THE POULTRY INDUSTRY

Wairarapa Age, Volume XXXI, Issue 10713, 9 December 1912, Page 3

THE POULTRY INDUSTRY

i/K'. TVRK BY MR F. HiIOWX

Ah- r . [{iviwn j UovcnuiK-ac Poultry Kxpert, di'iiviTctl an address in the A. !'. renins in Alasterton on Satimlay at'ti'i'iiiiiiiij under the auspices of *.!: i' •! ncii of tin? Fanners' Union. There uas a fairly larbjo attendance, antonjj t Intse present hemp; a. Hiimiii'r oi Tho chair was occupied !>y IV?r William I'erry, who !):•;( llv i:il;ro;!;:<\\-l i.lie lecturer.

j Mr Brown expressed regret that ho ; would have t.:> cut his lecture short, as lie' was compelled to return to Wellington to despatch, a trial shipment of eggs, ft gave him great pleasure ' to In* yre.Kcnt in Ma.slerton, more particularly as lie came at the invita- . ti:i.;i of tho ["'armors' .Union. This showed that the right people wore taking an intore<<': in the matter. The last cem-ais showed- that there were J. 000.000 head of poultry in the Dominion. An increase of 500,000 had been. shown during the five years. Ho considered this satisfactory. The- bulk of tlie poult ry-owners were farmers. There was; .in spite of the increase, a. "ood demand for poultry and egg?. "Eggs wero at-present selling at from "lOr] to K- per dozen, nnd lie had no douht the price" would go uj) to 2s and 2s 0:1 per dozen in the winter. The demand for poultry was very keen, j Particularly was tin I '. s'> in "Wellington, j which was n I ways regarded as the best ; market i" New Zealand. The speaker j .said he d:"d not understand vrhv ponl- i trv-rai.sing had- not heon made to pay , with present prices. Tie was not nro- : sent to advocate poultry fanning, i pure and simple. This would, lue ' thought, do injury to the industry. I He believed that poultrv-farmino- could ho made to pay, hut. this could only lie done by experience. He recom- i mended that people should start in. ! the poultry business on a small scale, 1 say, with half a, dozen pullets and a. rooster. The Poultry Division had gone to some trouble, to import good laying strains of bird.s. This season. 1000 sittings of egg* had been pent ; out to farmers and others. These,sittings were largely of the> heavier birds. • and there was therefore -reason to honn that the. table birds of the Do- • minion would' bo considerably increased. Mr Brown pointed out that tlx* Department sent out pamphlets dealing with the industry free of charge. Tn regard to export, the speaker said t he did not think this, could bo undertaken in the immediate future ; owing to the local demand. Still, they should, pave the way for an export trade. A trial shipment of eggs had been sent to Vancouver, and had netted Is (id per dozen. After; air charges Muul been paid, tjio net return to the producer .was from Is to Ls Id per dozen. At the present time the. Home liners were taking a considerable num- ; her of eggs. This was largely responsible for the market in the Dominion continuing good. Mr Brown considered the first step in the direction of establishing an export trade was or- j ganisatioii. In this connection, he congratulated tho . W.airarapa upon having been the first to establish egg circles. Ho suggested- the-amalgama- t tion of these circles. An essential to a successful export trade- was an improvement in the quality ol the eggs ■and poultry. Those, engaged- in the industry should pay greater attention to quality than to- the number of egg?. Mr Brown considered' that the new 'system ©f delivering poultry, etc., bvparcel post, would be of great value to. the industry. He believed that i< would be possible;'■ vv.itli organisation, , for a consumer to pay a sum of money [ at the post office, and'have poultry <Te-. livered directly at his door. This would do away with the necessity tor tho Ttiiddlernan, but..could only be accomplished by organisation. . i Mr "Brown stated that he had fro- , qucntly been asked what was the best I breed of bird. To his mind, there was no best breed. It was not so.much the | matter of breed they had to consider, , as that of strain. Those who were in I the industry should endeavour to pro- | cure birds of a. proved laying .strain, j Phenomenal egg production was the j result of selection, and of develop- j ment at tlie hands of man. It was unnatural for a bird to lay 200 eggs in a. year. This' could only bo produced by artificial development. To select a good laying bird, they f.diould s»cure one nith a long,, tapering body, the tail position being the largest (MiBrown demonstrated his remarks by the exhibition of two-live "birds). The legs of a good laying bird should be. set well back.- In a' high-class layer, the breast-bone should-be short. This accounted for the big layer being generally a. noor table bird. ' The width of the pelaie bones\ was no indication of' the capacity for laying. With a little study, there;would be no difficulty in .selecting, the good layer. The selection could, of course, be made bv artificial means, say. with the- assistance of tlie trap nest. The secret of tho whole business was to be able to select on. form. Without constitution, the typo, of. a bird did not count. f:>r very much. " Ho was a strong advocate, from a utility point of view, of keeping either black birds or white birds.. He did not believe in fancyfeathered birds, excepting for' a" hobby. If they kept to constitution a.nd type they would have a good layer. A good, bold, prominent eye.wa?' an indication of good constitution. Tightfeathering was also ah indication. The legs, also, should be wide apart. Once a good strain was obtained. i f . was not necessary to change the blood every year. To improve tho .breed of birds, a certain amount of in-breeding was necessary! Mr Brown stated ..that the first cross of 'birds should not be bred from. He emphasised the necessity for good housing. The lean-to house could not ,be ii-oroved upon. The front should bo wide open, and wire-netted. With regard' to feeding, he impressed his hearers with the fact that they could not. over-feed a good laying hen, so long as they were i£'Virig the {-lass of food. Tf a h<n was getting too it should In* sent to tho market'. IV' 1 Brown recomnu tided as a morning food a mash of two parts of pollard and one of bran. Mea.t could 'lie supplied in the middle of the day, and green feed' was. necessary. Grit should ab'o be provided, for thi* was really, the teeth' of poul-. try. To obtain eggs in winter, it was necessary to provide pullets, and these should be hatched out early. To inak" poultry-growing a success, it was advisable to us" the incn Jut tor. Mr Brown concluded bv oyhih'tin'j' J 1 fi"'-'-less brooder which had been snccessfuHv ['.-."I this .season. M'* Brown answered m PM ln ],<-.|,. ,-.f finestio'P.s. ami, on the.motion of (ho cV'MVTpan. was accorded a 'hearty vote of !hanks.