possible eeoure a visit from a poultry instructor, and gain n practical knowledge of how to go ahopt the work. In other provinces meeting' nre arranged nt central n’an*-s where thGovernment expert is-asked ■ frj deliver a lecture and give a practical deroonst--. tion on selecting the laver. b-t ’n thi' matter the poultrvmen of -.the Wellingtc—province are very much behind their fe’’ lows in other parts of the Dominion. T r only reoulres a dead by some locality and these valuable district demonstrations' would scon .become popular. - ■ , . ■ THE AMKRIC-AN POSITION.' '

An American paper says fresh, eggs -will sell for 4s 2d a dozen in several Ohio cities this winter; ■ according to M. C. Kilpatrick, of the .College: of A griculture. Although the number .of eggs in storage and the number p£ pullets, for egg production is nor.mal.tn the,maize belt, the prices of feeds, labour and other items of cost are, so high that, 4s 2d a dozen will not yield more than a fair profit. While eggs have been gradually increasing in price for some tiine. Mr Kilpatrick says that the profits to the producer are ho greater than three years ago. A VICTORIAN RECORD. . Mr J-. Ryan’s White Leghorn laid *3OO eggs at the 1918-1919 Burnley competition, which ended on March 31st,. and under single-test ' conditions' has established a record for Victoria in the'dry mash section. Another' egg would have been added to the score hud she been allowed to •remain in? her pen until' the close of the day (March: 31st); but. as .the pens were required .for incoming birds, the hen under notice was removed and given to the The ‘hen .laid her 367th egg^ on reaching home. ' , . iVONIIEKFUL EGG LAYING.

The Bendigo single tost competition, which has just oohcluded.demonstrates to what a high state of fecundity the scientifically' bred fowl has been developed. Last year Mr 11. B. James, of Kcw, won the Bendigo > test ■ with Lady Constant, who laid 332 eggs in the twelve months—the best recorded in the. world by a Leghorn. In the, 1918-19 test the. same breeder has again provided the winner, in Lady Bendigo,, which won by over 45 eggs, and registered 330 for' the year. file tm. birds are related. To produce two such phenomenal layers in successive years is a fine achievement, but more wonderful is the unique'similarity of the-two scores right through their respective performances. The tallies of the two buds are. as follow :—They tied. in the winter test, April Ist to JulySlst, with 115 eg- s, in'l2a days ’ (world’s record). Lady Constant ■ laid her first 100 eggs in 107 days, 200 in. 215 days, 300 in 326 days—l 72 in six mouths, and 332 in a year. Lady Bendigo laid her first 10D in 106 days, 200 in 215 days, 300 in 323 days—l7l in six months, and 330 in twelve’months. Such equality in champions is unique in the historv of laying competitions throughout the world. Lady Constant's tally for her two years’, test is .677 eggs. POINTERS. Once a week lift all the perches and look for lice. The small red mites are the ones' that do a lot of mischief. They may bo killed at once by the application of kerosene. • It is also a , good plan to spray kerosene once, a .week into every crevice and crack' in the. perches and sn6n. Soupy water and kerosene will do equally, well,. and is cheaper. If you decide to change the diet of the fowls, don’t do it suddenly. Work it in gradually if you don’t want a check in the laying.' Fowls after getting used to a certain scale of feeding don’t readily go. on to new grub, and a violent change throws them back,. because they don’t eat well, and they get out of gear as the result of semi-starvation. .

If, the house is portable, the proper place for it is outside the run, with a hole cut in the netting to allow the birds to enter. Placing the shed outside gives more space in the run. Tho fowls cannot get on it and, fly out, and it may. easily, be . turned , over and the floor cleaned.