SELECTING THE PULLETS

Sun (Auckland), Volume III, Issue 928, 22 March 1930, Page 28

SELECTING THE PULLETS

It is time to look round among th< pullets to make a final decision as to their disposal. The small breeder, who is likely to have only a small surplus of pullets to part with, is naturally desirous of keeping the best for himself, and he will be safe in choosing the earliest hatched, with the exception of those birds which have not done so well as others. One generally finds one or two pullets of that class in every brood, and it is sound policy to weed them out, either for killing or for selling at a low price. Most poultry keepers are sufficiently educated to detect the undesirable, and those birds that are likely to prove unprofitable. Most of us agree as to the most desirable characteristics to look for in the selection of our layers. Those that are deficient in these characteristics, and are lacking in vitality and constitution, should be consigned to the saleyards. With every bird gone that can be got rid of there will remain eight to ten feet more sleeping room, the ground will remain longer sweet, the food bill will be diminished, and in every way work and anxiety are both reduced considerably. To make up the full complement of pullets, supposing there are not enough from the eariler hatches, it will be advisable to select the more forward and vigorous of those from the later broods. All birds that are io be housed together for the season should now be brought into their permanent quarters to settle down, and. provided they are well developed and are beginning to spring their combs, the diet can be strengthened by the addition of a small quantity, say, live per cent., of meat meal to the mash, the quantity to be increased to ten per cent, when the birds are in full lay.

The amateur should not be afraid to handle his fowls. It is best to do it in the evening, when they are on the perches, and not chase them all over the run to catch them. With some practice, the poultry-keeper may be able to pick out the best layers by the handling test, and he will find that fineness of bone and feather is more reliable than width of pelvis and distance between pelvic and breast bones, which merely indicate whether or not a bird is in lay. Moreover, by handling pullets, one can tell whether they are in fit condition for laying, for a bird that handles light is in need of better feeding. A pullet in ideal condition for laying immediately handles firm and hard. She is well fleshed, but not fat; her abdomen is well rounded and feels firm her crop will be filled to capacity every evening; her comb and face will be bright red, she will have that keen and alert look that betokens the businesslike condition. When you have handled such a bird, pick up one of the backward ones, whose comb is still dull, and you will realise the difference. Moreover, if the two birds are of the same age, and have been brought up under tile same conditions, you have an excellent object lesson in how to select the most likely-looking layers. When March is in, the pullets that are expected to lay in April should receive special treatment. Up to the present they may have been treated as growingchickens; now they are grown up, and they should receive the same kind of food that they are to have during the winter. This is a valuable wrinkle. The managers of laying competitions do not make drastic changes in diet in March and April—they know better. They do not try dry mash for a. week, then soft mash, and then something else the following week. Get the* birds accustomed to a stock diet, and stick to it. What animal is more healthy than the horse, yet it lias very little change of diet. The birds must have enough food; this is most important. Make all as comfortable as possible—not too crowded on the perches—and once the pen is made ip make no changes. Cooler weather, with refreshing showers, have revived the laying stock, and there is a probability that some of the hens which looked like moulting early will continue laying well into the autmn. It should be remembered, however, that feeding is the deciding factor just now, and whereas a well-balanced stimulating diet, containing a fair proportion of proteid elements, such as are found in meat meal, etc., will maintain production for some weeks to come, a low diet that is lacking in those same elements will lead to cessation of laving, and a general moult

within a short time. The amateur should, therefore, study the question of feeding, and try the effects of a well-balanced diet. CARE OF OLD STOCK Nearly all last year's birds will be moulting now, and these should be well cared for. The price of food has made the feeder more careful, and the old hens which are not laying have been docked in their food, which has been the ideal treatment for the old stock, because fowls fall into moult more easily and quicker when fed sparingly than if kept on a fattening diet. When the new feathers begin to grow, feed more liberally and woflt for egg production, which is to pay for the increased cost of food. If any old birds are wanted for show, let them be kept shaded, because, though just now shows are off, they will be held later. There is nothing to be nervous about during the moulting season, and beyond a temporary stoppage of the egg supply the results are not serious as a rule. So long as the birds are healthy and vigorous the natural process of changing the feathers will be got through without complications. When the moult takes place early in the season—say, before mid-March—no more serious effect need be anticipated than the stoppage of the egg supply. Moulting proceeds in various forms, some hens dropping their feathers by degrees, while others become almost bare within a few days. The beginner must take things as they come, and in the former case the hens may continue laying for some time, since the gradual moult entails comparatively little strain, and the birds may bb left pretty much to themselves. Keep plenty of green food before the birds prior to and during the moult, and rake up the feathers in the house and run. There will be a tendency to kill off all male birds, but before doing this think of what your wants will be next season. How many pens ■will you need, and what chance will you have of buying birds? If everybody starts to reduce and kill off all male stock, prices will be at a premium next season, so think whether the cock you have is good enough to run on. Did you use him this season, and was he a good stock-getter? If you wish to make your poultry pay there must not be a wastage of eggs in the breeding season, for all will be wasted which do not provide a chicken. SUMMER EGGS Collect the • eggs twice a day and store in a cool place, as eggs can soon “go wrong” in the warm weatheit Market them at the earliest possible moment. It is for this reason that it will pay you to join some egg society, where your eggs are taken and credited to your account, no matter whether you deliver in hundreds or in dozens at a time. Marketing on your own you are working under a severe handicap. 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.