POULTRY NOTES

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXII, Issue 10570, 28 February 1912, Page 6

POULTRY NOTES

(By Utilitarian.)

Does poultry farming pay? This is mi overv day question, almost, and yet Low often do we hear of a poultry farmer going bankrupt? ei T rarely, 'though there have been a large ] ■number give up the business, from time to time. Yes, it does: pay, butonly when those so engaged have j gained experience, liave capital, and • adaptability. Jt is sale to say that, in spite of the low price ruling for Cg£S in the summer and the costliness of the feed, there are more poisons to-day making a success of the business than ever before in this Dominion. This is duo to increased knowledge of Herding and breeding, and, in seme cases, to a remunerative side line in stock, birds and settings, i A more 'appropriate question would be, 'Will poultry farming paV ? Who can tell? There are vast numbers taking up this line, and on the other | hand "there are very many on the verge oi' throwing it over, owing-t-o want of adaptability, though that is not it-he iv aso 11 generally given. .High-, prices .for eii'gs are predicted foi the coming .winter, and if these are realised there will he another impetus for would-be poultry fanners. The position to-day can be worked out on the following scale, though, of course, itlii.s would not apply to a man keeping only a dozen or two, and who supplies his birds principally on otherwise waste scraps from the house.- .Where all the feed has to,bo purchased from the t'-tore the cost per bird will run into- just about eight shillings per annum. Assuming <.he flock to average twelve dozen eggs for the year, and the average price realised is one shilling, this leaves a pro- j 'lit of four .shillings per head. The ( ■cost- of rearing flhe young stock should [be covered by the sale of the 1 old hens, market- cockerels, settings, and a few stock birds. Twelve dozen is a low average for a small flock, but large flocks do not, as a rule, run much higher, and one shilling average for the eggs is also putting it on tho low side. A local poultryman, not long ago. cleared eight. shillings per pullet and four shillings per hen Ifor the year, 'another illustration of •the superiority of the former over the hitter. This >was only calculated 1 011 eggs actually sofd, and no credit was allowed for eggs consumed in the house. Anyone estimating; his prospective returns needs to consider many little items, such as at what period of (the year are the eggs being laid, all in the summer, or whether a reasonable supply is forthcoming throughout the winter months, also where and when the feed is procured, and how the eggs are marketed.

Threepence per bushel savdd 011 grain and ail extra penny or i>vo per dozen for the eggs will make a very material difference in the results. This is adaptability, when combined with successful raising.

Members of the Utility Circle will be pleased to hear that provision lias been made for the receiving of their eggs in the .butter room of the depot (Graham and iCo.'s), and each one who brings his or her lot in .should ■see that the eggs are taken there straight away. It-,saves the packer a lot of trouble, and they are stored in a sanitary building—a most- important item. Members, also, should, on delivering their eggs, always make a point of receiving a receipt for them, as otherwise they cannot expect the treasurer to acknowledge their ■claim, and earo ought to be taken that the receipt is correct, neither more or less. It is little matters of this kind, when properly carried out, which save work, avoid unpleasantness, and lead to further developments for the future benefits of mem l bers. As the Circle now has an ample supply of egg crates, members should request a tray or two, according to their individual .supplies, to be left each week by tbe collector, and .those living at a distance take Jiime each week a whole crate, if necessary. All trays should have the eggs placed therein, till ready and clean, in time for the collector's weekly vis-

Keep sand, shell-grit, and clean fresh water-before the birds all the time. Shade is .most essential in the warm weather, also,a damp dust hath. April is generally considered the commencement of the poultry year; the pullets are then coming into Jay, and ■the old hens just about finished. Keep daily records of your birds' performances, that is, of marketable eggs. April is the best month to 'Start off with, and remember it is not the record of one or two remarkable specimens ftlhat give the average for ,the whole flock. The strength of a chain is limited (by its weakest link, likewise ithe financial strength, of poultry flocks is limited by the drones.