Duck Raising.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 5 April 1911, Page 4

Duck Raising.

Before one launches too far in the duck business bo extremely cautions. Hut before you get too far out be extremely careful about "biting off more- than you can chew." I find .some have the .impression that they can raise ducks by tho thousands on an ordinary bit of ground, regardless of equipment. But remember such a thing cannot be done. If you make sucii an effort you will .scon discover something; has "''hit you." It is one thing to raise a few hundred dnicks and quite another thing to grow them by the thousands. The greatest mistake the amateur is liable to make is over-doing the thing. An American authority says:—"A visitor to our place one evening, in talking on this point said: "Our mistake last season in raising ducks was that we tried to raise too many and the consequences were we lost almost all we hatched. "If you read somewhere where someone successfully produced /5000 ducks on less than two acres of ground, don't get the idea you can do the same thing. Such a thing can be done, and is done every year, by many experienced duck growers, Imt never under the sun can the novice accomplish such a feat. It takes a man up and coming to-grow fowls of any kind by the thousand. Even several hundred grown in one season under one management and one fence is quite a task. If he does it he will come up smiling, fully realising that if ho does n'ot help himself no one else will do it for him. It's only ono in a thousand that can successfully raise ducks, chickens and turkeys by the thousand and only about one in a hundred who can raise them by the hundred. The custom of 'hogging matters' is very common and such management always results in failure. Then comes the worry that killed tho cat. Remember that when you read about 5000 to 8000 ducks being successfully grown on two acres of ground or a comparatively small area, of ground, it is 'ducks for market,' meaning they are shipped out every eight or ten weeks, and are not retained for ten or twelve months for breeding purposes. Those of my knowledge who have tried growing ducks by the thousands on a small area of space sooner or later offer their ranches for sale owing to failure of health, but. on investigating the matter just a bit, you can soon ! guess what ailed their health. Tho duck business is like all other business—it must be learned. "Tt has taken the successful duck growers many years to master the art of growing ducks by the wholesale ; grow a nice flock of ducks of one or two hundred in a season, but. if yon attempt.a larger number than this without considerable experience you will soon discover that life on a duck ranch for a green hand is not what it is supposed to be. It's not my intention to discourage one in the du-ck venture, but only to caution to avoid overdoing matters before yon get the experience. .Ducks are the easiest fowl grown to my knowledge and for that reason many overd matters by trying to grow too many in n small place in one season."