White Leghorns In Japan
Every breeder of S. C. W. Leghorns will be interested in knowing that in the development
of poultry culture the Japanese are following the American ideas, and that their most
successful poultry plants are devoted to S. C. W. Leghorns, the greatest egg producers
known. Japanese fanciers use the American Standard of perfection, these having been
literally translated into Japanese. In judging they use the score card, and the purpose
of the judges is to apply it according to the Standard. The management of poultry is
almost wholly by the intensive system; "very intensive it is too." But in Japan there is
a reason for this which does not hold here in the South. The Empire of Japan about equals
in area Tennessee. Kentucky and Georgia and has a population of nearly 50,000,000, about
half as many as the whole United States Nor does that statement tell all the story. Much
of the land in Japan is not tillable. Every foot of tillage land in the Islands has been
(it is said) under cultivation for hundreds of years, hence the Japanese poultryman has
to keep his fowls closely confined. There are three poultry plants in Japan, each keeping
10,000 or more S. C. W. Leghorns. These are all said to be established long enough to
demonstrate the venture as successful.
The oldest of the three has been running for over twenty years. On these plants the
average yard-room per fowl is but twelve square feet, expressing that statement in the
terms generally used in this country. We have a yard say 10 x 30 feet for twenty five
fowls or 8,630 hens per acre. Keeping land clean is quite a problem. Every two weeks the
yards are thoroughly swept and the houses and fences whitewashed twice a year A still
more thorough cleaning includes the turning over of the soil in yards. The houses and
fences are of wood and quite similar in construction to those in use here. The feeding of
fowls also is on the same line. The principal difference noted is that while with us corn
is the staple food, with them it is rice, and for animal food they feed a great deal of
fish and fish waste, while with us meat products are used. Both clover and alfalfa and
the waste of many kinds of vegetables are used for green food. Oyster shell is given
freely. The cost of feeding a fowl is given at about forty-five cents a year, which,
considering the difference in the purchasing power of money, is equivalent to ninety
cents here, as against our usual average of about $1.25 per fowl per year. Eggs are
relatively high, the usual price being about three cents each. The average egg
production, I understand is rather lower than ours. The profits, less the expense, are
about the same there as here.
WHITE LEGHORN FARMS LARGEST IN THE WORLD
The Leghorns in general hold the
same place among fowls that the Jersey does among cattle, and like the Jersey they give
the largest returns for the least expense in housing and feeding. When Leghorns are well
fed the surplus does not go to fat, inducing sluggishness, but to increase egg
production, so that for the year round they are producers of large white eggs, which
always receive the highest quotations. She has no equal, this is plainly demonstrated by
the fact that the largest egg farms in the world are entirely stocked with Single Comb
White Leghorns — the egg machines of the present day. While their bodies make small
carcasses as dressed poultry, they rank high in quality, as the meat is fine grained,
sweet and tender. As they mature so rapidly they can be raised to the broiler age very
cheaply, being always plump, even when very young and small.
In regard to the eggs hatching strong chicks, we say that if the stock is the right sort
there are no eggs that will hatch equal to the Leghorn eggs. And the chicks are hustlers
from the start. At the age of five and six months the pullets are beautiful with their
snowy plumage and gay combs, are ready to lay eggs, which will pay for their cost and
keep before most other breeds have had a thought of the debt they owe. There are two
questions which must be considered in egg production as a business. One is, how much does
it cost to grow a hen to a laying age? The other is, how much does it cost a year for her
maintenance? There is no profit in a 200-eggs-a-year hen, if it costs more to produce the
200 eggs than they will bring on the market. It is a fact conceded by all breeders of the
heavy varieties that one can keep five Leghorns on the same amount of food that three of
the larger breeds will require. The question of housing is also one of importance, for
the egg farmer or the fancier. Naturally they do not require the space in a building that
the larger birds must have.
That a Leghorn is a nervous bird can not be denied; she would not be a Leghorn, but turns
this nervous energy to good account, as she is continually exercising, and hustling after
feed that would otherwise go to waste. By this hustling she overcomes the difficulty of
taking on too much fat to be profitable as an egg producer; while with the heavier breeds
this is quite a serious matter, as they are willing to sit still and consume what is
provided for them, but are not willing to exercise enough to prevent becoming over-fat.
On Chick-a-Dee Farm, the home of the writer, all these above mentioned experiences have
been learned by actual testing along side by side with various other breeds, covering a
period of several years. All chicks hatched, intended for breeding purposes are hatched
and reared, by natural methods; raised on the colony house plan; having free range, and
are fed a balanced ration, all of which my years of experience in poultry breeding has
taught me that it takes to produce a properly developed bird, that will produce and
reproduce itself.
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