The Opelousas courier., 1886-12-11
n Duck Enaeaaa

There is a huge duck farm near South
Easton, Mass, which last year made a
record that was commented upon all
over the country, and attracted much in-
terest. James Rankin is the owner of
the enterprise. This year he again gives
his yearly record, and the matter is
worth reading. He says:
1--WE have got out the present season
some 1000 ducks, chicks and goslings.
Over 1000 ducklings have already gone
to market. We have 1000 of the
choicest reserved for breeding
purposes, 500 of which are al
ready engaged at prices considerably
above their market value. The maxi
nun prices obtained for ducklings were
10 cents per pound; the minimum, is
cents; the average, about ri cents.
Careful estimates and repeated expert
ments have convinced vi that ducks can
be put upon the market at a cost to the
grower Of not over 5 cents per pound.
As these ducklings, when carefully fed,
are ready for market when nine or ten
weeks old, it follows that three months
from the time when the machines are
filled with eggs the ducklings are put
upon the market at a profit of over 400
per cent. on all investments.
'We sell principally to large retail
ing firms, and they have told us
repeatedly that our artifcially
grown ducks are the best fatted
and plumpest birds in the Boston market;
that they will pay u 5 2 cents per pound
more than they pay for other stock, and
that they will not order elsewhere so long
as we can supply them, so that in order
to sell our ducks we simply have to re-
main at home and fill all the orders we
can.
'sWe wintered the past season $50
ducks, with the proper complement of
brakes. Those ducks commenced laying
January !, and up to a recent date, have
furnished us with Is, AGO eggs, or a little
more than 1913 eggs each. Our young
ducks, Matched March Is, commenced
laying August /, and have been laying
ever since. We are getting quite a has,
ket of eggs daily from these young ducks.
OF the Is. 460 eggs above referred to,
some four thousand of them we used for
purposes of incubation, and the rest
were sold at remunerativc prices for
Others to hatch. Many of our orders we
were quite unable to fill. Many complain
of losing their ducklings through weak
ness in their legs and inability to stand.
This, we think, is owing to too highly con-
centrated food. The natural food of the
duck in IFS wild state is grass and
fish of all kinds. This can be sup
plemented by a grain diet composed of
equal parts of good wheat, bran and
eorn-meal, with plenty of vegetables OF
all kinds-notatoes, turnips, beets, cab
bage, etc. We fed one bushel of cooked
turnips per day throughout the entire
winters of 1885 and 1886 mixed with
meal, shorts and beef scraps. =
ducks will not thrive on an exclu-
sive grain diet. They arc grass-feeicrs,
requiring a larger quantity of food than
hens, but are not particular as to quality.
We grow u young ducks in yards of
about 10 by 100 feet in extent, putting
! 100 in each yard. It is absolutely nee
essary to confine fhera thus, as thew will
not only run their flesh okya.,h Viii
greedily eat all manner of insects, which
they do not stop to kill, and too often
pay the penalty with their lives.
1--WE give water regularly, the same as
food, and only sufficient for them to
drink. Shade is essential. 1t is aston
ishing to see how ducks and apple, pear
and plum trees harmonic. The ducIot
thrive upon the insects, shade AMI fafeig
! leaves, and SO enrich the ground That
the trees are loaded with large, fair
fruit. Our ducklings dress upon an av-
eragge Of five pounds at nine weeks ole,
SO that we usually grow two and some
times three crops of them on the same
land each season. These yards are
plowed up and resseded with grass and
rye in the fall, the crop, OF course, dis
injecting the ground. besides furnishing
green food for the duckiings during the
early spring. We feed largely during
the mlne On green cotn fodder. which
is cut up fine. The young birds not
only fatten on it readily, but seem to
enjoy it hugely, especially the stock.
We are careful not to feed more than the
birds will eat clean, and if too much is
fed gather up the rcsidum. Our losses
with ducklings have not averaged more
than one per cent. for the last two years,
and that mostly by accident
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