, 1890-06-19
GROWTH OF A DUCKLING
THOSE AT COLUMBIA POULTRY FARM
DON'T KNOW HOW TO SWIM.

Ahe AhChoAhAoh hhu nFoOolnk mouse IRE
ate Feelings of Deepest Gratitude In
the Breast of Her DuekshIP-HAteh-
Ing 5000 Eggs at One Time.
viii a duck swim7
Not all ducks The ducks of the Colum-
bia poultry farm will not. This farm Ia
at Red Bank, n. J., and is the largest Of
Its Kind in this part Of the country.
The ducks on this farm are divided into
two classes, the breeding fock and the
Jocks Of ducklings preparing for market
All the breeding fiocks have to do Is to
lay eggs; having lone hat all response
bflity o n their part ceases. The incubator
and the brooder do the rest. Year after
year the ducks of these breeding focks
have been carefully selected and bred to-
gether with the single idea Of making
them good layers
1t Is seldom that a duck in the breed
ing hocks want to set, and when recent
ly Mr.. Burr. the proprietor Of the farm,
put = tank Of water in one Of the breed
ing pens the ducks had to be driven into
1t. and when they got there were so scared
that they got out again, heaping wild
xnsthemas in duck language on the head
Of Mr.. Burr for trying to drown them.
But when 1t comes to the business of lay
ing Eggs these ducks are in their element,
and for about FIVE months in the year
each self respecting, hard working mem
ber Of the flock will lay one egg a day.
HOW THE BIRDS ARE CLASSIFIED.
The 500 ducks which compose the breed.
ing focks at the Columbia farm are kept
during the breeding season In a lone,
low house divided into twelve compart-
ments. Twelve yards, OF which they
ave this rua, adjoin the compartments.
They are divided into twelve tribes in
order TO facilitate selection and observa-
ton, for a duck that falls below the stan
dard is eliminated. Mr.. Burr has been
for Eve years experimenting with srtifi-
cial incubation. and has finally got it to
apoint which is nearly perfection.
Having got the breeding ducks to lay
politically and confine their attention
entirely to that one branch Of the bust
ness, the next thing was TO get eggs from
them best suited to the personal pecu-
l~iarities and habits of life Of the incuba-
tors. 1t was found that in order to make
good egg shells, the ducks needed to be
furnished with some sort Of sea shells as
an appetizer. as 1t were, for their other
food Oyster shells were tried, but the
result was an egg with a shell so hard
that the duckling which the i~ncubators
tried to hatch gave up the struggle to
get out of his shell and quietly settled
down to die before he had fairly begun
to live. Finally, fine. brittle shells, col
lected on the seashore, were tried, with
the result Of forming an egg shell Just
firm and hard enough to give the duck
ling a little healthy exercise when he
picks his way out under the genial
warmth of the incubator.
Given the proper breeding locks and
the proper eggs. the next problem was
the management Of the i~ncubators. II
was found absolutely necessary to have
perfect control OF the regulation Of the
temperature, An incubator house was
built partly under ground so that the
effect of sun and the varieties Of the eli
mate would nave little effect Twelve
incubators. in which are 5000 eggs, are
at work in this house. quietly and unos-
tentatiously doing the work Of which
they have relieved the ducks which laid
the eggs- The incubators are heated by
hot water. the heat coming from above,
which arrangement has been found to
give the best results.
WHAT H NcUBAToRs CAN DC.
When a duck sets on a nest Of ggs
and the germ of life begins to grow In
them. evaporation takes place through
the porous shells and the water elimt
mated from inside the shell leaves room
for the embryo ducklings to grow. As
the incubation proceeds, the broodtng
duck furnishes from her feathers an oil
which covers the shell and stops the
evaporation. Mr.. Burr has accomplished
the same results in his ~incubators by
regulating the moisture. When the eggs
are first put in there is only one pan OF
water put in with them. but as the pro
cess OF incubation proceeds other pans
are added, until the hot, dry air which
first filed the incubator has been re-
placed by a moist atmosphere, in which
evaporation is almost impossible.
1t was also found that Us ducklings
grew in the eggs a large amount OF
animal heat WAS generated. This rem
dered 1t necessary to diminish the ex-
ternal application Of heat, and now the
last day or two of the Matching is done
almost entirely by the heat furnished by
the ducklings themselves. The incu-
bators are kept at a temperature Of l02
degrees fer the first twelve or fourteen
days. After that slight variations In
temperature will do no harm. When
the egg begin to hatch the temperature
Is put up to l0S degrees, and kept there
until all are out For thirty six hour
after they are Matched the ducklings are
kept in the incubators. Then they ART
taken to the brooding house.
The brooding house is nearly 200 fee,
long and plays the mother duck to 8,e0(
ducklings at the anne time. 1t is divided
into pens communicating with glass
yards, and here al be seen ducklingl
ranging from one day to ten weeks ole
all divided off according to their age
When one Of the ducks In the breeding
pens looks over at the incubator hous,
and thinks what a tedious job is beinl
taken off her hands there, and theI
catches sight Of the breeding house
which is relieving her of all the response
bilities Of motherhood, she is SO grutefu
that she goes and lays another egg.--Nev
York Tribune.
The Safer Styles