ducks in yard
Now, as the birds grow larger, they naturally need less heat, and we must contrive to fix it so they do not get so much. As stated before, no fringe is used beyond the first four brooders,—the space in front being left open; and not only that, but we gradually raise the back of the cover next the walk until it opens an inch or more the entire length of the pen. Those ducklings, before they reach the other end of this brooding-house, will weigh (if well cared for) over a pound each.
The brooder will not then be large enough to hold them, neither do they require the heat, in fact it would be injurious at this age; so before the birds reach the extreme end of the building I shut them off from the brooders entirely by placing a board in front of the opening. The young birds will always thrive better out of doors than in; and when two weeks old I always let them out during the sunny days of April, by opening the slides in front.
At this stage of growth when the birds are from two to four weeks old, especially with the early hatches when confined as they usually are during the inclement weather in winter, unless extreme care is taken, a sad mortality is sure to follow.
There is a great tendency at this stage of growth, when the birds are confined, to overfeed as well as to overheat in the brooders. This, coupled with too little exercise is sure to cripple the birds, weaken their legs and render them helpless. Even experienced growers sometimes get a little careless and lose whole hatches. We have numerous letters from all parts of the country in which people write "My ducklings are all crippled, cannot walk and are dying off fast. What shall I do?" There is only one thing; feed sparingly, and give all the exercise possible. Often, the want of grit will cause the same trouble.
(Our yards have been prepared for this the previous autumn, and are now covered with a thick coat of green rye five or six inches high.) To accomplish this, I make pens outside the building in front, ten feet long, and of a width to correspond with the pens inside. I simply use old boards a foot wide, tacking them together with wire nails, as it is only a temporary arrangement. When snow falls it must be shoveled out at once. Just as soon as the weather and the condition of the ground will allow, I set up the partition wire outside to correspond with the width of pens inside. This wire partition runs the whole length of the yard; and as the yards are 100 feet deep, it gives the ducklings a yard 6x100 feet. I always feed outside whenever the weather will permit. It is needless to say that the sanitary arrangements in this building are of the utmost importance. Indeed, it will require constant watchfulness and care on the part of the attendant.
With several thousand ducklings confined in one building, the tendency is decidedly filthy. The capacity of the duckling for filth is wonderful, and he comes honestly by it. It is simply astonishing how soon he will manage to mix the contents of his water-tank with that of his yard and make both sloppy and offensive. The chick is nowhere in comparison. It is true, the duck is not so easily affected by it as the chick, but it will not do to presume too much upon that. At this stage the attendant will be kept busy every moment from daylight to dark.
OUR DOUBLE BROODING HOUSE.
Not only the regular feeding four times a day requires his attention, but the simple mixing of seventy-five to one hundred bushels of feed each day is quite a little job of itself, especially when the different ingredients should be exact. The water tanks also must be regularlycleaned and filled. The troughs should be carefully cleaned before feeding, as the ducks will readily eat all foreign matter together with the food. In short, the whole business must be systematized all the way through, and the attendant should understand that it is never safe to neglect a single detail.
I had always made a point of doing this duty myself. A few years ago, not feeling well and having other business requiring my attention, I engaged a man whom I considered competent to do this business for me. I took him over the yards, showed and told him just how the thing must be done; watched him to see that he did the work faithfully and complied with all its details. Things went on apparently well for a week or two, when, going home one day, I noticed a number of dead ducklings lying around, and looking under the brooder I found quite a number more. I at once interviewed the man and cautioned him. He insisted that he had followed the instructions to the letter. But the mortality did not abate, on the contrary it increased to an alarming extent; and I had lost more ducklings in one month than I had lost for ten years previous.
I watched him and found that the feeding-troughs were not cleaned at all, and when the birds scattered the sawdust in them the food was thrown on that, the ducklings consuming both. The food was thrown partly in the trough and partly on the ground; apparently a matter of perfect indifference to him. The water-tanks were not rinsed out. Instead of stepping over the eighteen-inch partition wires he stepped on them, breaking down the standards and flattening down the wire, so that the birds were all mixed together promiscuously,—ducklings two weeks old with those of six weeks. The little ones were trodden down by the older ones and almost denuded of their feathers, and there was no thriftto be seen anywhere. To say that I was indignant does not express it. I had often seen such a condition of things elsewhere, but not before on my own ranch; I was absolutely ashamed to show visitors around the yards as long as this state of things existed.
That man was promptly discharged, and I undertook the feeding myself. The birds were sorted out and returned to their own yards, the wire replaced, the feeding-troughs cleaned, the pens carefully disinfected. In four days double the amount of food was consumed and things were decidedly improved. But those birds never acquired that uniformity of size and appearance which had always characterized my market birds. The best material to use in the pens inside the brooding-house is dry, fine sawdust, if it can be obtained. It is by far the best thing I know of for the purpose. The next best is finely chopped straw or hay, tanbark, etc. The brooders, like the pens, require close attention. The top should be scraped off before it becomes offensive, and new material applied. This can be easily done by simply lifting the edge of the cover next the walk and drawing it over into the walk, when it can be taken in a barrow or basket.
It must be remembered that as the broods grow older the cleaning process must be repeated oftener, as their capacity for generating filth will always be in proportion to their size. Those unacquainted with duck-culture have little idea how fast these birds will grow; how soon they will successively outgrow brooders, pens and yards, and how soon every vestige of green will disappear from yards that were thickly covered with rye. But the ducklings must be kept growing at all hazards, and a vegetable supply must be procured from outside.
WEST SIDE OF LANE.
