Should You Run Ducks or Hens On Pasture

Taranaki Daily News, 30 September 1940, Page 21 (Supplement)

Should You Run Ducks or Hens On Pasture

Do ducks eat more or. less grass than ' hens? Is it a fact .that they do more harm than hens on good pasture because of their heavier weight and shape of foot? Do cattle pass over grass on which ducks have been feeding? These questions were recently asked of a Daily News reporter.. who passed them j on to the agricultural .editor. That person did not know a great deal about the grazing habits of ducks and poultry, so he asked someone who did. This is the reply: — Ducks will eat short young grass and keep it in that condition. They eat ' r rather more than hens, as they require a bulkier ration. They will improve any pasture. The grass which follows any quantity of ducks is very fine anJ luscious and is readily eaten by- cattle, sheep, etc., provided it is clean and free from fresh droppings. Rain and a few weeks' rest'and "the subsequent growth of grass will freshen any pasture after the ducks. The only damage the. ducks will do is around water troughs, where they make mud hol. ■; in the ground.