Journal of the American Association of Instructors and Investigators of Poultry Husbandry最新文献

Mr. President and members of the Association:

Since our last annual meeting, at least four of our members have left College Poultry Departments to take up the commercial Poultry Feed business. I refer to Brewster of Oregon, Dickson of Michigan, Aubrey of New Jersey, and myself. Whether these men long continue with the business remains to be seen, but it indicates a change from the old order and one which should be of interest to the Association.

I have not the least hesitation in presenting to you my views of the commercial Poultry Feed business and its relation, as I see it, to the College Poultry Department. In doing this I can frankly say that I have no sensational trade secrets to spring nor is it my intention to eulogize the business or its management. I only wish to offer such impressions as I have gained with the hope that . . .

INTRODUCTION

Poultry is dressed for market by either the “scald pick” or “dry pick” method. Dry uicking is by far the better method wherever birds are to be held for even a few days. The advantages of dry picking are: first, the birds present a much better appearance than when scald-picked; second, it is the most sanitary method; third, and most important, the birds will keep much better than when scaled picked because the delicate cuticle that covers the skin and prevent the invasion of putrefactive bacteria is not injured by dry picking as it is by scalding. The disadvantage of dry picking that prevents its. universal use is that it is a slightly more expensive method than scald picking. The chief reason being that when scalding is practiced, the pin feathers which remain after the bird is rough picked may be rubbed off by the hand, while when dry . . .

An extension poultry specialist in any one of the central western states, where poultry is an important side line on practically every farm, if he takes his job seriously and feels that he owes an obligation to every poultry keeper in the state, has a tremendous responsibility on his hands. In Missouri we have about 265,000 farms keeping a total of some 24,000,000 hens, with an average egg production, according to the 1920 census, of 55.5 eggs per bird.

If the poultry specialist decides under conditions such as these that hrs principal job is to assist in increasing the average egg production in the state, if he is to make any particular impression on his field or is to come any ways near solving his problem, he must secure the cooperation of all available educational agencies which might help in solving the problem.

As extension work is now generally organized, . . .

Beginning July 1, 1921, the Department of Poultry Husbandry of the New Jersey Agricultural Experiment Station, working through its egg laying contest organization, in cooperation with the Squibb Manufacturing Laboratories and with individual poultrymen, starts a campaign for the control of chicken pox in New Jersey by vaccination. The general method of preparation and administration of vaccine used in this campaign will be similar to that employed by Dr. J. R. Beach of the University of California, except for minor changes made to meet local New Jersey conditions. The effort to control this disease will be made mainly by the vaccination of pullets before they are placed in their winter laying quarters.

Details of the Control Campaign

Following is the general plan of the campaign to control chicken pox. The chicken pox vaccine used in this campaign is to be made available to any poultryman in New Jersey who makes . . .

As Dr. Kent announced in the last number of our Journal, the forthcoming Annual Meeting of the American Association of Instructors and Investigators in Poultry Husbandry will be held at New Brunswick, New Jersey, as guests of the State University of New Jersey on Monday, Tuesday, and Wednesday, August 15, 16, and 17. Already the New Jersey Department is planning to give the visiting members a royal welcome and to provide for their entertainment and enjoyment while here. None of us who were present at Purdue last summer can but congratulate Prof. Philips and his staff upon the complete plans and fine entertainment provided. It was surely some example which will be hard to live up to. Aside from the regular program of papers and addresses, certain sessions and parts of sessions will be devoted to athletics, social occasions, automobile tours and many other occasions which will lend enjoyment and . . .

Objects of Experiments

Acknowledging the fact that the production of poultry flesh was of vital importance in aiding the food production campaign, a series of experiments was outlined with the following objects in view:

1. To determine the optimum weight for fattening.

2. To determine the relative rates of increase in flesh production in ten day, two week and three week feeding periods.

3. To determine the efficiency of various fattening rations.

4. To determine the edible portion of fattened poultry.

Plan

The plan of this experimental work was to carry out the tests with birds of the American breeds, principally Plymouth Rocks and Rhode Island Reds, of uniform type, size, and fleshing. The birds would be separated according to size, having a set standard weight for the average of each lot, having two distinct sizes, one being termed medium and the other large.

These birds would be fed for . . .

It has been decided that it would be best to hold the Annual Meeting at New Brunswick this year since Professor Lewis is leaving New Jersey this fall and because of the International Poultry Congress at the Hague.

We should all look forward to an exceedingly pleasant and profitable week in New Jersey. The New Jersey organization has the reputation of being the widest awake and livest bunch of poultrymen in the country. If you are from Missouri let them demonstrate.

New Jersey certainly has a great deal to show us in the way of contests, intensive poultry farming, hard work and good fellowship. I feel that all the members can very profitably spend the major part of the week in New Brunswick. Everybody come.

There was a greater death rate in the velvet bean meal lots receiving water than in those receiving milk. In the water-velvet bean meal lots . . .

Last year at the Guelph meeting I had my first good taste of illumination and liked it to the last drop. At that time I remember there was some discussion regarding what illumination would do for the late hatched pullets. At that time I had hatched five different ages of leghorn pullets for the purpose of a demonstration as to the proper or most desirable time of hatching for egg production. It was therefore an easy matter to divide these pullets into two lots and provide electric lights for one and allow the other to get along as best it could without.

The pullets were therefore divided into two pens A. and B. and in each pen there were eight pullets from each of five different hatches but all hatched from eggs produced by the same pen. The hatching dates were for lot 1, March first, lot 2, March 25, . . .

HISTORICAL

The tropical velvet bean flourishes in all of the southern states. The vines grow to a length of from 15 to 75 feet and, if grown with corn, will cover with a dense mat over a large area or if grown alone will cover the ground. The first few years velvet beans were grown, on account of the difficulty encountered in harvesting the matter vines, the fields were used for grazing.

During the past few years, however, the vines and beans are harvested in considerable quantities and the beans and pods and vines ground for live stock feeding. Velvet beans make a good yield often reaching 1,800 pounds, or 30 bushels of 60 pounds each, per acre.

The velvet bean contains 18.8 per cent protein, 6.3 per cent fat, and 53.7 per cent nitrogen-free-extract.

When this feed was thrown on the market in large quantities as a general feed . . .

In Walter Hogan’s system he has laid down rules for not only ruling out the poor producer and saving the good one at the end of the laying period, but also a method whereby the record of the pullet can be accurately estimated at the beginning of her laying period. Mr. Hogan consented to have his system checked by the trapnest and Helen Dow Whitaker reports the results in the April issue (1918) of the Reliable Poultry Journal. One year Mr. Hogan predicted the egg production of each and every pullet entered in the All Northwest Laying Contest held at Pullman, Washington, after he had carefully examined them and applied his system—In the report by Helen Dow Whitaker are the predicted records as estimated by Hogan together with the actual records as shown by the trapnest. By rearranging the data presented into three charts some interesting facts are brought . . .