Rye comes first in the season (I always cultivate itfor the purpose, and when coarse, it must be cut so that it can be readily eaten); then grass; and next corn fodder, which is best of all. It is astonishing how much of the latter these birds will consume—hundreds of pounds each day. It should be cut very fine, not more than one-third of an inch in length. Unlike the hen, the birds prefer the stalk to the leaf. Give them all they will eat, once each day. [But we have forgotten that empty machine. After the ducklings are taken out it will be found running at 85 to 90 degrees. I gauge it up to 102 and fill it with fresh eggs at once, not forgetting to fill one tray in the little tender.] There is one bad habit to which ducklings of four or five weeks old are addicted, and that is feather eating. First the down will begin to disappear from their backs; next, as the birds grow older, the quills which grow out from the end of the wings will disappear, and they are all exposed for tempting morsels.
These quills bleed profusely when disturbed, which, of course, seriously retards the growth and progress of the birds. This vice should be checked at once, for vice it is,—superinduced by idleness and close confinement. When the first indications of these troubles appear, the attendant should watch the birds closely for a few moments, when the aggressors can soon be detected. They should be removed at once and confined by themselves, or placed in yards with older birds already feathered out, which affords them no temptation to practice their newly acquired art.
OUR TWENTY-FIVE HUNDRED BREEDING DUCKS.
OUR TWENTY-FIVE HUNDRED BREEDING DUCKS.
OUR TWENTY-FIVE HUNDRED BREEDING DUCKS.
If this is not done at once the vice becomes general, and disastrous consequences are sure to follow. If it has already attained headway, before the novice detects it, he must change them to new quarters; a grassy area is best, where they usually forget all about it. This can be readily done, as the operator should always have a spare roll of eighteen-inch wire netting on hand withwhich he can enclose a given area in a few moments. Too much cannot be said in favor of this wire, it is so cheap, portable and convenient. It can be taken up and removed in an incredibly short time to facilitate plowing and disinfecting the yards. While it effectually separates the birds, it affords little or no impediment to the attendant during the process of watering and feeding. I fasten this wire up to short stakes driven in the ground, using small staples for the purpose. When removed it can be rolled up, stakes and all, without disturbing the staples.
It is then ready for resetting or stowing away for next season's work. This wire is now the cheapest of all fencing for poultry work,—much more so, even, than lath-fencing; and has the great advantage of being portable and far more durable than any other material. Two-inch mesh, No. 19 wire, can be had now for three-quarters cent a square foot by the single roll, and proportionately cheaper by the quantity. Never purchase No. 20 wire, as it will prove unsatisfactory in the end. It is not self-supporting and can only be kept in position by boards, both above and below. There is great difference in the quality of this wire; that made by some firms being of so soft material that it will not stand alone. The squares soon become ellipses, and your eighteen-inch wire settles to a foot. The best I have ever used is that made by the Gilbert & Bennett Manufacturing Company, Georgetown, Conn.
Previous to this our oldest ducklings will have reached the extreme end of the brooding-house, and it will be filled to its utmost capacity. In order to make room for the successive hatches I drive the older hatches out and round to my cold buildings, two in number. These buildings are each seventy-five feet long, with contiguous yards one hundred feet deep. The slides in the buildings are left open, and the ducklings are at liberty to go outor in as they see fit,—a privilege of which they avail themselves as the state of the atmosphere inclines. These yards always have a thick mat of rye growing on them. The partition wires have been set up and the young birds are quietly driven to their respective quarters.
After ducklings reach the age of six weeks, it is not necessary to confine them in buildings during the night. Indeed, they are far better not, unless it is extremely cold, or there is danger from vermin. Even severe rainstorms will not injure them. They should be watched carefully, however, as they are apt, during their antics, to fall over on their backs, when, through suction from the wet and muddy ground, they are seldom able to turn back again. Prompt assistance should be rendered, or it will surely be too late, as the back of a duckling is his most susceptible part. After the birds are six weeks old it will not be necessary to feed more than three times per day, gradually substituting meal for bran, until the birds are eight weeks old, when their food should be, at least, three-quarters meal. There should also be a steady increase of animal food after the seventh week.
Particular care should be taken at this time to give the birds all they need to drink, or your food will be thrown away, as they require more water during the warm weather. They will consume and waste vast quantities, and the water supply should be made as convenient as possible, to facilitate the business. Our water is forced by a windmill into a two hundred-barrel tank, and leads from there through pipes into brooding and breeding houses, into the yards and mixing room,—all with a view to saving labor and time. The water-pans in the buildings are raised six or eight inches from the ground to prevent the birds getting in or wasting the water.
At this stage, during warm, dry spells, the dried excrement of the birds will accumulate on the surface of the ground. This, as a matter of economy, as well as a sanitary necessity, should be carefully swept up before a rain, as the birds will sometimes drink water from the puddles standing around, and it will often seriously affect their appetites, as both yards and droppings are very offensive when wet. Shade is absolutely necessary at this age during warm weather, as ducklings can never be made in good condition when exposed to the sun during the extreme heat of summer. It affects their appetites at once, reducing the consumption of food by one-half. It is always well, if possible, to locate your yards so that the birds can have access to shade. If not, artificial shade must be constructed to meet the ends.
My plan is to set up four stakes, about 6x10 feet, forming a parallelogram. Sideboards should be nailed on these stakes about two feet high. These can be covered with old boards, pine boughs, bushes, or thatched over with meadow hay,—whatever is most convenient to the grower. Great care should be taken in feeding by giving all the concentrated food the birds can be made to eat, and no more, as the largest of them will be ready for market when nine weeks old. Frighten and excite the birds as little as possible while sorting them. The best way to do this is to use a wide board some ten feet long, with two holes cut in the upper side near the middle. These holes should be two feet apart, and large enough to admit the hands for convenient handling. Fifteen or twenty of the birds should be driven in a corner and confined with this board. The birds should now be taken by the neck, one at a time, the largest and choicest selected for market, the rejected ones put in a temporary yard by themselves.
ducks in yard
This process should be repeated until the whole hatchis sorted, when the culls can be returned to their old quarters. They will have a better chance than before, and in a few days will be as good as the others. The oldest hatches, which usually come out in February and March, are all sent to market. The price is too high to save for breeders, but from subsequent hatches, those that come out in April and May, we select our breeding stock.
