THE POULTRY YARD

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 654, 4 May 1929, Page 28

THE POULTRY YARD

(By

GEO. H. AMBLER.

WORK FOR MAY

DAMP, cold winds and occasional togs make up the usual weather conditions i'or May. This is customary, and so we should expect and prepare for it; and days like those of this month make us appreciate the sunshine. The fowls do not like cold and damp weather, and it spells a diminished egg supply, but no amount of grumbling will alter matters, and wet or fine, dry or muddy, it is wise to make the best of things. May is the real practical test of winter egg production.

If you can produce eggs in May you can produce them at any time, for in this month we generally experience the first real touches of winter, which are the more severely felt because the change from mild autumnal conditions is sudden, and the effect is more particularly felt by those pullets which have recently started laying or are about to commence. Whether these birds are checked in production by the first spell of wintry weather depends upon the housing accommodation and the management, so that an amteur will be a Pie to tell now’ whether or not he is working on the right lines. It must not be supposed, of course, that any and every pullet will lay in May, even with the best of accommodation. Later hatching is a natural cause of failure to lay at this time of the year, and those who are in the habit of deferring hatching operations until November have now’ a very good object lesson of the futility of such a policy. Then there are the culls of the earlier broods, the slow growing, slow maturing ne’er-do-wells that will never make good layers, and should never be retained either for laying or for breeding. To attempt winter egg production with low-grade pullets is the greatest mistake of all. Poultrykeepers are an optimistic crowjd usually, and will soon be looking forward to spring w’ith the paddocks full of > oung life. Already some have selected their breeding-pens, though perhaps the cock will not be put in the pen for another month. EARLY CHICKENS Those who go in for exhibiting will want a few chickens out on July 1, and so must have their pens ready shortly. There is not. however, a lot to be gained by too early hatching. You must not expect eggs to be as fertile now as in October, and the birds take longer to settle down, so that any time after the middle of May will be late enough to put the pen together to breed the early chick which may bring you fame. Even for later hatching it is best to select your breeding stock early rather than leave it so late that you must take whatHk ever stock is left. Many small

breeders do not make the headway they should because they sell the stuff that should be kept for the breeding pen. When a buyer comes along and offers a good price the temptation is great, but to fall means failure later. Probably the small breeder has had a good season and turned out some fine birds which have made a name at the autumn shows, and he thinks that with the same breeding pen he can produce something equally as good, but finds when too late this this is wrong. There is the possibility that the pen which bred well one year, will not turn out as good the next, and instead of relying on them he should have another lot on the move as well.

I know one breeder who every year, when he has finished breeding and the birds are well grown, selects the best two cockerels, and then never allows any money to tempt him to sell. Only a short time ago I heard one man say he had 40 selected pullets put by for next season’s breeding, and no money would separate them. When the best are reserved for home use there is a chance of further progress, and though all the rest get sold, those left will produce the stuff to keep the name going. Much of the success I attained in my younger days was due to the fact of my always hanging on to the best. I would always prefer breeding from two good birds than from half a dozen indifferent ones. HOUSING

All breeding pens should have a run out on grass if possible, for you cannot get strong fertile eggs from birds too closely eemfined. The best and strongest chickens come from those pens where the birds can get exercise and find what green food they require. What is wanted is rearable chicks, not merely hatchable ones, that die off when a few days old. The house should be large enough so that the birds cau be fed inside on w r et days. If only we see that our birds have a suitable shed, well-lighted, airy and adequately protected against the elements, with proper facilities for scratching among dry litter, one of the great obstacles to winter laying can be overcOhie.

Where it is not intended to use the pens at present, they should be cleaned and made ready by mowing off all the long grass and clearing out anything which is not needed. The foul places should be dressed with slaked lime, so that the rains can wash it all in before the birds are put in the run. The house should be thoroughly cleaned out, and wellspraved with Yama. During the damp, cold weather the intensive culturist has the best of it, for his stock will be in the dry and he can work in comfort.

Some of the largest houses have a passage right up the centre, and pens of birds with a dozen in each section on either side; others have the passage up the side, and then will have all pens on the front, with perhaps fifty in each section, according to size. Sometimes it will be found that the houses are large enough to hold 100 birds in each, and then they are built apart, but this means going outside to get from one to another. Even this has its advantage, for should disease break out, it might be confined to the one house; whereas if all were under one roof, there is the fear of its spreading through the lot. NEST BOXES In fitting up a poultry-house the nest-boxes must be regarded as one of the most important details, and in making these it is desirable to put them in the darkest and most seeluded corner of the house. In the case of open-fronted scratching sheds, they are generally fixed to the front Just below the wire netting of the open portion. I have heard it remarked that some laying failures were due to the nests not being sufficiently attractive, but it would be misleading to accept that as an influential factor. If a lien is ready to produce eggs she will find son*: place to lay them, though in most cases a well-built nest in a dork, quiet corner will appeal to her as a desirable place to resort to. Hens sometimes have a tendency to make use of one nest and to ignore the others. The best way to avoid this is to place one or two china eggs in each nest, for hens like to follow where others have been. Each nest should be well built with straw or similar material, and it is a good plan to put half a spadeful of dry soil into each box and mould it well into the corners. Whenever an egg is broken in j the nest, all litter should be cleaned ! out and renewed.

