Andalusians. 
29? 
some breeds, but in my opinion they are none the less profitable for that purpose, as they develop very 
quickly, and are fit for the table some weeks earlier than the large breeds, thus saving food, space, and 
attention. It may be of interest in this respect to mention that when the Victorian Government sent a trial 
shipment of Poultry to the London market, several Fanciers were asked to give some birds for the purpose. 
I selected about half-a-dozen Andalusian cockerels, and they and some Plymouth Rocks sent by another 
Fancier realised the highest prices for fowls in the shipment. I do not attempt to claim that they are the 
best Table Fowls, but the foregoing proves that they are not to be altogether despised, even for that purpose. 
An adult Andalusian cock should weigh 7 to 8 lbs., and the hens 5 to 6 lbs. 
"A well-matched pair of Andalusians on a grass run cannot fail to make an impression on anyone with 
a taste for the beautiful, their pretty blue plumage contrasting with the large bright red combs and white 
ear-lobes, and their sprightly carriage is both pleasing and attractive. They are excellent foragers when given 
full liberty, and at the same time give a very good return in eggs when confined in a small run, but in the 
latter case care must be taken not to over-feed them. Having dealt with the general characteristics of the 
breed, I will now mention how the breeding stock should be selected and mated to produce the best results. 
" Before going into detail, I would impress upon all breeders who wish to build up a valuable strain the 
importance of knowing as far back as possible the progenitors of the stock birds, and any points or 
peculiarities that the different strains are remarkable for, also to take note of the sire and dam of every 
chicken. In a pen of five or six hens it is easy to do this by watching a hen come off the nest after laying, 
then taking her egg and marking it with her name or number, and putting it aside as a sample ; then set 
each hen's eggs separately, and the chicks may be marked in various ways as soon as they are hatched. Too 
many breeders in Australia are careless in this respect, and will not take the trouble, the result being that 
when they do breed a real good bird they cannot tell which are its parents, or how to mate the stock birds 
again to produce equally good specimens. Care must be taken in introducing new blood of any entirely 
distinct strain ; and a Fancier purchasing, say, a cockerel for this purpose, should get one of a strain of 
undoubted quality, and must not be disappointed if the cross does not produce results quite up to his 
expectations the first season, and there is only a small percentage of good-coloured chickens. He will reap 
the benefit of the new blood in the second and following seasons, when he mates the progeny of his new 
purchase back to his original strain. Of course, if a strain should be deficient in any particular point or 
points, the cross introduced should be selected to correct these faults. It is impossible to describe how every 
Andalusian should be mated, and Fanciers must use their own discretion in mating the material they have at 
hand, but the foUowmg suggestions may be of some value. In mating Andalusians always breed from blue 
birds only, and select a slight contrast of ground colour, rather than mate very similarly-coloured birds 
together. An Exhibition cockerel as described in the Standard, with a light blue breast, with black lacing, 
and black hackle, may be mated to hens of a medium shade (not sooty) of ground colour, well laced throughout. 
A similar cockerel, but with a darker breast and broad lacing, should be mated to hens of very light ground 
colour, with rather weak and narrow, though distinct, black lacing, selecting those hens which have in 
addition black feathers on and aboTit the head. A very dark-breasted cockerel, but whose breast still shows 
a well-defined broad black lacing, should be mated to hens very light in colour, which may have blue heads 
and necks and well-defined blue lacing. The chickens from this mating will rarely be up to exhibition colour 
the first season, but the second season will generally moult out with very good colour and markings. A 
light-coloured cockerel with a blue shade of top colour should be mated to hens of a medium ground colour, 
with broad black lacing and black necks. A very dark hen mated to such a cockerel will often produce very 
fair cockerels, but few pullets of any value, and I much prefer using a cockerel rather darker in the breast 
than the Standard colour, and with very black top colour and lacing, mating him with light coloured, 
well-laced hens. In selecting cockerels for breeding, discard those with brownish or rusty hackles and those 
that are very pale in top colour, and with faint blue lacing, and give preference to cockerels witli very large 
breast feathers, as such have a more handsome appearance, and will produce much better chicks than those 
with small feathers. A fault with many cockerels at the present time is scanty hackles and furnishings 