Even these birds will command a high price, but I cannot afford to wait longer. I am very particular in this selection. The birds must not only be of the largest size, but of the most perfect form. The contour of head and neck, size and shape of bill, length and width of body, all are taken into consideration. As a consequence, not more than one in ten will be found to fill the bill, and my 2,500 breeding birds will be selected from many thousands. The result of all this care and solicitude on my part has been extremely gratifying, as it has not only given me the control of the fancy market, but the birds have always commanded a higher price in the general market on account of their large size and fattening properties.
ducks in yard
As the ducklings are now ready for market, it is necessary that the grower should make some arrangements for disposing of them. He cannot afford to sell them alive to the carts, for though this may be a great convenience to persons who grow a few fowls, the profits which enable these parties to run their collecting carts all over the country, and hire men to pick and dress their fowls, will be quite an item in the pocket of the one who grows on a large scale. The best plan for him is to hire an expert to do his picking for him, and if he cannot get one, to take lessons of one so that he can do it himself. This is a very particular business, as there is a great knack init. Years ago I thought I knew something about picking ducks, but after watching an expert for thirty minutes I was enabled to double my day's work.
This usually has the same effect upon others. For though it may be weeks before the tyro will be able to do what would be called a fair day's work, yet if he keeps his wits about him, and is endowed with a fair share of energy, there will be constant improvement. I received a letter a short time since from a lady in Ohio, saying that she was very much interested in growing ducklings, and was satisfied that there was money in it, but that her greatest trouble was in getting them picked, as it cancelled a large share of the profits, and that she hired a woman for the purpose and paid her twenty-five cents apiece for picking; at the same time saying that she could not bear to pay the woman less, as it took her a half day to pick one duck.
A fair day's work for an expert is forty ducks per day, though I have had men who could pick seventy-five and do it well. The process is very simple. All that is necessary is a chair, a box 2x3 feet and 2 feet high for the feathers, a few knives, and a smart man to handle them. One knife should be double-edged and sharp-pointed, for bleeding. The bird should be held between the knees, the bill held open with the left hand, and a cut made across the roof of the mouth just below the eyes. The bird should then be stunned by striking its head against a post, or some hard substance.
ducks in yard
The picker seats himself in the chair, with the bird in his lap, its head held firmly between one knee and the box. The sooner he gets at it the better, and if he is smart he will have the bird well plucked by the time life is extinct. The feathers should be carefully sorted whilepicking; the wing and tail-feathers and pins thrown away and the body feathers, with the down, thrown into the box. Care should be taken about this, as the feathers are no mean source of income, and will always pay for the picking. A dull knife should be used in connection with the thumb in removing the long pins, and, in fact, all that can be removed without tearing the skin. The down can usually be rubbed off by slightly moistening the hand and holding the skin tight. As there are often some pins which cannot be taken out without tearing and disfiguring the skin, and some down that will not rub off, they must be shaved off. A knife should be kept for the purpose. This knife should be made of the finest oil-tempered steel, and must be sharper than the best razor. The tops of the wings should be left on, and the bird picked half way down the neck. The bird should not be drawn nor the head removed. All this is in reality done in much shorter time than is required to describe it. The expert performs his duties mechanically. The feathers actually seem to stick to his fingers, and he will in seven minutes pick a duck in far better shape than a novice would in an hour. The bird on being picked, should, after the blood is washed carefully from the head, be thrown into a barrel or tank of floating ice. It will harden up so that its rotundity of outline will be preserved.
This method is far better than that practiced by some parties, who pack their birds in ice at once, where the bodies are compressed into all manner of shapes and harden up in that position, and never again can acquire that attractive appearance and rounded outline which a well-fattened duckling should present. After the birds are hardened they should be packed close in light boxes, back down, with the head under the wing, and if your market is within twelve hours ride, can be safely shippedwithout ice, and they will always arrive in good condition. Dealers like to have them come in this way, they look so much nicer and are far more saleable.
I have boxes for the purpose, of different sizes, holding, when closely packed, twelve, eighteen and thirty-six pairs of birds. These boxes are light, made of five-eighth inch pine, are strongly cleated at the corners and ends, and are fitted with hinged covers, fastened down with clasps and screws. I find this much the best way, as the birds always preserve their shape and arrive in good condition, while express companies return the empty boxes free, and when they "get the hang of it" soon learn to deliver promptly and handle carefully.
In shipping poultry the first thing the young poulterer should do is to establish a reputation among the first-class dealers in his vicinity. This can only be done by shipping first-class stock. Never kill a bird unless it is in good condition. Pick and dress them neatly, box them carefully, and they will always command a good price and a ready sale; while equally as good stock, slovenly and carelessly thrown together, will go begging. I have often seen good stock cut several cents per pound, owing to the shipper's carelessness.
A prominent dealer in Boston said to me one day, pointing to a barrel of poultry, "The man who shipped that stuff is a fool! Look here!" He opened the barrel,—it was half full of ducks fairly well fatted and picked. But how those ducks looked. The shipper had evidently thrown those birds in head first, or any way to suit, and then had thrown a lot of ice on the top. The barrel not being very clean, he had introduced blue paper between the ducks and barrel. The ice had melted, the barrel had been capsized repeatedly during transit, and the paperhad been completely disintegrated. It was stuck all over the ducks in little patches and rubbed in, while the birds had acquired a fine tint of blue that would have done credit to a laundryman.
