The Salt Lake herald. [volume] (Salt Lake City [Utah]) 1870-1909, 1896-12-21
Care and Management of Ducks.

AS duck culture is one of the most
profitable branches of the poultry bus
mess. we give below extracts from a
symposium of suggestions published in
a recent issue of the Rural New
Yorker from the pen of H. E. Moss of
Kansas:
In order TO start Pekins laying. say
January l. which is as early as neces-
sary. begin three weeks precious to
feed them the following mash in these
proportions: Three measures of boiled
potatoes, beets or turnips. mashed;
three each of corn meal and bran. one
each of dried blood Cor beef scraps).
poultry bone, pulverized charcoal and
sharp sand To this add cut green
food. which may consist of cabbage,
steamed clover or any available green
stuff: use half as much green stuff
as the above mixture would make, so
that when complete one-third of the
mash will be greens. Ducks need fod-
der of some kind every day in the
year, and to insure vigor and fertility.
it is very essential during the laying
season
In feeding bone meal be particular
to use the best quality of poultry bone.
/ have seen one of our large packing
houses here who make special fea-
ture of blood and bone for poultry, Sc
lect very carefully for this purpose,
the very best sound bone which is rich
in hypophosphites and lime. In buying
bone meal, be careful not to get such
as is made from gathered bones
sound. diseased and decayed, and fit
only for fertilizing purposes. This
would be fatal to ducks. Use the bone
in the above formula only three days
in week, and the blood every day.
Sand may be fed in the mash or placed
where they can help themselves. Once
or twice a week is sufficient for the
charcoal. AS soon as laying begins
increase the corn meal and decrease
the bran. taking care that they do not
get too fat Feed the above morning
and night.
The young Matched in April and
May and properly cared for will begin
laying in three weeks after you Begin
feeding the above, as viii also the old
ones. Egg production is wholly
question of feed. They lay about 100
10 10 eggs each. on an average, the
first year. and do better the second and
third; but after that, should be dis
carded.
Questions and conditions will arise
in which one must use his best judg-
ment. and act quickly. An ailing duck
may be dead duck in an hour; act
quickly, or his companions may speedi-
ly follow him. 1 have had excellent
results in feeding as follows: No food
whatever for the first "a hours: then,
every two hours for the first four days,
this mixture: One measure of hard
boiled egg. chopped fine, and one of
stale bread or fine bran. one-fourth
measure OF dried blood. one-eighth of
poultry bone. and a little charcoal and
sand Wet the bread with sweet milk
When from four to eight days old,
feed every three hours the following
mixture: Four measures Of cut green
stuff, three each of boiled vegetables,
fine bran and corn meal. one each of
dried blood Cor meat scraps and bone,
with charcoal and sand. From the
ninth day, until six weeks old, feed
four times q day the same, but gradu-
ally decrease the bran and increase the
corn meal little. so that. at the end
of six weeks. You will be using only
one measure Of bran and four of corn