Idaho semi-weekly world. [volume] (Idaho City, Idaho Territory) 1875-1908, 1891-04-14
dROWTH OF A DUCKLING
THOSE AT COLUMBIA POULTRY eAen
DON'T KNOW HOW TO SWIM

WIN duck swim?
Not all ducks The ducks Of the Colr,,
ola poultry farm will not This farm l.
u hed Bank, N j., and is the LARGEST - =
''s ~ Klhd IN this part of the country
Inc ducks on this farm ara di,idaa
TWO Glasses, the breeding fIocks and ~, 49,
ao ,, Of dueklings preparing for market
al the breeding fiocks have to do ia to
lay eggs having done that all resnons;
oility on their part ceases. The incnbator
ana the brooder do the rest. Year aftor
year the ducks Of these breeding eoci,s
nave been carefully selected and bred 70.
sether with the single idea of malring
them good layers.
II Is seldom that duck in the bread.
ing hooks wants to set, and when recent.
" ar. Burr, the proprietor of the farm
put tank Of water in one of the brood
ing pens the ducks had to be driven into
IT, ana when they got there were so scared
'iiat they got out again, heaping wild
Anathemas in duck language on the head
OF Mr. Burr for trying to drown them
put when 1t comes to the business of Law
ing eggs these ducks are in their element
and for about five months in the wear
each self respecting, hard working mem
Der OF the flock will lay one egg a day.
no" THE BIRDS ARE CLASSIFIED
Inc oOO ducks which compose the breed
ing tiocks at the Columbia farm are kent
during the breeding season in long
low house divided into twelve conpart-
ments Twelve yards, of which thew
have the run, adjoin the commitments
They are divided into twelve tribes in
order to facilitate selection and observa-
tlon, for duck that falls below the stan
dard IS eliminated Mr.. Burr has been
tor ilVe years experimenting with artifi-
clal incubation, and has finally got it to
point which is nearly perfection.
Having got the breeding ducks to Law
prolifically and confne 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-
llanties 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 it were, for their other
food Oyster shells We're tried, but the
result was an egg with shell so hard
that the duckling which the incubators
tined 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 little healthy exercise when he
picks his way out under the genial
warmth of the incubator.
Given the proper breeding fiocks and
the proper eggs, the next problem was
| the management of the incubators. It
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 have little effect Twelve
incubators. IN which are G,000 eggs, are
ut 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 tc
give the best results.
WHAT THE INCUBAToRs CAN DO.
! When a duck sets on nest Of eggs
t.F ltf1 hgpi~a 70,
them evaporation takes place through
the porous shells and the water elimi-
mated from inside the shell leaves room
for the embryo ducklings to grow. As
the incubation proceeds, the broodina
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 pat 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 10y II moist atmosphere, in which
Evaporation is almost impossible.
Ii was also found that as duckling,
grew in the eggs large amount Of
Ignimal heat WIS generated. This rem
llelrd it necessary 10 diminish the ez
terual application Of heat, and now the
last dav or two Of the Matching is done
almost entirely by the heat furnished by
the ducklings themselves. The lncu
Ibators are kept at a temperature OF lo'
l1pyrees for the first twelve or fourteen
tdavs. After that slight variations II
Itenppratme will do no harm. Whel
1.-THE erss begin to hatch the temperature
lis put up to 1903 degrees, and kept there
Iontil ali are out. For thirty.six hour
after they are Matched the ducklings arr
kept in the iucubators. Then they ar
taken to the brooding house
The brooding house is nearly POO fee
long ana plays the mother duck to 5'6V
Iduekliugs at the same time. It's divided
into pens communicating with glaS
Yards. and here can be seen duckllng
ranging from one day 20 ten weeks OF
nh divided off according to their age
When one of the ducks in the breedln;
mems looks over at the incubator nous
and thinks what tedious job Is oelhi
taken off her hands there, and thei
catches sight of the brooding house
which is relieving her OF all the responsi
bilities OF motherhood, she is so grateIu
That she goes and lays another egg -NeV
York Tribune.
An African slave who was purchase
in 1884 bv a Mohammedau family
| :. IL =, tsAS laaNinr a tOrtNl