"There," said the dealer, "I shall have to cut that man four cents per pound." If occasionally you should have poor stock always ship it by itself, and notify your dealer of its quality. He will know it soon enough without you telling him, but, at the same time, he will know that you are not trying to put a poor article on him for a good one. One or two pairs of poor birds in a box of good ones will often affect the price of the whole. Never pack a bird till after the animal heat is out. By a close observance of the above, the time will soon come when you will have no trouble in selling your stock. You will have more orders than you will be able to fill.
The past season has been a very satisfactory one to us, as we have not only largely increased our business, but the prices obtained have been better than ever before, while we have been overwhelmed with orders from dealers in New York and Boston which we have been wholly unable to fill.
But to return to the feathers. They should be taken up every day and spread out thinly on a dry floor, turned occasionally, and, in a few days, when thoroughly dry, can be thrown in a heap. Do not neglect this, for if allowed to accumulate they soon become offensive, and nothing but superheated steam will ever deordize them, and be sure that the feather firms will always take advantage of this and charge you roundly for doing it.
When we first begin shipping for market, our yards are usually filled to their utmost capacity, and we are often crowded for room. As fast as the yards areemptied, they should be disinfected by turning them and sowing a crop of oats at once. By the time these oats are two or three inches high they can be reoccupied by young birds, so that two crops can be grown upon the same ground each season.
My plan is this: I do not heat my brooding-house artificially after the first of June, as the building will always be warm enough at that date for ducklings ten days old, without artificial heat. I locate some of my large duck-brooders a short distance apart out-of-doors, building a square pen in front of them, 8x12 feet, with boards a foot wide. Into these brooders I put the newly-hatched ducklings as they come out. They need artificial heat the first few days. Of course it would be poor policy to run the heater for the benefit of a few when it would be a decided injury to thousands.
When the ducklings no longer require heat, which will be in a very few days, I remove them at once, either to the brooding-house or to the vacated yards above mentioned, when by this time the oats will be high enough to furnish them with green food. The business is managed in this way as long as there are eggs to hatch. I use the eggs for incubating long after I cease putting them out; for, if there is but one-third fertile, it is more profitable to hatch them than to market them, as the prices on young ducklings after the middle of October usually rule some three or four cents higher per pound than during August and September.
During the spring and summer months, when things are under full headway, there is naturally great care and responsibility. It will not do to make too many mistakes or neglect necessary duties. The young birds must be fed regularly and given the differently prepared foods according to age,—water supplied, grass and corn fodder cut and distributed according to need. Lamps to trimand replenish, eight thousand eggs to turn twice each day; a new hatch of ducklings coming off nearly every day; the machine to be filled with nicely washed eggs; one to two thousand pounds of ducklings dressed and packed for market daily; cleaning and disinfecting yards; entertaining visitors, who flock here by dozens,—furnish all the occupation we need. Indeed, were it not for the immense profits attending the business, we might consider it rather more than we ought to do.
I disinfect my duck yards with rye about Sept. 1. When, in this climate, frost has destroyed all green vegetable life, then rye is in its prime. If sowed September 1, in duck yards, it will attain a height of eighteen inches, and if sowed thickly will crop many tons to the acre. When corn-fodder is gone, we use green clover, then turnip, cabbage and green rye in turn and then just before a snow storm we cut a large quantity of the frozen rye and pile it up in the shade, where, of course, it will neither heat or thaw. Should we get out before the snow is gone, we always have surplus of clover-rowen cured for the purpose.
This, together with refuse cabbage and boiled turnips, small potatoes, etc., makes a fine winter diet on which breeding ducks will always thrive if the other ingredients are properly mixed,—a diet upon which, combined with housing and plenty of exercise, the birds are bound to contribute a good quota of strong fertile eggs. I mention this particularly here, because the mortality among young birds will depend largely upon the strength and vitality of the eggs from which they come.
Doubtless some of my readers are getting impatient and saying to themselves, "Why do you not give us some ideas how to do this business in the natural way? Manyof us wish to begin small. Every one has not the conveniences to use or the means to command incubators." I am coming to that. I have a vivid recollection of using hens to incubate with some twenty years ago; and the persistent obstinacy of the perverse birds, the large proportion of valuable eggs spoiled and broken, as well as the time consumed in caring for them, are still fresh in my memory. It was wholesome discipline for me. It will be the same to the reader, and enable him to appreciate a good incubator later on.
A good, quiet hen, who attends closely to her business, will always hatch as large a proportion of her eggs as a good incubator; but there are so many with dispositions quite the opposite of this that it leaves the odds largely in favor of the machine. Success with hens depends quite as much with the operator as with machines. He must begin right and hold out to the end. As ducks seldom make good incubators, he will have to rely upon hens to do that business for him. The best breeds for that purpose I have found to be the Brahma or Plymouth Rock. A cross of these birds makes a good quiet sitter.
The birds must be got out early so that they will begin laying in the fall and be ready to incubate by the time you want them. It is well to have a room for the purpose and have the sitters by themselves. The nests should be in rows around the room, the feeding and water-troughs in the centre, with the dust-bath at one end. The nest boxes should be some fourteen inches square and about a foot high. Each one should be furnished with a slide so that the bird can be confined when necessary. If the slide is planed, all the better, as the date of the sitter can then be marked on it. The first thing is to prepare the nests. There is quite a knack in this; indeed, success largely depends upon this one thing.
