596 Agricultural Gazette of N.S.W. [Aug. 2, 1920. 



Poultry Notes. 



August. 



JAMES HADLINGTON, Poultry Expert. 



Poultry farmers who have acted upon the advice given in these notes will 

 now have their hatching operations in full swing. So far as is known, the 

 hatching results ajipear to be normal for the time of the year. Many 

 beginners are, of course, disappointed with the results, which appear to them 

 to be poor, though in reality they may be good. More experienced farmers 

 know what to expect from June and July hatchings, and are content to get 

 20 per cent, or 25 per cent, less than in August and September. Never- 

 theless, the chickens hatched during the earlier months are the most valuable, 

 and especially so to the poultry farmer who sells stud stock. If one could 

 confine himself to breeding only layers without regard to breeding stock, he 

 would probably find August the best month, but all the chickens required 

 cannot be reared in so short a period on the ordinary poultry farm (even if 

 they were hatched), and to attempt it generally leads to disaster. 



By far the best plan is to spread the hatching over the whole period June 

 to September inclusive. In this way the early birds (a comparatively small 

 portion of the hatching) make the best breeding stock, and the August and 

 September pullets should be good layers. These will most likely miss the 

 partial moult in the autumn, to which the earlier birds are most susceptible. 

 Very often this is the factor which determines the high or comparatively low 

 egg tallies made by hens in their fii'st j-ear of laying. It might be mentioned 

 that this factor is the cause of much misjudgment of the laying capabilities 

 of hens in our laying competitions, nor is it possible for any breeder to select 

 pullets for a competition without taking some risk in this respect. Hence, 

 there are many groui)s that are adjudged to be a poor laying strain, which, 

 hfid they missed the partial moult referred to, might have been near the top 

 of the list. It would be well if such circumstances were taken into account 

 before passing judgment on any breeder's stock, either for laying competitions 

 or for purchase as breeding stock. One often hears adverse criticism on this 

 or that breeder's birds, but, considering how easily a group of pullets can be 

 thrown off laying condition during the late autumn and winter, it is small 

 wonder misjudgments are m«de by the novice. 



The Rearing Season. 

 Success in rearing chickens is the foundation of success in poultry farming. 

 Failure in this means failure all along the line, yet it is surprising how large 

 a number of poultry-keepers fail properly to grasp the art of rearing chickens 

 successfully. 



