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 birds off 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 gallied as 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.
Diarrhoea.
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.
Abnormal Livers.
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.
Ducklings must be Carefully Yarded While Young.
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
getting a 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 more
profitable each year; while the experience of the past season has been
highly satisfactory, as the demand has been greater than ever before.
FORMULAS FOR FEEDING DUCKS.
For Breeding Birds.
(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.
For Laying Birds.
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.
For Feeding at Different Stages of Growth.
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 BUREAU.
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 in their food. Remove the bird to clean quarters and a few days
will usually effect a cure.
QUESTION 4.--I am losing my ducklings from diarrhoea. 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 foetid air, and the birds breathe over and over again
the ammonia arising from 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. They command 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
to eleven 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?