Poultry Keeper’s Guide

Sun (Auckland), Volume 1, Issue 4, 26 March 1927, Page 20 (Supplement)

Poultry Keeper’s Guide

BY.

GEORGE H. AMBLER.

JUST A SUGGESTION According to Darwin, animals tend to breed true—like tends to produce like. There are small variations in all cases so that no two are exactly alike. In some cases, the differences are very noticeable, so that a breeder can pick them out and take advantage of this fact in his breeding operations. All improvement in poultry has been through a slow process of selecting, breeding for and fixing certain characters that have been found in certain individuals. Changes have been rather gradual, rather than taking advantage of softie freak. Birds are so plastic in the hands of breeders that a rather short period of selection will allow one to completely change and fix the characters in a certain breed. This fact is responsible for the large number of breeds and varieties that are recognised by the English Poultry Club at the present time. There are two kinds of selection — natural and artificial. Natural selection results in the survival of the fittest as it takes advantage of natural forces: Although this may seem rather far-fetched in application to farm flocks it is the type of selection most commonly used at the present time. In such instances, in these cases, only such factors continue to exist as are able to cope with the conditions. This generally means the path of least resistance and a lowered production. •Artificial selection is an effort to pick out certain individuals that most closely resemble the type that is desired and then strive to perfect the characters in a family or strain. In many cases this selection results in extremes when controlled by a faddist and is the opposite of Nature. While the pit game rather closely resembles the original jungle fowl, the Gallus Bankiva, the exhibition game has been converted into a monstrosity that is all legs md nec’ while the Cochin has been made into a large, clumsy, slow moving fowl that cannot protect itself or rear chicks. The Bantam has been selected to an opposite extreme. All this has been done by artificial selection. In selecting for a high egg production one must violate some of the laws of natural selection. This brings in other factors, for one must be able to cull out birds that are low producers without sacrificing vitality and vigour. In too many instances we have felt that it was necessary to sacrifice winter production to obtain fertility and hatchability next spring. Present experimental work tends to show that low fertility and hatchability is a problem of the? individual rather than a method. Natural selection has been adopted in most flocks in that the hens that did not produce during the winter were responsible for a heavy spring lay. The winter layers did not produce as high a percentage of eggs during the spring or were broody. By this method it has been possible to build up a flock of low producers in an automatic manner. The reverse is as easily accomplished and more profitable. Most of the pullets would be hatched during the late spring, develop slowly and come into lay in about a year or in time to produce spring eggs. Their offspring would tend to inherit the same characters, would be low producers, and establish a reason for many cases of low winter production. By artificial selection most of these errors can be eliminated. Judicious

selection has been responsible for the establishment of strains that mature more rapidly. Over a series of years this trait has been fixed. Instead of a year to mature there are strains of all breeds in which 75 per cent, will mature in less than eight months, five to ten per cent, in six months, and a low per cent in four to five months. In too many cases the birds that start laying in about four months are apt to be a flash in the pan. They are lacking in the vitality to' stand a year of heavy production and require too many resting periods during the year to reedier and start over again. Earliness of production is an indication of laying power if it is associated with size and vigour in the fowl. With this factor one should consider the lateness of production in the autumn to give one a definite idea of the persistency. What is needed for a high record is an early start, a continued production, and a late finish. Marking the flock will give one this data. At least two inspections should be given the pullets. One in midwinter to determine all pullets that are laying at that time —by the pelvic bone test —and one in midsummer as a check on length of, or persistency of, production. All pullets producing early in the winter can be given a red band. On the early summer cull those showing no signs of moult or slackening in speed can be given a white band. In the late autumn all pullets still producing heavily can be given a blue band. As a final selection for breeders-the following year the best group would be represented by the red, white and blue bands. They are the birds that are persistent, heavy producers. Second choice would be red and white bands, while the other combinations would be a poorer grade. One would undoubtedly find some specimens that would have other combinations —for instance, a red and blue. This would show that the bird started early and was laying late in the season but had just taken a rest or moulted at an intermediate period. In the consideration of trap-nested birds, even over a short period, an indication of what the flock can do is obtained. The potential record of the hen is obtained by taking an average of the best four consecutive months and multiplying the result by ten. This is considered as the record the hen might have made if conditiohs were ideal. Every method suggested for improving a flock has its limitations because people are prone to try and get by with the least possible effort. Any improvement requires some effort. Well-planned equipment leads to great saving in labour, while makeshifts add to this, are an unnecessarytrial of patience, and frequently lead to losses among the stock. With a little oxperience the poultry - keeper can make his appliances at home more cheaply than he could buy them, and, in addition, turn out a pattern better suited to his requirements. The work can be done in odd time and is of great interest. A skilful amateur carpenter will save many pounds in an outlay of poultry appliances. but if not capable of this work it is well to remember, when purchasing, that the best is generally the cheapest in the long run. Fresh vegetable food is of the utmost importance to ali classes of ’ poultry’, and, unless the birds are being fattened, may'’ be given without stint.