OUR FEATHERED FRIENDS

Taranaki Daily News, Volume LIII, Issue 330, 17 June 1911, Page 8

OUR FEATHERED FRIENDS

("Cock-o'-the-Xorth.") I I have to acknowledge receipt of the IUII illustrated catalogue of the New Zealand Poultry Journal Institute, in which the enterprising proprietor sets forth the merits of the various strains and breeds he keeps. The catalogue is well finished, and is to be obtained free on application to the New Zealand Poultry Journal Institute, box 588, (Jliristchureh. There are many combinations of various goods advised and aome strongly so by the various writers, ranging from one part protein to three eamo-hydrates, to one part .protein to four and a half parts carbo-hydrates. Many of these are arrived at by calculations of the effect of various strengths of foods by comparison, and while they may be all right in theory, are very seldom of much, use in practise. As a matter of fact, any practical man would not lay down a hard and fast ration lor laying fowls, for he knows that the ration which will suit one flock will not suit another, as the one may be laying mui-h heavier or much less than the other. The great tiling to guard against is feeding too much protein in the ration, as this is the most expensive element in food, and any extravagant use of it not only helps to defeat the very object the poultryman is trying to attain, viz., the maximum number of eggs his birds are capable of producing, but it makes the ration an exceedingly expensive one. For really good layers a ration of one to three may be fed if they are light breeds, but if heavy breeds one to three and a half will be better, for remember that -n general purpose bird will lay as well as a purely egg-producing one on a wider ration, and, in fact, this accounts in a large measure for the heavier breeds such as Wyandottes, Orpingtons, etc., not doing so well at competitions as Leghorns, etc. The ration fed to all the birds is the same, and is very concentrated. This suits the Leghorns, but does not suit the heavier breeds, especially in warm weather; hence the Le»horns beat them nearly every time. Of course, many who feed the same ration to all birds will say, how can we help it? Why simply select your layers in grades and pen each in different pens, and feed accordingly. The farmer who lias only 30 or 40 hens Tunning about the farm does not need te do this, but still he should select his birds, for a really good layer is infinitely cheaper to feed at the year end than a poor layer.

Once the farmer or poultryman (especially the Inttcrl has learned the value of thi> virion* fnoil stuffs he feeds, the next thing to study is the best method of feeding it. Of these there are five which arc more or less used, viz.: No. 1: Moist mash in the morning and green food at night; green food at midday. No. 2: Grain in the morning and moist mash at night; green food at midday. No. 3: All grain, nigjht ail morning, in deep litter, with animal food in hoppers, and green food at midday. No. 4: The hopper system, where each kind of grain is kept in separate hoppers, as is the animal food. No. 5: The dry mash system of feeding. The dry mash is left before the birds at all time* in hoppers, and grain fed at night in deep litter; green food also being kept before them at all times, and plenty of it. With this system the grain is sometimes fed in tlie morning, and sometimes a light meal at midday, and the balance at night, hut always in deep litter which compels scratching. Each system lias its advocate, but the one most generally used, especially by farmers' wives, is the moist morning "mash. The dry ma3h svstem of late years lias made immense strides in the Dominion, owing to writings and lectures by myself in various paTts of the Dominion. The merits and demerits of each system will be fully dealt with in succeedins articles.