Poultry Notes. WINTER DUCK EGGS.

Horowhenua Chronicle, 28 March 1912, Page 4

Poultry Notes. WINTER DUCK EGGS.

! Under tiliis head an American auj thority, J. C. Olipp, lias much to | .say in the Fanners' .Review, and we cull a port-ion:— Many overlook the fact that the Indian Runner duck is the greatest egg-producing fowl ever bred. Not only tin's, but the redeeming feature about thein is they are extraordinary winter layers. Poultry keepers cannot fully realise their value as a. wink>r egg producer until they try them out and give them proper care. No fowl will lay eggs in winter unlesK housed and cared for properly, so Tndian Runners should find a prominent place on ev-erv wellregulated farm. Ducks are di ffe rent from chickens in one respect; it makes no difference what time in the year they are hatched. At five months of age they will begin laying if they receive proper care. If you have Tndian Runner ducks and thoy are five months old and over and have not j begun laying, you can safely say t.lie j management given is not correct. 'Tt is true you may liave some so- ! railed Tndian Runners with foreign : blood in them, thus putting a handicap on their possible, egg produei tion. I A friend a few days ago asked me |to go over to his place to see I lie ! Tndian Runners. TTo supposed he ;had the best that <rrew in that vnr- ; iety. but to mv surprise T found Iris j docks were not a fair representation •of tlie variety. Tam safe in saying | that tbev were at least three-fourths j Rouen. if there was :my pure blond lin them at nil. There are any number of people wlio have been hoodwinked in this Tndian Runner duck game. Many honest people suppose they have Tndian Runners wihen they hnre not. Tt is true that there are many Tndian Runner brooders straining tlie truth about their laying ability. This over-estimation, of course, has a tendency to do the breed great harm. Many buy Tndian Runners expecting them to lay an egg as by magic you will bo disappointed. Rut if you have ducks, and fully realise the fact that you are required to give them feed and attention as you would any other fowl, yon may justly expect them to respond readily to good treatment and excel most any other fowl in the point of lay- ' mg eggs. Ono man told rac there never .7ns a grander humhug imposed on the people than this Tndian Runner duck fad. Of course, if you want to make a scrub out of the best bred porker that exists you can easily do it by improper treatment. The same is true with Tndian Runner ducks. You can make them mid profitable fowls with but just a lit- i tie extra enre or you can make them simply worthless. With good oare and proper management you can make them the best winter fowls over grown in this country.