The Grit-advocate., 1903-06-12
POULTRY
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DUCK CULTURE.
NO. III.


From The Farmers Review: Our
nursery brooder is $50 feet long. "a
feet wide, heater at one end with
Tour hot water pipes running the
whole length down the middle. Over
these is board walk about four feet
wide, one and one-Quarter inch pine.
Heater pipes are inches from ground
hoor. They gradually rise until at
farther end they are over IL inches
from floor. Every 5 feet is partition
ed on for pen with cloth tackled
on each side of walk to keep thu
warm air under pipes. This cloth is
slit nearly to top every 3 or 4 inches.
so ducklings can go in or out bya
pressing on same.
The hrst one or two days we keep
a board up edgeways about one foot
from hover. This is to keep them
near the heat until they learn to
go in and out themselves. After this
they have the whole pen, 5x12 peti-
ton in center Of walk under pipes,
one on each side walk until two
weeks old, when they are let run in
outdoor pens 5x5O. Our first feed is ,
equal parts cornmeal, bran and brok.
en- crackers, If we can get them, with
little fine sand like granulated sugar.
the whole mixed with warm water
that has stood in sun an hour. We
iced four times daily what they eat
up quickly first four days on dat
boards, after that in small V-shaped
troughs.
When ducklings are four weeks old
they are removed to the cold brooder,
which has hot water pipe running
around house on inside one foot high.
in summer this is not heated. This
house should be 30 feet wide, petition.
ed In the middle, pens running both
ways feet wide. 100 feet long. Duck
Ings are watered and fed out
side If weather will permit. Flat
bottomed trpughs inches wide
and four feet long are used for
feeding. and same size for water.
Pipes running through pens furnish
water. Inside troughs for feeding in
nursery are V-shaped with fountain
for water holding a pail of water. In
cold brooder ducks are fed equal part
cornmeal. bran, ground oats, with
enough low-grade flour to make it
ball up nicely, and 8 per cent beef
scrap. When six weeks old they are
removed to pens 25x10O and fed and
watered In trough same as for breed
ing ducks. For two. weeks they arc
fed equal parts cornmeal and bran,
with some low-grade -four, and 10
per cent beef scrap. The next two
weeks they are fed two-thirds corn.
meal. one-third bran, some low-grade,
-four and IL per cent beef scrap
They are now ten weeks old and
should be ready for market, weighing
to pounds each. Some use q shed
for them to run under in last pens.
Others not any,. but have pens well
drained. When ready to kill, ducks
are driven into a shed and fattest
ones are killed by hanging up by the
feet and slit cut in throat crosswise,
the head being held firm by wire
run through the nose. When through
bleeding, they are taken down and
given to the pickers, who scald them
in hot water, then remove the feath-
ers quickly, after which they are
pumped by plunging into hot water,
then into ice water. They are now
placed in tubs of water for two or
three hours. until animal heat is all
out, then packed in barrels of ice
water and kept until shipped to mar.
ket, which is every day in the after.
noon.-W. R. Curtiss, Niagara County,
New York.