, 1882-06-09
Raising Ducks,

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iectionable, except in the case Of the
very small and young duckIings, hun
dreds can bc annually raised whore
the water has to be supplied artitci-
ally. Where there is small stream
near the house it can be used for the
ducks, or enough of it can be di-
vcrted from its source to make a
small artificial pond, which is, per
haps, the best
There are hundreds of farmers who
might raise large tiocks of ducks AN
nually, if they would make the effort,
and the profits could not help but be
satisfactory, if the birds were prop
erly managed As ducks get most OF
their living off the grass, they are
profitable to raise, where there Is no
small fruit raised which they can get
access to. Any little low, shedlike
houses will do for ducks, and the only
thing to keep them properly is to keep
the place clean and well supplied with
straw or fine hay as bedding
The domestic duck is not disposed
to be an exemplary sitter, She re
aures more care when she sits, for,
as she cannot 90 to her food like the
hen, attention must be paid to place
it before her, and she will be con-
tended with it, whatever its quality
1t has even been remarked that when
ducks are too we'll fed they will not
sit we'll; but even if they do, another
serious objection is brought against
them, and that is, when the eggs are
hatched the duck mother will strike a
bee line for the first pond, puddle or
stream, with her brood, regardless of
consequences, and is apt to stay in
the water until the young ducklings
are "wet through then many of them
die of chills and cramps.
All these reasons often induce poul-
try keepers to have duck eggs Matched
by hens, and being more assiduous
than ducks, these foster mothers take
an affection for the young to watch
over, which requires close attention,
because as these are unable to accom-
pany them on the water, for which
they show the greatest propensity as
soon as released from the shell, they
follow the mother hen on dry land
and get a little hardy before they
venture into the water without any
guide.
Ducks are easily kept, from the
shell. After they have passed the
critical period, like chicks and poults,
they are industrious foragers, and
thrive rapidly. Their keen appetite,
capacious craws, and strong digestive
organs, enable them to assimilate any
kind of corse or refuse food. 1t is
best to restrict them in their liberty
until they are four or five weeks old.
and supply them up to that time with
very little, if any, more water than
they need for drinking purposes, and
there will be several more ducks
raised.
Their food for the first few weeks
may be crumbled bread sopped in
milk, oatmeal or barley, meal cake
with milk, and cooked corn meal and
nettle leaves chopped fine, to which
milk may be added. When they are
from three to four weeks old, barley
or oats thrown into water may be
given for a change. The great thing
in pushing the birds along is always
to have some food in their crops, and
directly they become tired of one
kind of food, at once change it and
so induce them to eat, as the more
they consume the faster they grow,
and the earlier they are fit for the
table.
AT six or seven months old well
kept duck makes a toothsome Wand
for the best of tables. Myriads of
them are readily sold in the fall at
remunerative prices, and all through
the cold season they are in constant
cash demand in our city markets.
Cor. Poultry Journal