Barton County democrat. [volume] (Great Bend, Kan.) 1885-1915, 1903-09-11
RAISING DUCKS FOR MARKET.
Some of the Best Are Those That
Have Never Even Seen
Duck Pond.

THE little ducks that come to mar
ket nowadays" said wholesale deal
er in West street, according to the
New York Times, and even the lit
lie ducks that stay at home, are as
different from the ducks we used to
sell four or five years ago as dried
figs are different from the fruit
fresh from the vines. 1t seems an
almost unnatural thing to think of
q duck without a duck pond, but the
latest and best ducks We sell now
never saw a duck pond.
Duck farming Is still a compare
lively recent thing, but it is develop
Ing along new lines all the time. Ex-
perience has taught that ducks allowed
only sufficient water to Quench the
thirst, and not a dirty, muddy pond
TO wallow and swim in, are more
toothsome for the table and bring
higher prices in the market Where
there is pond there are fish OF
some sort, and the ducks will eat the
fish. That gives their meat q fshy
flavor of which housewives com
plain.
There is as much, If not more,
money in raising ducks than in rails
Ing chickens. But as it takes more
capital to start a duck farm than it
does to build a hencoop, there are
fewer persons in the business. And
ducks, unless they have a pond and
are allowed to roam at their own
sweet will, are more troublesome to
take care of than chickens. There is
not much variation in the food Of a
duck fattening for the market 1t is
fed regularly three times a day, and
it gets mash for every meal. Nothing
else agrees with a healthy duck like
mash. About once a week little
cracked corn is thrown in by way of
variety, but the ducks do not seem
to care whether it is there or not.
Breeders have an odd way of get
ting around the natural craving of
ducks for animal food. 1t takes a
long time to cure the birds of this,
and they are very irritable during the
process. Breeders make a stew of
animal flesh and ground bones, mixed,
and strain off the water. This is
mixed with the water given the ducks
TO drink, and also to moisten their
bran. The compound gives to their
mash a meaty flavor that gratifies
their appetite and adds to it a sub
stance that makes them strong.
I'm fattening ducks breeders try to
make them eat as much as they can ::
and it is astonishing how much a
healthy duck can eat Some ducks
will easily dispose of four pounds of
food a day without having indigestion
enough solid material to sustain a
Woodworking longshoreman. If a
duck refuses to eat more than enough
to satisfy its appetite the breeder
thinks it is sick.
"On a farm the ducks are not al
lowed to mix at will. They are kept
In pens in fiocks of so or 20, accord
ing to their condition for marketing.
The greatest care must be taken with
their bedding. Fresh hay and straw
| every other night, and at certain sea-
sons of the year every night, is i'm
perative for healthy ducks. They do
not sleep in houses like chickens and
turkeys do. Ducks prefer to huddie
together and sleep in the open. But
their feet must be kept warm A
| duck with cold feet is usually a dead
duck.
THE proportIonate returns from
Matching ducks eggs. as compared
/ with hens eggs, Is ridiculously small
About one-half the eggs sent to hatch
are sheer waste In fact, it does no,
pay the breeders in New York and
New Jersey to raise from eggs they
can buy hereabout- 1t is cheaper fol
| them to buy and raise young ducks
shipped from the west. This industry
has become so large that cars are built
| specially for the duck trade. and mer
| sens along Who know how to feed and
lAke care OF them