OUR FEATHERED FRIENDS

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 273, 8 April 1911, Page 6

OUR FEATHERED FRIENDS

m (By "Cock-o'-the-Xortb."). Tlie greatest egg-laying competition r er lield in the Dominion of New Zoand came to a close on Friday, March , last, and was won by Mr. E."Hopkins, ogenitor of the Rangiuru Egg Ranch, taki, and one of our most practical niltrymcn, J am indebted to the enterising editor of the Xew Zealand Pouly Journal who caused to be posted ee to all subscribers to his journal the Wellington Dominion of April 1, containg a full report. Mr. Hopkins' birds id the splendid total of 14(14 eggs in even months (-244 each). Just fancy lat, Tarannki farmers! Over a pound's orth of eggs at Is per dozen in eleven lonths, and of that there must be fully (s full profit. Why, I believe that if a aranaki farmer stocked an acre with icli birds as the.se it would pay nearly s well ns cows. I wonder how many irmers in this country have taken :1575 prolit in a year'from cows off ne acre of ground! Yet this is just the gure that birds yielding just one-half f the above profits would pay under lie style of poultry culture advised by ly.self in this column. Birds paying as bove would yield £,'iloO per acre. Mind ou, readers, though the competition has losed so far as the prize money is conerned, yet the bin:.; in the six leading ens art- to be l V )>i for .viotlu-r month o as tn iicdili. tlum (if possible) to put ip n world's record. If each bird only I .V» 13 eggs each in the month they will ccompli.-ii this, and if thes., .3 eggs were 'nly valued at Is it would mean that nder the close confinement plan it would dd £225 to tlie profit of the acre of ground mentioned above. I am fortunate enough to have purchased 50 of the mothers of the stock from which these birds wer« selected, and five cockerels, cousins of the same birds. I secured them when there was no certainty of the birds winning; in fact, they were not within striking distance of the first money, but instead of falling off as other pen's did at the finish they came on stronger than ever, and after one of the most exciting finishes on record beat the leaders on the very last day of the test by three eggs; Not much. I hear someone say. Well, no, but just sufficient to make* the difference between winning and losing. There is one point of especial interest in the result of this competition which compels me to give so much space to it, and it is this: Most persons intending to compete at. these competitions breed a few dozen birds and give them special attention so as to give every chance of winning if selected to compete. They then select what in their opinion are the best six of the group, with the next best to act in case of death or sickness of one of tbe six selected, and then send them to compete. Now, I know that the birds entered by Mr. Hopkins received only the same treatment as the thousands they were selected from, and that they only represent the general quality of his stock and also the performance of his birds is a strong proof of Mr. Hopkins' ability in the direction of knowing a future good layer when lie sees it. I say [ know this, because I do. I paid a visit during last Christmas week to the Rangiuru Egjj Ranch, and Mr. Hopkins was running between 4500 and 5000 laysrs, and I am compelled to say that I have never feasted my eyes on better quality in Leghorns than on that occasion; in fact so deeply impressed was I by their appearance from the point of new of egg production that, as I stated ibovc, I purchased 55 birds from him to arced my nest year's Leghorn chicks from. Every bird on the'place was a aicture of health and strength and >eauty, too. You talk about beauty in ;hc show pens, why,, there was more stamina, more vitality, more real beauty, md, what is more important, more meiey in one of these birds than in any lozen average birds one sees in a show )en every year. I can only wish Mr. Hopkins every success, and, for the good )f the industry, wish that New Zealand possessed a few more men like him and a f ew more flocks of birds like his.

JOTTINGS. Keep charcoal before all birds, old and young, at all times. It is unrivalled as an aid to digestion and a corrective for the bowels. A few grains of permigarate of potass in the drinkina water will prevent most ponltrv diseases and cure many, also. All birds during the moult are greatly helped by the addition of a teaspoon of Douglas mixture in the drinking water twice weekly. To make Douglas mixture, dissolve lib of sulphate of iron and 1 oz. of sulphuric acid in V/., gallons of water and add to the drinking water at the rate of a teaspoonful to a quart of water.