TilE I
\~DS\\'0)1AX
Poultry Notes.
By W. Poweii-Owen, F.B.S.A.
Winter Laying of Leghorns.- T a ldng an av<•ragc
} T i~ 6Urpri:.ing ht>W few bn·,·d-, tht·n• ,lr<· th.tt rnn~
be termed popular. :\Io-.t br<'~ds ha\ c th<'ir of flocks, I prder the Black Lcghorn for w in ter
Pgg-production as again<.t th<• \\ hite.
I t "N'm
follcnv rs, but only a handful ar(! Hr) cxt~·tbively
hardif'r and does b •ttcr o n soils lllat ll'<' hcavv ~
kept. .\ nd yet then• i-. .tlway~ the de ire on tlw p<> attractive, the Black L<·gho, n would bt'
<'ndca\Our to b diff("rcnt from the r<'st, and assuming",
idf'al from the colour ~tandpoint. Then• a rc draw-
no doubt, th~t f'gg-production varit•s \'erv little
ha< k-. here, however. I t is a br<•rd that i-. d ifficult
amon(!' all of th<'m. In rcal practice it i-, fu-.t tlw
to g<'l true in leg-colour, which s ho uld be )"<'llow.
o pp~-.itc, so man,· of the varictie-, th.lt attra<:t fot
. \-; .1 rul<' the legs come black, b ut onp <.· an help
colour bc•ing quite poor lay<'rs. I will tt·v simply
matters by S<'let'tive breedi ng.
Fo1· in<>ta ncc tlw
to ~Sift m'lttcrs!
male infi u<'nccs exteriors, a nd if you use· a " quit<' f.lir to ..,a, that the \Yhitc· \\'\,tll- ()f th<' c;hanks in the prog<'ny. Another drawbadc
lif•-. in th(' fact that Black lA-ghorns a rc no t so
dottc lead" for nwnl,cr of f'ggs ~r annum. · nut
d( cilc as the \V.hite, l:>u t that is a n aS'><'t o n the far m
rad1 brl'cd ha ~ it.., drawb.1cks, and wh<'n considt•t-
or frf'e range, aring stages
nn\ d<>f('ft'i. Th<' d ,.f('Ct in the \\'hit<' \\\ ,1ndott1•
bv m;\ktng the btrds fnendly. A furt her drawback
i-. 'the '\mall f'g~ that ;.., '-O noticeable in \'< •n nHlll\'
.
'
-.trnms.
Tlw \\'hit<> L<'ghorn pn·sse" tht" Whi t(• \\ith Leghorns and light breeds generally is thf'
.... nwU weights mad<' by the cock erel<;.
\\').tndotle very do<.,.Jy for both nurnlx-r <'1f t gg~
Notes on Breeding.- It i~ Yery noticeable how self_
anci popularity, but it is more prolific in tht .;um-
colour('({ l:>n•eds are at th<' top for popularit) and
m<·r months whc n the \\'vandottc takes '' brood,·
. "
laying r fo r fea r o f th is
l<'ad for C'gg-production, and, of cour~"• it j.., du ring
being at the e xpense of the tggs. Bu t there are
this pt riod when <'ggs fetch the hi~he-.t prkf .. .,-
many poultry-k<•cpers who do not lik e just w hite and
1 \'lluabl~ as-.f't.
