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.
[Illustration: WEST SIDE OF LANE.]
Rye comes first in the season (I always cultivate it for 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.
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 with which 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.
[Illustration: OUR TWENTY-FIVE HUNDRED BREEDING DUCKS. Kodak standing in
centre of yard.]
[Illustration]
[Illustration]
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 out or 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.
Careful Watering Even More Essential Than Food.
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.
[Illustration]
This process should be repeated until the whole hatch is 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.
How to Select 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.
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 in it. 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.
[Illustration]
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.
Method of Dressing Ducklings.
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.
[Illustration]
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 while
picking; 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
shipped without 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.
How to Ship Poultry.
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 paper had 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.
Disinfecting the Ground a Necessity.
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 are emptied, 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 trim and 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.
Natural Duck-Culture.
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? Many of 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 six or 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.
Handle Your Hens Carefully.