The best material for this is soft hay or straw, cut sixor eight inches long, placed upon a soil bottom. The sides of this nest should be packed hard, the bottom smooth and slightly concaved, not too much, as the tendency then would be to break the eggs if they crowded towards the centre. There should be plenty of room in the nest for the bird's feet and legs and the eggs too, so that she can turn at will without danger of breaking them. A piece of tarred paper five or six inches square, should be placed on the soil in the bottom of the nest; the whole covered with a half inch of finely cut straw. A few porcelain eggs should be placed in the nest, and when a hen shows a strong desire to incubate she should be placed upon the nest and the slide closed, giving the bird all the air she needs.
This removal should be made after dark as the birds are always more gentle then. It is well to set a number of hens at once, if they can be had, for reasons that will shortly appear. If the birds take kindly to the porcelain eggs they can be removed the next evening and replaced with ducks' eggs. As they are much larger than hen's eggs, nine or ten will be enough in cold weather and eleven or twelve in warm; proportioned, of course, something to the size of the bird. I always take the birds from their nests at a certain time every day; they will learn to expect it. This should be done during the warmest part of the day.
Now is the time to exercise caution. Take your birds off carefully several at a time. If one should fly in your face, break her eggs and spatter the contents over your person, and you should feel like wringing her neck, don't do it; you would only be so much out. Take things easy, don't get mad; she may do better next time, if not, replace her with one that will. When taking your birdsoff in cold weather cover the eggs at once with a circular piece of heavy paper previously prepared, and they will not cool perceptibly during the fifteen minutes the birds are off. Be sure and return each bird to her own nest, for if you have an uneasy sitter, though she may spoil her own eggs, she should have no opportunity to spoil those of others.
Besides, if you do not, hens that have been sitting but a day or two may be placed upon eggs just ready to hatch when she will not take kindly to the young birds as they hatch, and a great mortality is sure to follow. If you should be running 100 sitters, the more you can take off at a time the sooner you will get through. Have a sponge and warm water handy as you will have more or less broken eggs. The rest should be washed clean at once and returned to the nest. When hatching out be sure and remove the little ducklings, as fast as they come out, to a warm place to dry off, as owing to their long necks and peculiar shape the mother hen will unconsciously crush many more of them than she would of chicks. In fact, they should never see the hen after being taken away, as they can be grown to much better advantage, and with far less mortality, in brooders.
And just here is the great economy of setting six or eight hens at the same time; the young ducklings can be all put together in one brooder and cared for with less trouble and with less mortality than that resulting from one hen with her brood. The ducklings should be confined in yards, the same care and feed given them as already recommended for artificially hatched birds. Allusion has already been made to the proverbial timidity of the Pekin duck. This sometimes causes trouble to the grower when the birds are confined together in large numbers. When six or eight weeks old, and even after they are full grown, they often get frightened, or galliedas it were, in dark nights. Being unable to see, one bird will touch another, he will spring away and come in contact with several more.
In an instant the whole are in the most violent commotion, whirling and treading each other down. It will be a perfect stampede and will sometimes be kept up the entire night. After a night of such dissipation many of the birds will appear completely jaded out, and some of them unable to rise. Of course, this must be stopped at once or the grower may bid farewell to all fattening or laying on the part of the birds. Hanging lanterns in the yards at stated distances will usually restore order. It will not be needed when there is a moon. See that there are no sharp projections in either yards or breeding-pens, as both old and young birds are often lamed for life by simply coming in contact with them in the night.
Too much care cannot be exercised on this point, as the bones of the birds are so small and their bodies so frail. As has been intimated before, ducks are not subject to so many diseases as hens,—while they are entirely free from lice or body parasites of any kind. Indeed, I never saw a louse on a duck in all my experience. Still, it cannot be denied that good sanitary conditions, together with plenty of pure air and water, will not only greatly increase the egg-production, but facilitate the growth and improve the properties of the duckling.
Ducklings when confined to yards are sometimes troubled with sore eyes. The adjacent parts become inflamed, the head slightly swelled. This is caused by feeding sloppy food, and from filthy quarters. The feathers around the eyes become filled with the food, the dust adheres to them. The eye is naturally inflamed. Washing out thoroughly and bathing the eye with a little sweet oil will usually effect a cure.
Young ducklings are sometimes afflicted with diarrhoea. This disease is caused more by overheating brooders and the exhausted condition of the mother bird than from improper food. Do not overfeed or overheat the ducklings. Feed bread or cracker crumbs, moistened with boiled milk, into which a little powdered chalk has been dusted.
This disease is the most dangerous to which young ducks are subject. It is seldom prevalent except during the warm weather, and usually in young birds of from two to six weeks of age. The livers of the young birds enlarge to such an extent as to force up their backs,—a deformity which will cling to them through life. It is caused by a complete stagnation of the digestive organs, and often makes its appearance after a heavy rain, or long wet spell, when the yards are invariably wet, sloppy and offensive. The young birds will, while in constant contact with this mud, absorb more or less of it, clogging the digestive organs, and deranging their appetites. Remove the birds to some dry, shady place, feed sparingly, and give a little of the "Douglas mixture" in the drinking water.
A great mortality often occurs to young ducklings when allowed free range during warm weather, from devouring injurious insects. Bees, wasps, hornets, bugs of all descriptions, are eagerly swallowed alive but not always with impunity, and the birds often pay the penalty with their lives. Always confine them, even when designed for breeding purposes, until they are six weeks old, when they can be allowed their liberty.
The most of the diseases to which ducks and fowls are subject can usually be traced to some infraction of conditions, and of course are always more or less under the control of the careful operator. Two young men called here a short time ago wishing to know what was the trouble with their fowls. Hitherto they had occupied a cold building, so open that the snow sifted through on them, and they had never to their recollection had a diseased fowl. Within a year they had put up a nice, warm building with a glass front, and their fowls had been diseased ever since. They had shut their birds in a building that would run up to 100 degrees during the day and that would go down nearly to zero at night, subjecting their fowls to thermal changes, under which neither animal or vegetable life could possibly live, and then expect them to thrive.