GENERAL NOTES The Taranaki egg-laying competition (second test) has commenced on Mr. Don. Stewart's farm at Normanby. A good entry has been received. practically all last year's competitors having entered birds. The executive decided to hold a three-bird test in both light and heavy

breeds, and good entries have been received in this section, too. In addition to the varieties of breeds competing in last year’s test, Brown Leghorns, Langshans, White Rocks, Golden Wyandottes, also Khaki Campbell and Buff Orpington ducks are entered. Most of the birds in the White and Brown Leghorn sections have settled down to work, many of them being iu full lay already. M. Scanlon’s bird has laid 12 eggs in the first fortnight. D. M. Waddell’s Black Orpington has laid 13 eggs. The ducks in the White Runner, Khaki Campbell and Buff Orpington sections, so far, have not laid. The Fawn and White Runners have, however, got going. * * * The Whangarei A. and P. Association has, this year, decided to hold a two, instead of a three, day poultry show. The low price of eggs which ruled so long and the high prices we have to pay for food have made the poultrykeeper’s lot anything but an enviable one, with the result quite a number are contemplating a reduction in their flocks. In a letter just received from that well-known poultry specialist, Mr. J. N. McLean, Rotorua, he tells me that owing to the unsatisfactory price #of eggs he is contemplating reducing his flock by 50 per cent. Mr. McLean says that lack of organisation appears to be the chief trouble in the Auckland Province. Owing to his markets being a purely local one, he is unable to export, but is quite prepared to contribute his quota toward a fund to organise the trade. J am quite in accord with Mr. McLean’s statement regarding lack of organisation. Time after time I have pointed this out, but we are still the same Cinderella of Agriculture we were ten years ago. We can have as many societies or clubs as we like, but if we fail to organise the sale of our products in some way or;other, little or nothing can be gained. Few breeders have done more than Mr. McLean toward the furthering of our laying tests, and he has now struck the nail right on the head in condemning our lack of organisation. PERSONAL NOTES Mr. J. Black, St. Heliers Bay, has .a grand lot of Black Orpington pullets bred from his competition birds. Mr. Black has entered five birds in the Mount Albert laying test and is expecting their putting up as good performances as his previous test birds. Mr. W. A. Hanson has been appointed judge of all classes of poultry at Taumarunui Show to be held on June 7 and 8. Mr. Hanson is also to judge the North Island Game Fowl Club Show to be held iu conjunction with the Hastings Poultry Show*, on July 5 and 6: Mr. T. Stewart (Hawke’s Bay) has been ap-

pointed to judge the remainder of the classes at Hastings.

Mr. J. Nixon, Auckland, has been appointed judge of all classes of poultry (fancy and utility) at the Pukekolie Show to be held in June.

Mr. W. A. Flansbn, Epsom, paid me a visit during the week-end, and he tells me he has 30 of the best Silver Wyandotte pullets he ever bred, 20 of them being ready for showing at any time. All, he says, are typical Wyandottes with beautiful lacing, good in both black and white. Mr. Hanson has held a strong hand in Wyandotte pullets for a considerable time, and no one knows a good one better than he does, and we can rest assured that, when he says they are good, it is useless disputing the fact. I am looking forward to the pleasure of inspecting them at the first opportunity. If “friend Skinner” should happen to have a few dark horses, competition will be keen in Wyandotte classes at both Auckland and Onehunga. POULTRY SHOWS Schedules are beginning to come to hand—an indiction that we shall soon be in the midst o.f the show season. I have just received a copy of the Whangarei show, which is being held on Tuesday and Wednesday, May 14 and 15. Classes are provided for all the popular breeds in both fancy and utility sections, also breeding-pens, dubbed birds, amateur and women’s classes have been added, whereas, homing and fancy pigeons are this year having an extended classification. The Whangarei Society departs somewhat from the usual procedure of paying prize-money on the sliding scale and pays full prize-money if only one entry in the class. Several valuable trophies will be competed for, including the “Hoey” ten-guinea memorial trophy for best bird in show, five-guinea trophy for best young bird in show, club shield for best young bird in utility section, club shield for best bird in show, opposite sex to winner of “Hoey” memorial trophy, women’s trophy and quite number of valuable special prizes. North Island championships for Orpingtons (fancy), also Khaki Campbells (utility) are this year to be competed for at Whangarei. In the pigeon section the most coveted trophy is the challenge shield for flying homers.

ANSWER TO CORRESPONDENT P.A., St. Heliers, writes: “I was very glad to receive your dry mash feeding menu, ami I must say it has proved splendid for me. A beginner could not wish for anything better. I will tell you why I think so. I was feeding my birds on wet mash and not getting many eggs. I thought there was something wrong when I read your recent article on dry mash. I

decided to give your ideas a trial, and in three weeks this is how the returns improved: “First week, 8 eggs; second week, 16; third week, 49. “Before using your formula I did not get six eggs in a month.” 1 am, naturally, pleased to learn of my correspondent’s satisfaction with the methods I have advocated so long; but in this case I am loath to accept all the credit for dry mash and my formula. This is the season wlien pullets begin to lay, and when an increased production should be expected under any system of management. If P.A. had continued his wet mash 1 have no doubt the returns would have improved, and I say this despite the full confidence I have in dry feeding methods, but I like to be ,fair. My querist goes on to say that he is a bit worried because he is. getting shell-less eggs occasionally. This is probably because his mash is slightly too stimulating, and I would advise him to reduce the meat meal from Gib to 51b. P.A. is a complete novice, but suggests that he intends taking up poultry-keeping more extensively, and I shall be pleased to help him in any way.