Page 7 - Poultry Review June 2008

POULTRY REVIEW

The Australian Laying Competition.

For six years the Daily Telegraph, record for two years. The records for
Sydney, New South Wales, has been the second year ranged from 484 to the
"
conducting laying competitions. The one made by the winners. Black
readers have been kept informed concern- Orpingtons, which stood second in the
ing the progress of these competitions competition were also represented by a
since it was first started. pen at the foot of the list with a record
These competitions begin April i of in the second year of 484 eggs and for
each year and end March 31 the follow- two years of 1382.
ing year. April 1 in Australia is similar An analysis of the report indicates
to October i in this country, the season that when hens do not lay well the first
being reversed in Australia because it year they make even a poorer showing
lies south of the equator. Six pullets the second year. The reverse of this
less than one year old makes a pen, no seems to be true also, Mr, Wakfer's
males being used. The competition is Langshans are of the pure Chinese type,
under the management of Mr. D. S. as they are daughters of birds imported
Thompson at the Hawkesbury Agricul- directly from China. They have made
tural College. a record that makes them the most
It has been the rule to select 100 pens notable pen of fowls on earth, when it
for these competitions but last year the comes to real practical value.
rule was changed. Forty of the pens The eggs from all these pens were sold
which were in the competition were in the market at auction,as eggs are sold
selected to continue under test for an- in that country. Not being fertilized
other twelve months in a two year's they were of no use, except for market
competition, while sixty new pens were purposes. The eggs produced by the
put in for the regular annual competi- winning pen in two years sold in the
tion. market for $1; 7.96.
From the Secretary, Mr. A. A. Dunni- The total cost of feeding the 240 hens
clifie, Jr., we have a copy of "The Daily in the forty pens of the two yeats' com-
Telegraph" for April i, from which we petition was a fraction over |i.6o per
get the report which follows: head. During the year maize, (corn)
In the two year's competition Mr, was worth close around Si per bushel
Wakfer's Black Langshans which n:ade and wheat was about the same price,
a record of 1481 eggs in twelve months while bran and middlings were both
came out leaders with a record of 1 006 high.
eggs the second twelve months or 2487 The value of the eggs produced by
eggs for six hens in two years, an ever- these forty pens was $723.06. Deduct-
age of almost exactly 422 eggs per hen ing the cost of feed the profits amounted
for twenty-four consecutive months. to $338.26, an average of $1.41 per hen.
This is a record which stands unequalled This is a remarkable showing when
among all the records ever made, A we consider that the hens had been con-
pen of Black Orpingtons made a record fined to runs about i6x8g feet for twenty-
of 1054 eggs the second year and a two four months. In the regular annual
years' record of 2301 eggs. The third competition sixty pens of six hens each
pen dropped notably below the first were intered. The tvelve pens ranking
two in productiveness. In the second highest were all White Leghorns, It
year the third pen in this competition is remarkable that every one of the
made a record of 841, with 2378 as the twelve pens made records of more than