The amateur poulterer should understand in the beginning that it is far easier to anticipate disease in poultry than to cure it. Where fowls are kept in large numbers, their health and well-being can only be insured by extreme care and cleanliness, together with a free use of disinfectants. Buildings should be kept dry, clean and sweet, and not too warm. The greater the variety of food the better, so long as it is healthy and nutritious; while gravel, sand, shell and granulated charcoal should be kept by them during confinement in winter.
I am often asked by parties, "Why do so many would-be poulterers fail if it is a legitimate business and fairly profitable?" I reply, I am not prepared to concede the point that the proportional number of failures in the poultry business is greater than among other vocations in life. Hundreds of men fail every year in mercantile, manufacturing and brokerage pursuits. People do not decry any legitimate business from this cause, because they know there are hundreds who are not only gettinga livelihood, but are amassing fortunes at them. There are hundreds, yes thousands, of farms on the market in New England today, for less than the value of the buildings, because their owners have made failures of them. Do men denounce agriculture? No! Because they know that from time immemorial men have not only secured an honest living, but have gained a competence from tilling the soil. You simply say that it is the men. Why not be equally frank with the poultry business?
They say the whole thing is contrary to nature, and you can't improve upon nature. Can't we? That is just what man is placed upon this sublunary sphere for, and he must begin by improving himself. With the present opportunities for obtaining information, no one has a right to remain ignorant because he begins by making a failure of himself; and when a man has failed in the poultry business or elsewhere, it is simply want of that indomitable pluck, energy, and perseverence, which are the requisites of success everywhere, coupled with a disinclination to sacrifice his comfort and ease, or conform his life to his business requirements.
Again, we hear that artificially grown fowls are stunted and small, the flesh tasteless and insipid, and many other things which have no shadow of truth in them. I append the testimonials of some of the largest poultry dealers both in Boston and New York cities, who cheerfully and voluntarily testify to the superiority of our artificially-grown birds. These firms are square and honest dealers, and we heartily recommend them to any who stand in need of their services.
I have endeavored in this little book to impart what little knowledge I possess on this important subject to the reader. If he can learn wisdom by my experience and avoid the errors into which I fell, it is all I ask. The business, as I have learned its details, has become moreprofitable each year; while the experience of the past season has been highly satisfactory, as the demand has been greater than ever before.
(Old and young, during the Fall.)
We turn them out to pasture, when we can, in lots of 200.
Feed three parts wheat-bran; one part low grade flour; one part corn meal; five per cent. of beef-scrap; three per cent. of grit, and all the green feed they will eat, in the shape of corn-fodder, cut fine, clover or oat-fodder. Feed this mixture twice a day, all they will eat.
Equal parts of wheat-bran and corn meal; ten per cent. beef-scrap; twenty per cent. of low grade flour; ten per cent. of boiled turnips or potatoes; fifteen per cent. of clover-rowen, green rye or refuse cabbage, chopped fine; three per cent. of grit. Feed twice a day, all they will eat, with a lunch of corn and oats at noon. Keep grit and ground oyster shells constantly by them. We never cook the food for our ducks, but mix it with cold water.
The first four days, feed four parts wheat-bran; one part corn-meal; one part low grade flour; five per cent. fine grit. Feed four times a day, what they will eat clean.
When from four days to four weeks old, feed four parts wheat-bran; one part corn-meal; one part low-grade flour; three per cent. fine grit; five per cent. of fine ground beef-scrap, soaked. Finely cut green clover, rye or cabbage. Feed four times a day.
When from four to eight weeks old, feed three parts wheat-bran; one part corn-meal; one part low-grade flour; five per cent. of fine grit; five per cent. of beef-scrap. Mix in green food. One per cent. fine oyster shells. Feed four times a day.
When from six to eight weeks old, feed equal parts corn-meal; wheat-bran and fifteen per cent. low grade flour; ten per cent. of beef-scrap; ten per cent. of green food; three per cent. of grit. Feed three times a day.
When from eight to ten weeks old, feed one half corn-meal; equal parts of wheat-bran and low grade flour; ten per cent. of beef-scrap; three per cent. of grit. Oyster shells and less green food. Feed three times a day. They should now be ready for market.
Note.—The above ingredients should be made into a mash, and should be crumbly, not pasty. Proportions by measure, not weight.
Question 1.—Why do my ducks not lay? I feed them all the corn they will eat.
Answer.—Ducks will not lay on hard grain alone. They should have a mash composed of equal parts wheat-bran, corn-meal, and twenty per cent. low grade flour, with about one-quarter green food and vegetables; ten per cent. of beef-scrap, with grit and oyster shells.
Question 2.—My ducklings are weak in the legs, cannot stand, and soon die. What is the matter?
Answer.—Your trouble is too highly concentrated food and too much of it. Feed on mash composed largely of wheat-bran, low-grade flour and about fifteen per cent. of corn-meal. Mix in plenty of green food, as green rye, clover, corn-fodder, etc. Ten per cent. of ground beef-scrap, or other animal food; five per cent. of coarse sand. This diet is absolutely necessary to properly develop the bird and form flesh, bone and feathers. Feed sparingly. This is essential, as it invites exercise, which is much needed during close confinement in inclement weather.
Question 3.—My ducklings are troubled with sore eyes and do not seem to thrive, what can I do for them?