Size of Egg.-I ha,·c al\\.a\s ad\(x-ated the -.al1· of just black fowls, and are willing to lose a few egg:,
nnd take up a more a tt ractive breed like the Light
lf"\1'-1 lid (·£!g.., b, WC'ight, nnd h a d this be-en adoptl'd
I dt) not think W<' c;hould haw had thi.; bugbt :~r of Sussex or the R hode I sland R e d. J n 6uch cases
they c;;hou ld k•arn all abou t br('e{fi ng fo r points so
<>mall egg-.. I admit that pullet-s lay c:mall c>gg-.,
that thf>y can ma te thei r pens to the bes t a dva n tage
but wh,.n W<' find pullet<> laying 1 ~ 07.. c>ggo;,
to obtain exteriors, whil<" a t the same time they
•• ._ mn nv do, th<'n that i<> not worth,. of out·
pou ltr,v indus try. I aim at I 1 oz. pull<.•! · <'ggo, lw- cont'Cntrate a lso upon egg-laying me rits. In the br<>ed -
ing of poultry the .females influence size in the pro-
cau-;<' within 3 f<'w month.:; tht>\' -.hould .:;ral<" 2 01..,
g<'ny, while the m ales h ave the mos t voice in the
and th,. lntter ic: mv standard 'silC' and tht" on<> to
.1im a t . \\'e do not want J oz. e ggs un t il th<>v ar<' •·xtC'riors. If in Lig ht S ussex or 'Wh ite Wyandotte!>
you U<;(' a fea the r-legged m a le , this de fec t will be
c;old by w~ight, but W<' do not want the ' ' pigeon "
\'cry noticeable in the proge n y.
For the same
"~1-r·
I n th<' pn~t w e have worke d to injudkiou'>
"land.trdc;. In our laying teste; we scor('d bv num- r~'a"?n one !>hould . not select for breeding u tility
c;pectmC'ns a male wtth verv coarse w a ttles or comb.
b<>rc;, 1nd the h t>n laying mos t eggs took th<' pr<'-
In Rhode Island R e ds, too, never use a male bird
m if'r award without rt"g-l whirh Pndf'd 'Up with numb1'r of 1 ggc;
tatn g lanng {'Xternal fa ult m a n a dult cock it s hou ld
f><'r .tnnum onlv
be poso;ible to trace h is son a nd grandsons throu gh
The S t11ndard E~~. - OUJ laying te-.t-. are no\\
the . . amr failing-.
Ptting the fa.,hion of th<' 2 oz. -.tandard egg, an cl
All· round Breeds.-The Rhode Is land Re d stand"
ac; tinw t!'OC-. on and br<'Pdf rs tr<>ad the rig-ht path
next to the V.'hitc L eghorn fo r number of eggs , and
W<' c;ho tld '!~t h,c k what hac; b<'<'n los.t in t he past.
in most strai ns s ize o f e gg has not yet been lost.
In t h ~.lT.P.S Laying T e..;t at Jkntley eat'h J><'ll
of five' pull t.., is a liowed to lay roo c;econd-gr .:.~de
~<·xt we come to the Light S ussex, o ne of our best
('~gc; ndid winter
nwll (•1urs bf>vond that number do not rount in the layc·r. a nd full of hardi nf'ss. But we mus t not e xpect
p1·n \ <;<'Or('. That ic; a .;;tep in Ul<' r ight din·rtion
..,uch h igh egg-records from t his breed, be-cause it i~
s,.JN·tivr> brt:>edinq- w ill obtain for u-; t hf' standard
a n all-rounder w ith laying well a bove the m edium .
l3<'i ng a ta ble varie ty , t he Sussex needs to be care-
•·gg, and on~ c;hou ld bear in mind tht· part t hat
fu lly ferits the tende ncy to fatten and
r,..u ing- plttV'> in rc>gard to size of €'{(g. Th<.• utili tv
result-; a r e poor b y way of eggs , and mortality
poultn-kt'<.'J'><'r is oft<>n a bad rearC'r, and ns a sequ,.nrc
t hf' pull d-. at m.Hurih· a re undersi7<."<1 a nd produre
heavy d irectly o ne gets the birds overfat. Fat hens
~m.l 11 •·g~c;.
The c;;pcrct of success in n•ar ing i.-;
Me a lway6 a sou rce of trouble , and arc fat· from
first to get n g fir~t
gmng much trouble from infe rtility a nd weak germs,
<'gs.r. and \V~' hav(> an immatured pulle t t h a t wi ll Jay
and a.:; a sequencE' weakly c hicks .
For this re a son
mnll • gl{s and oo ruined for brcE'd ing p urposes.
one