POULTRY NOTES.

Dominion, Volume 19, Issue 48, 20 November 1926, Page 26

POULTRY NOTES.

(By

“New-Laid”)

Some Hints on Duck-Raisins. Of the many different varieties of poultry 1 have handled, ducks seeui the most Human to me. They are sharp,-too, and while very timid and easily scared, they quickly respond to and understand kind, gentle treatment (writes ’’Ducker” in Poultry Bulletin”). In many ways they are tile easiest of all poultry to handle, and will return the quicnest money. Penins or graae Pekins will be ready tor sale in six or eight weeks, and should weigh from lour to six pounds at that age. If early hatched they will bring good prices. There should be one drake for each five ducks, and kept constantly together, then, barring the first six or eight eggs from each duck, each < gg be counted on to produce a vigorous duckling. Ono year we had 160 young ducks at one time, all hatched with hens and from a flock of fourteen or fifteen layers and three drakes. As everyone knows, the ducks rarely skip a day in laying all through the duck season, from August until December.

We had coops in which to keep the hens and ducklings, but the babies soon grew too independent for their mothers. They flock together in a very few days, and for this reason ducklings of different ages should be penned separately. They dislike icosting m coops, but will readily go into a pen and roost < n the dry litter which should always be kept for them to rest upon, at least until settled weather comes. As damp roosting quarters are very bad for them, keep a part of their sleeping quarters roofed aver. Ducks are dirty, especially about the watering place, and ougiit not to run with other poultry, and never run to the chicks’ or turkeys’ watering places. Always have a deep vessel full of water near the feeding trough, so that the ducklings can immerse entirely their heads. This is the way they clean their bills, and unless they do have deep water the nostrils become clogged with feed and dirt. Our ducks have no swimming water excepting the pools of water after a shower of rain.

For the first week feed maizemeal bread, soaked in milk, and to each quart a handful of sharp sand well mixed in. This proportion of sand is used once each day until they are sold. Except for the first day or two I don’t think it is necessary to bake the bread. All the time they are fed coarse maize meal, made with moist skimmed hulk, and fed in clean troughs. They arc given all they will eat five times . each day, and after they leave the troughs, if any food is left, it must be cleaned out, the troughs flushed with clean water, and twice a week the troughs scrubbed with a broom and boiling water. Twice a week pounded charcoal i» stirred in the feed. Don’t give milk to drink, or they will get it on their feathers and make themselves unsightly. Lacking milk to mix the feed, some moat preparation will be necessary, as ducks are great meat eaters. Of course, to make such rapid growth and gain, large amounts of feed are necessary. It is more like preparing feed for pige than for poultry. Never allow the birds to become scared, if possible to prevent it. A strange dog passing through the duck yard will cause a loss of several pounds just from fright. The attendant or feeder should be very quiet in his movements, and should hot be changed unless the ducks are afraid of him.

Some extensive duck farms keep artificial lights going on bright moonlight nights. I don’t know whether it is moon madness or not. but ducks certainly act oueerly sometimes. One warm summer’s night, when the full moon made out of doors almost as light as day, there was quite a commotion among the ducks, and one used to duck noise can imagine that 150 would make quite a racket. Not knowing but that a fox was around. I went to investigate, and found those ducks going round and round in a seething mass. It was really laughable to see all those snowy ducks going at such a pace on the green sward. Several minutes were required to get them quieted down. Darkness or dim moonlight doesn’t affect them thus, and artificial light, even a lighted lantern hung to a post or tree, 'is said to counteract the moon’s effect. It seems that such light should be used at all times, though. Ducljs are good potato buggers, but don’t allow them to run among other vegetables; lettuce and cabbage they will denude of every leaf. Never allow them in the potatoes when the ground is wet; their broad feet pack the soil as they march single file up and down between the potato rows, snapping < p every big that is visible. _ Any ill effects from eating the bugs is not apparent. but we never allow the young ducks to eat them. • I set some of the ducks on hen eggs one year, but they weren’t a success at all. Whether they thought the eggs incubated n. few days too soon, or that they didn’t hatch out the right sort. I don’t know, hut they would eat the poor little wet chirks. AIT I saved was by taking the eggs away before pipping time and giving them to hens or keeping them in a basket of warm cloths. They hatch their own eggs successfully, but, of course, won Id he very late. "Novice.” —A reply to your query will eppear next week.

Cheap Stock False Economy. Failures are often the result of trj-ing to build up a business with inferior stock; a sort of false economy. Better economise on buildings if you must economise at all, and use the money in procuring only the best and most vigorous stock obtainable. It is true, good stock costs good money, but it is cheaper in the end. Economising in the purchase of foundation stock is saving at the spigot and wasting at the bunghole. It is one of the inimitable laws of nature that like produces like, and inferior stock, though it may have a smattering of pure blood in its veins, is not the kind upon which to build a successful business. After selecting a breed, be sure you get strong, vigorous stock backed by a long line of strong vigorous ancestors that have proven their merits.

To reap profits from poultry the flock must be separated into pens of small numbers. Overcrowding is one of the greatest mistakes, and this has been demonstrated many times.