Feeding Ducklings.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 5 October 1911, Page 4

Feeding Ducklings.

Let the 'first feed of young ducklings he bread and milk, the next a little hard-boiled ogg and bread•orum'bs, and so 'on alternately for the first day ; the second day begin tre day with milk sop, then a feed of good buscuit mea'l, scalded and allowed to stand until cool, and then dried with good middlings or oatmeal ; a small amount of finely cub green stuff should lie also mixed in with it; you can keep wn this feed for 10 days, now and then giving them a plate of oatmeal, made crumbly with milk. You will give Jive feeds a day up to this age, and if tho ducks It re for table purposes get them on to a good permanent <Mct> say, -one part maize, one bran, 'wo of'middlings, and uitln all meals now a portion of fresh meat must bo added. If -dried moat is used this srould be boiled with just enough water to mix the- meals -with, no more in the proportion of lib dried memt (greaves, moat scrap, etc.), and the liquor used to mix the whole into a soft scumbly condition, not to'o dry. Keep ilicr'n on this feed, with ■a- little green food until they are ■eight weeks, then finish them off by iT-flucinjr the amount of bran to a mere sprinkling, and giving barley ntoa'l in its .stead. If during the last fortnight you give a feed a day of boiled rice, ami dried l with oatmeal, the- birds' appearance at ta'ble will be much improved. Half a teaciipful 'of .some ro-udi fat should be melted and aded to the water in which tho rice is to be. boiled. This will prevent the rice burning, and add materially to the weight of the clucks. From start to finish a trough containing fine grit or course sand should be in the pen. and the grit covered a few inches deep with water. You will be surprised at the rapid growth* of your ducklings if yon food in tliis way.