Answer.—This disease savors of filthy quarters, and yet it is not always attributed to that. Improper assimilation of food through want of grit and other ingredients will have a tendency in the same direction. A gummy secretion exudes from the eyes, hardening up among the feathers around them, seriously retarding the growth and development of the bird. Feed sparingly of light food with plenty of grit, and sprinkle a little ginger intheir food. Remove the bird to clean quarters and a few days will usually effect a cure.
Question 4.—I am losing my ducklings from diarrhœa. Have but twenty left out of eighty, and they are not ten days old. Please counsel me?
Answer.—This disease may have several causes, though I am convinced that the food has but little to do with it. It may originate through the degenerate condition of the parent bird, and consequent want of vitality in the egg from which the little bird comes out in no shape to live; or from the extremes of heat and cold to which the eggs have been subjected during the process of incubation; or from the same cause after the little duckling has been placed in the brooder. I am convinced that with a careful selection of the proper ingredients in feeding the old bird, and a reasonable control of the heat in the incubator and brooder (if they are good ones), there need be but little apprehension from this disease.
Question 5.—My breeding birds have the gapes. They stretch their necks and gape, eat nothing, and die in a few days. Can you diagnose the case and help me?
Answer.—This is undoubtedly a lung trouble, for on dissecting the birds, I have always found the lungs not only highly inflamed but nearly gone. For years I had supposed this disease incurable, and incidental to bird and clime, but later experience has convinced me that it is not only largely under control but easily anticipated. First, I never knew a case in summer or early spring, when the birds were not confined to buildings but had free and open range, and only when confined during inclement weather, so that it is more or less a denizen of foul air and filthy quarters.
I would much rather have my breeding houses freeze a little than to have them filled with fœtid air, and the birds breathe over and over again the ammonia arisingfrom their own excrements. It is one thing for the birds to be confined over their own ordure, their nostrils but a few inches from it, but quite another with the attendant in the walk with his nose six feet away. He may think his buildings quite clean and free from noxious gases, but could his ducks speak they would tell him a different story. This disease, if taken in the early stages, can usually be cured. Isolate the bird with the first appearance of trouble, in a warm, dry place. Feed on food formula for little ducklings. Mix a little cayenne pepper in the food, a little Douglas Mixture in the drinking water, and a large proportion of the affected birds may be saved. Keep your breeding birds dry and clean when confined.
Question 6.—I turned my ducklings out in a grass plot today and have lost nearly one-third of them. What is the cause?
Answer.—This may result from two causes. Ducklings from two to four weeks old are ravenous birds and will devour all manner of insects within their reach, which they do not stop to kill. Bees, wasps, hornets and beetles of all descriptions are acceptable, and the little birds, themselves, often pay the penalty with their lives. Again, at that age, they are extremely sensitive to the heat of the sun, and they must have shade. Years ago, we sometimes lost twenty birds out of a hundred in thirty minutes, before we knew the cause.
Question 7.—How many birds should constitute a breeding-yard?
Answer.—Twenty-five is enough unless the birds have free range, then fifty may run together with safety.
Question 8.—How shall I proportion the sexes for the best results?
Answer.—Five ducks to one drake. Later in the season, six or eight ducks to one drake.
Question 9.—How can I distinguish the sexes?
Answer.—It is easy for the expert to detect the sex of the bird when very young. The drake has a longer bill, neck and body, with a more upright carriage. At two months old the duck may be distinguished by her coarse quack, the drake by a fine, rasping noise, and later on by the curled feathers in his tail.
Question 10.—How soon will a young duck begin laying?
Answer.—At about five months old, often at four and a half months old. At present, September 1st, we are getting some three dozen eggs per day from our young birds, and we are trying to hold them back all we can by light feeding.
Question 11.—Which will lay first, old or young birds?
Answer.—Young birds will usually lay from two to three weeks before the old ones, but as the first eggs of the old birds are usually more fertile than eggs from the young ones, there is very little discrepancy in the result.
Question 12.—How many eggs will a Pekin duck lay in a season?
Answer.—About one hundred and forty. Their fecundity is wonderful, excelling that of any other duck. We have birds in some yards with a record of one hundred and sixty-five eggs to each bird.
Question 13.—To what age is it profitable to keep a duck?
Answer.—We have kept them till four years old with good results. If not forced they may be kept longer to advantage.
Question 14.—Is there a market for their eggs, and at what price?
Answer.—Pekin duck eggs sell readily in market, as they are much larger than the other duck eggs. Theycommand from five to ten cents per dozen more than hen's eggs.
Question 15.—How much does it cost to keep a duck each season?
Answer.—From $1.75 to $2.00. They are gross feeders, of bulky food, but the greater number and value of the eggs in market over the average hen, makes the duck more profitable as an egg-producer than the hen.
Question 16.—At what season are the eggs of a duck most fertile?
Answer.—During the months of February, March, April and May, though they are usually fertile with us during January, June, and even July.
Question 17.—What per cent. of the eggs will usually hatch?
Answer.—That depends entirely upon how the mother-bird is cared for and fed. See formula for laying birds.
Question 18.—What is the average loss sustained in growing ducklings?
Answer.—Not more than two per cent. with us, but it depends largely upon how the old birds are fed; how the eggs are incubated, and the young birds cared for.
Question 19.—How many birds can be safely kept in one brooder and one yard?
Answer.—About one hundred, and as they grow older, unless the yards are of good size, a less number would grow and fat better.
Question 20.—At what age should the young birds be put upon the market?
Answer.—When the prices are very high in the early spring we market them at about nine weeks old, when they will dress from ten to eleven pounds per pair. Later on, when prices are lower, we market them at ten toeleven weeks old, when they will dress from twelve to thirteen pounds per pair.
Question 21.—When and how do you select your breeding birds?
Answer.—As soon as we can distinguish the quality and merits of the bird, and from our earliest hatches, as they always develop into larger and better birds.
