Andy's Diary

At this time of year most of my attention is devoted to trying to ensure a successful breeding season for 2018.

- Andy Marshall

The dark early evenings of winter gave me an opportunity to dip into my old poultry book library and I discovered that the problems so often discussed amongst standard bred poultry breeders in the 21st Century were just as common some 70 plus years ago.

When selecting for the breeding pen you naturally pick out what you think are your best birds. “Few breeders seem to consider health and stamina as a prime factor when putting the pen together. As a consequence birds are bred from that lay thin shelled eggs and birds that produce eggs with low hatchability. This is the first indication of lack of vigour. “

Does this sound familiar? In those days there was high mortality during the rearing period as the quality of feed, additives and drugs were not available as they are today. Lack of vigour today can therefore be masked by the use of high quality feed, feed additives and the use of drugs.