164 



Notes on Poultry-Keeping. 



.[May, 



NOTES ON POULTRY-KEEPING. 



The development of egg production has to some extent 

 operated against the revival of the table poultry industry, and 

 at the present moment this is very apparent. With the 

 exception of small supplies of " petits poussins " practically 

 the only English poultry now reaching the markets are old 

 birds. Fortunately for the consumer, American supplies of 

 frozen chickens of very good quality are available. By the time 

 these notes appear spring chickens should be ready for the 

 markets in appreciable quantities, and poultry keepers are 

 warned against holding back their supplies too long. The 

 demand is for a chicken weighing 2 to 2 J- lb., and although 

 young birds of larger size may be even more favourably 

 received it is seldom advisable to hold them over several 

 weeks in order to attain this weight, since by so doing the 

 best trade and the higher prices per lb. are frequently lost. 

 Although the cost of feeding stuffs has fallen, the prices realised 

 for table poultry are good. 



In many instances, particularly when there is a lack of 

 accommodation for the growing chickens, the poultry keeper 

 is well advised to market his young cockerels as " petits 

 poussins." These small birds sent to the market alive weigh 

 from 10-12 oz. when, at the rate of 2s. 8d. to 3s. per lb., 

 there is a fair margin of profit. 



An indication of the comparative position of poultry foods at 

 present, compared with this time last year is given by a com- 

 parison of the average wholesale prices of the staple poultry foods 

 in London in corresponding weeks of 1920 and 21 : — 



Week ending 

 April 7th, 1920. April 6th, 1921. 

 £ s. £ s. 



Oats per 336 lb. ... 3 2 4 



Maize „ 480 1b. ... 3 19 



Middlings „ ton ... 13 10 



Bran „ „ ... 13 10 



Barley meal „ ... 25 10 



2 16 

 10 

 8 

 15 10 



Apart from the considerable reductions shown in these 

 figures the quality of the offals in particular has vastly 

 improved. Although figures for ground oats and proprietary 

 foods largely used in chicken rearing during the early stages 

 cannot be given, these will generally be found to have fallen 

 at least proportionately, whilst there is an even greater 

 improvement in quality. 



