1932
12 May 1932
OUR POULTRY
TAIL CARRIAGE IN LEGHORNS
Birchall's Beautiful Birds
GETTING READY FOR THE SEASON
(Written for the Guardian by 'Acronim')
An inquirer is rather puzzled about the correct tail carriage in Leghorns, which the standard specifies should be carried at an angle of from 40 to 45 degrees. He says that he has noticed that some good layers seem to carry the tail higher; others carrying the tail lower seem to do equally well.
So long as the production is good one does not want to be too particular about tail carriage. Looking over various types that have won in competitions in America and at our own Hawkesbury competition, it is seen that the champions differ considerably. There are Leghorns that have the Iong barrel-shaped body which is probably an inherited body-shape from infusion of Game and Minorca in the early days of the introduction of the breed into England. With such shaped hens a rather low tail carriage is natural. There is abundance of evidence that hens of this shape and tall carriage can lay as well as what is designated as the original type Leghorns. It is in the latter that the tail carriage must be kept down, otherwise there is a tendency to an unsightly type.
It comes to our mind that some years ago a photograph was exhibited of a bird that laid 234 eggs at an American competition. She was a most unsightly bird, with a tail cocked up at the perpendicular. Most of our champion layers, 260 eggs and up to 300 - have been birds that had a very even carriage of tail.
In breeding pens one often sees a cockerel with this perpendicular tail. He should be eliminated, and a bird carrying as near the prescribed angle substituted. After all it is the number of eggs that count, but it is just as easy, and far nicer, to have a flock of nice-looking birds that can pay their way.
MR. BIRCHALL'S BIRDS
Mr. Birchall, of Lawson street, who was such a successful winner at our local show, has been exhibiting in the district with average good success. Since the Mudgee show he has had many inquiries for his birds. He is only in a small way at present, but rapidly working up, and his farm, with the scratching pens complete, and automatic watering system, is an object lesson of perseverance and proper poultry farming. Mr. Birchall swears by his Langshans, and showed us a pen of 13 that are laying up to eight eggs per day. This is a splendid average for this time of the year. His other breeds are Columbian Wyandottes, Silver Spangled Hamburgs, Rhode Island Reds and Anconas. He has just completed a very strong and serviceable incubator house.
SEASONABLE ACTIVITY
Amongst poultrymen there is now a great deal of activity in connection with the season's hatching. The proper season is a short one - from June to August - and it is astonishing how short the time is, when once it is upon us. To get winter’s layers the chickens must be hatched early, and most breeders aim at getting the season's hatching out of the way by the end of July. The difficulty of getting broody hens militates against the small man or 'backyarder' getting the early chickens, hence the necessity for artificial incubation. Some hints about this will be given in our next.
To those who intend starting with day-old chickens every preparation should be made for their reception. Houses have to be built - that is, brood houses, and the brooders have to be tested. At the same time rearing pens are needed to follow on the chickens as they grow. Everything must be done to prevent over-crowding, and duplicate pens should be erected, so as to be able to separate the sexes as soon as discernible. On this head it may be observed that if pullets and cockerels are run together, the cockerels get the best and most of the food, and their constant scrambling and pushing out of the way of the pullets retards the quick development of the latter. A little thought, a little care, and plenty of patience are all required in successful poultry raising1
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7 July 1932
OUR POULTRY
Another Successful Breeder
HINTS ABOUT FEEDING
(Written by 'Acronim' for the 'Guardian')
It is a pleasure to visit the poultry yards or farm of a man or woman who takes an interest in the rearing of poultry, and compare with the haphazard methods adopted by so many. Mr. Birchall, of Lawson street, Mudgee is one of those who has studied the game, and worked up from very small beginnings till he has now an appreciable flock embracing several choice breeds.
Everything about the place is clean, there is plenty of room, and the fowls all are healthy. Warm, dry beds and capacious pens make the life of the layers a happy one, and the results are commensurate.
As a breeder of high class fowls, Mr. Birchall came under public notice at the last show, though this was not his first appearance as an exhibitor. On that occasion, however, he annexed the Poultry Club's Cup for the best bird in the show, winning the coveted prize with a Columbian Wyandotte. Of this breed he has quite a few and most of them are fit for any company. He has also recently secured new blood, thus fortifying himself against inbreeding, which is the curse of many breeders. Three pens of these magnificent birds are now actively engaged in producing the eggs for the seasonal increase, and for sale. Already some hatching has been done, and two incubator lots are 'down' at the present time.
Mr. Birchall's second string is his Langshan breed. By these he swears as egg producers, and as records are kept of all that the various pens do, he is able to substantiate his statements in black and white. There is no doubt they are a splendid lot, and these birds, like his Wyandottes, lay a full sized egg. Tested out on an automatic device, every egg put through in our presence went the full two ounces required by the market standard, and a good many of them went a bit better.
While size of egg may not always be a sign of stamina, it generally is, and at any rate the under-sized egg is a sure sign of decay and loss of the potential strength to produce good stock. Many of the best of our breeds have been 'bred out' of all laying power, and as a consequence have become almost as extinct as the Dodo.
Mr. Birchall has also a few Rhode Island Reds, and is trying to get a good flock of the winter-laying and table birds together. He has also a good many of that very pretty breed, the Silver-spangled Hamburg, and a few Anconas.
If he continues to carry on in the way he is now going, Mr. Birchall will shortly be one of the biggest and most successful breeders in the Mudgee district.
ECONOMY FEEDING
A lot of feeding formulas are notoriously expensive, and seeing that the price of eggs is generally lower than formerly, while the price of cereals is showing a tendency to rise, those who go in for poultry are advised to keep an eye on the feeding bill if they are to make a profit.
Extensive and expensive feeding may produce a little better result as far as eggs are concerned, but it is in no way commensurate with the cost. The number of eggs that a hen will lay is determined from the time it is formed in the egg. It may be forced to lay those eggs in a shorter time by the use of certain foods, but where one is after a flock average nothing is gained, and in many cases forcing only leads to trouble, both in regard to digestion and in regard to the proper functioning of the organs concerned in egg production.
It is the experience of the most successful poultry farmers that the most economical feeding is that of the mash, part bran and part pollard, with a proportion of meat meal, in the morning, and a grain in the late afternoon. This, with the usual adjunct of grit and greenstuff, is quite sufficient to produce laying that will be profitable.
As to the grain used, a change now and then is recommended. Wheat, maize, barley and oats, etc., are all good, and a very good scratch grain is to have a mixture. But care should be taken not to overfeed.
These grains and their products are insufficient in themselves to provide the protein required, hence the meat meal to balance the ration. Where possible meat itself can be used instead of the meat meal, and rabbits, when plentiful, make good balancing. But in most cases the poultryman has to depend upon what he can buy in the market and the shop, hence it is the most economical plan to stick to the regular ration as recommended by experts.
Maize is one of the best of grains, but growing stock should never have it fed whole. Cracked maize, again, is dearer to buy, so it comes about that the best way is to buy it whole and do the cracking yourself with the aid of an appliance which, once bought, will last a very long time.
Crushed bones are also a very desirable, and cheap addition to the general ration2
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