Question 22.—How do you treat the young birds for breeding purposes?
Answer.—Turn them out to pasture, and feed lightly on food calculated to develop bone, muscle and feathers.
Question 23.—What shall I do to keep my ducks still in the night, when they make a great noise and commotion? Some of them are broken down and cannot stand.
Answer.—Hang a lantern in their yard. You must keep them still.
Question 24.—Can ducks be shipped safely any distance?
Answer.—We ship ducks safely all over the United States, Canada and Europe.
Question 25.—Would you recommend incubator or hens for hatching duck's eggs?
Answer.—Incubator, by all means, if hatched in large quantities.
Question 26.—Would you use brooders, if hatched under hens?
Answer.—Brooders are better than hens, for two reasons. It is less trouble to care for them. Hens crush large numbers of them when small.
Question 27.—How long can the eggs be kept for hatching?
Answer.—They can be kept three weeks, safely, if kept on end, in a cool place, but should prefer them fresher.
Question 28.—Can Pekin ducks be crossed with other breeds profitably?
Answer.—From our experience, we can say no. In every case it has required longer time to mature the mongrels, and as the prices decline in the early spring, this is quite an item, besides the introduction of colored feathers injures the appearance of the dressed bird, as well as the quality of the feathers, which is also quite an item.
Question 29.—What is the price of duck's feathers in the market?
Answer.—Formerly, white duck feathers commanded fifty cents per pound, but since white feathers have been imported from Russia in such quantities, ours average about forty-five cents per pound.
Question 30.—What makes their wings turn out from their bodies?
Answer.—This is often caused by the rapid development of the bird. The resting feathers on the sides under the wings, do not keep pace with the rapid growth of the bird, and the constant efforts of the bird to keep the wings in place, tends to turn the wings outward. We have always noticed that these are invariably the best birds.
Question 31.—Which are the most profitable, ducks or chickens?
Answer.—This will depend upon whether the grower is a care-taker, or whether he is careless, lazy or untidy. We think that ducks will bear more neglect than chicks, but it will not do to presume upon that, as ducks will not thrive in filth more than chicks. We think that the average price of chicks in market is rather higher than that of ducks, but as it costs at least two cents less per pound to produce duck flesh, than that of the chick, there is very little difference.
Question 32.—Where are the best markets for ducks?
Answer.—Good markets may be found in all of our large cities, though we think New York and Boston the best. Sometimes, when large shipments produce a glut in the New York markets, the surplus is shipped to Boston, where it may be a cent or two higher. Then in a few days things may be reversed and the exodus be the other way, and as the freight is only one-half cent per pound between the two cities, I have known tons to be shipped at a time.
Question 33.—What would a plant cost, with a capacity of 5,000 ducklings, per year?
Answer.—With good machines, and buildings barely practical, $1,500 (if economically expended) would cover cost, independent of land.
Question 34.—What effect does extremes of heat and cold have upon young ducklings?
Answer.—After they are a week old they will stand much more of either than chicks.
Question 35.—Is the flesh of birds artificially grown, as good as that grown in the natural manner?
Answer.—Just as good. The quality of the flesh depends entirely upon the care and feed given the birds.
Question 36.—How large should the yards be in which the breeding birds are kept?
Answer.—At least one hundred feet long, where the buildings are long, and the width of the pens in which the birds are housed.
Question 37.—Do you think it will pay to grow celery to flavor the flesh of the birds?
Answer.—We have never done so, and parties who have grown celery for that purpose, have discontinued it as being unprofitable in the end, as they were not able to obtain increased prices for their product.
Question 38.—What is the best green food for ducks, old and young?
Answer.—Green clover, green corn-fodder, rye, oats and clover-rowen cured nicely, with green rye, in winter when ground is bare.
Question 39.—Should Pekin duck eggs be pure white?
Answer.—Yes.
Question 40.—Should a pure bred Pekin have any black feathers?
Answer.—No. The feathers should be a creamy white. Dark feathers are a sign of mongrel stock.
Question 41.—Will rain injure young ducklings?
Answer.—They are as susceptible to rain as chicks up to three weeks of age, but after that, will endure more, and at eight or ten weeks old, will really enjoy a good rain storm.
Question 42.—How large do Pekin ducks grow?
Answer.—We have had drakes to tip the scales at 13 pounds each, though this is somewhat rare. The past season, one of our drakes weighed 9-1/2 pounds, dressed, at 10 weeks old.
Question 43.—What is the weight of Pekin duck eggs?
Answer.—In the height of the season, ours weigh about 3 pounds to the dozen.
Question 44.—Is wet, marshy land suitable for ducks?
Answer.—Should prefer dry land contiguous to a stream or pond.
Question 45.—How many duck eggs should be placed under one hen?
Answer.—From nine to eleven, depending upon the size of the hen.
Question 46.—How long does it require to incubate duck eggs?
Answer.—Pekin eggs twenty-seven days. Muscovy eggs thirty-two days, same as geese.
Question 47.—Do Pekin ducks sit well on eggs?
Answer.—No. They are unreliable. Hens are better. A good incubator still better.
Question 48.—If you were a young man, with the same experience you have now, would you enter the poultry business?
Answer.—I certainly would, for two reasons. First, because it is a congenial occupation to me; second, it is by far the most profitable of any branch of farm industry.
Question 49.—Who is the best commission dealer in Boston market to whom I could consign my product?
Answer.—We consider Adams and Chapman, North Market St., safe and reliable, and a first-class firm in every respect.
Question 50.—Who is the best retail dealer?
Answer.—We consider Nathan Robbins Co., Quincy Market, as A-1. They have handled a large part of our product for many years, and we would heartily recommend them.