The times., 1898-10-30
1t Is in the Limits of the City
Of Chicago.
TWENTY THOUSAND BIRDS
The Land Occupied by This Big Duck
Farm Is Estimated to BE Worth
Not Less Than One Million Dol
iars-The DucklinEs Are Hatched
by Incubators-They Are Not A.
lowed to Sport in the Water.

,.
swamps and woods. It is not SO surprising
to learn that there Is a duck farm within
the city limits A few Winters ago a man
was lost for days and was chased by
wolves inside the legal boundaries of the
municipality. That fact detracts a little
from the sensationalism OF the following
from the Inter Ocean:
Chicago has a duck farm, well In the
heart Of the city. and located on land that
is worth 100000 Chatham Fields. as
the farm is called, Is located at the corner
OF Seventy-ninth Street and Cottage Grove
Avenue The cars go whizzing by all day
long within quacking distance OF 1000
ducks. which enjoy all the advantages OF
city life In the end every one of the
1000 will share the fate of the ordinary
oarnyard fowl. however, and find Its way
to the broiler and the spit And these
| city-bred ducks run their reckless and I'm
de steele careers in about half the num-
Der of weeks that 1t takes their country
cousins to round off existence.
The duck farm on a big scale. located
on million-dollar tract of land. Is owned
by L. G. Fisher. capitalist and manu-
facturer. He holds the land as an in
vestment. and while holding It he decided
TO indulge his taste for amateur farming.
AT first he invested in few fancy chick
ems, ducks and geese. The chickens came
more nearly eating their heads or than
the ducks did, and were not SO satisfac-
tory. year ago Chatham Fields was
converted into a duck farm almost exciu-
sively' with 400 or 500 chickens to make
things more homelike.
These ducks are hatched by incubators
and brought up by hand Mother nature
Is allowed to have as little to do with It
as possible. The fowls are turned out by
machinery. fed by machinery, and meet
their death by guillotine at the tender
age of ten weeks.
The 16o acres of the farm are a rolling
piece of ground, sioping away from a.
ciump OF trees The main building is a
Dig, nat, steam-heated brick barn, 600 by
$50 feet in size. This is divided into two
parts, the larger section being subdivided
into pens which will hold about 500 duck
hngs each The other subdivision is cov-
cred with steam pipes raised slightly
| from the ground. A loose burlap curtain
L
are put into the pens. which are kept at
an even and moderate temperature II
from any cause the ducklings become
chilleo or damp, they poke their knowing
| little necks under the burlap curtain,
| push through, and huddle up under the
| steam pipes The whole floor is Of clean
dirt, the top layer being changed often.
The entire philosophy Of scientific duck
raising may be given in a sentence,
Keep the ducks dry and stun them all
the time"
According to Manager Bellows. ducks
| don't take to water. At Chatham Fields
| they would not be allowed 10 il they
\ felt so inclined. On fine days the pens
are opened and the thousands of duck
| lings are allowed for a while to get out
| of the big building and play In the sun
| shine. AT the least sign of rain, back
they are all hustled indoors. They never
swim and never enjoy a drop of water
| except what they drink This is provided
| at watering trough constructed like a
saucer, with teacup inverted in it.
During the season. about !. 900 ducks are
set aside for breeding purposes. TheSa
are selected for their size, robustness, etc
THE season" on the duck farm reverses
the ordinary poultry season as the farm
er's wife knows 1t. At the duck farm
eggs must be laid from December to
April and the ducks Matched and sold
from April to August. The thousand
fowls set aside for egg laying are allowed
to run about freely in a big. grassy yard
They are given enough to eat to keep
them in fair condition, and are expected
to hustle for salads. This they very
much enjoy, as II gives them a chance to
dig their bills in the ground for roots and
worms.
The expense of keeping these breeding
fowls is small. About December the ducks
| begin to lay eggs. The eggs are put in
the incubators, 800 to a machine, and are
| Matched in twenty-one days. The duck
lings are put at once into the 'brooder.''
where they live out their ten or twelvs
weeks of life. By this patent process Ok
raising ducks the percentage Of loss Is
considerably less than when the farmers
wife persuades a good-natured hen to
hatch out a setting of duck eggs. The ex-
perts at that farm never make the mis-
I take of putting an egg into the incubator
| unless it is sure to hatch They are all
tested, and must not be over 4 week old.
So altogether the loss will not reach 25
per cent from all. causes. Baby ducks
are fed every two or three hours, and YET
they are hungry all the time. They SIM
ply live to eat, and have no ether a1sbi-
ton in life. The food is made up of 3 va
riety of things, all intended to make
white, juicy meat. and small, soft bones.
| The ideal hash for ducks is made on a
| basis of soup of boiled bones, scraps. etc.
With this soup cracked oats, cornneal.
seconds" and various cereals are mixed.
| Nearly all the food is cooked. This ma
terial here in the city costs little. If meal
is damaged in boiling. or a lot of rolled
oats gets wet, the dealers are glad To sell
it for a small amount South Water
Street furnishes cheaply all the green
stuff that ducks like so well. A few par
GELS of wilted celery. cabbage little the
worse for wear, and salad green's of all
sorts can be bought at low figures by
wholesale.
Ducks at Chatham Fields are expected
to be lazy. They are prohibited from max
ing century runs. and discouraged aRo-
gether from flying. What with eating ev-
cry two hours and never taking any en-
ercise. they grow wonderfully fast. and
the meat is light instead of dark. The
breastbone of a young duck raised this
way can be cut with one swipe of a carv-
ing knife, and nearly the whole duck can
be sliced into white pieces.
The cost of raising these ducks and
putting them on the market varies great
ly with the season, but the average Is
about 25 cents apiece.
I'VE aim to take advantage of a sea-
son and market which is not overcrowd-
ed" says Mr. Bellows. That's the secret
of making thing pay. Cut into the mar
ket when nobody else is selling. and with
something distinctive and curious, If you
can"
Nearly all the ducks raised are sold for
broilers. They stand on the same footing
as fried chicken. and are said to be far
superior to ordinary roast duck
1nrlS fs nOthinp