The sun. [volume] (New York [N.Y.]) 1833-1916, 1907-12-08
RAISING DUCKS PAYS WELL
EXPERIENCE or A WIDOW wETH
TwO CHILDREN TO SUPPORT.
Just The NeoupatlSm Fsr q woman Fsnd q
Poultry Outdoor LSe h ahO Cnn-
oaUslOn - Mrs. Durr. WhO Has Dee1
P~r0sperRng at nc Ter Fear Wears.

MIN. marina II. Burr whose nome 10
near Vtlla0Ova. Pa. considers breeding
Pekin ducks for market one Of the most
remuDsrative occupations for women at
the Present time. She has been supporting
herself and her children by raising and
marketing ducks for four years. and zach
year has had money to put In bank.
From October. 1903. TO OCtober. 1907.
l cleared $780, Mrs. Burr told q reporter.
"Of course 500 is not such a great amount.
but when you remember hat 10 was clear
gain after I had paid every item Of ex-
psnse. had ever paid myself good wages.
it's doing pretty well for a woman without
any particular training.
Seven years ago l was left n widow
with 1--WE babies under 4 years OF z and
5000 from my husbands ME insurance.
| started Out at once to work a got a
place in nm Office. I had had no training.
so Of course my wages were not much.
Each month when settling timo came
that 81. 900 had to he drawn on.
eat the end Of the year I was still holding
that place at the same wages. As l raw
no prospect Of making more money 1 set
about TO devise new economies. ! rented
this place and moved out from the city.
The rent was not only less than 1 had been
paying in tow but there was the ten acres
Of land, on which 1 thought l could make
u garden and keep a COW.
Il knew nothing about raising poultry.
80 I got a lot Of magazines and books on
the subject and began to read up. Whom
l found that Pekin ducks required very
little water and we're matured in Ten weeks
| decided that l might invest a few OE my
precious dollars in them.
Il bought six ducks and six white leghorn
chickens. At the end Of that year l had
ten ens and two roosters against twenty
five ducks. Casting up my accounts 1
found that the chickens and Eggs sold had
brought me in just to.l2. while from the
ducks l had cleared e2l. l devoted moro
time to my lock Of ducks after that. Chick
ems we're good. but ducks we're better.
AT the end Of the second year my maid
left to be married. Then came the question
of giving up my Office work. and dovottng
my time TO my children, with the hope OF
making a living with my fowls and vego-
tables or OF getting a new maid and sticking
to work at which after three years | had
received only one raise OF IS a month.
Il had $500 in bank. a nice COW, a flock OF
twenty chickens and u hundred ducks.
After looking the situation over l deter
mined TO leave the ONCE.
with all my time TO deVotet to my poultry
1 soon began 20 see where things could be
improved. The first improvement was
dividing the place into runs.
MY next improvement was building q
tank TO he Used as a bathtub for my ducks.
That was TO take the place Of driving them
to a small pond an eighth Of a mile down
the road. as had beer N by my maid,
assisted by my two children.
81 had always thought until ! began 20
raise ducks that they were stupid and
uninteresting fowls. Now 1 know that
ducks are about the most intelligent OF all
domestic fowls. and consequently. to me at
least, :he most interesting.
My ducks not only know me by sight
and the sound of my voice, but they know
the hours Of heir feeding. while as for
their baths-well. there is not he's slightest
dor,bt in my mind that they know just
when their turn comes rOuOd each week
for they are always AZ the gate Of their run
ready to waddle through.
Besides their early maturity there are
many other reasons why breeding ducks il
cheaper than breeding chickens or turkeys.
In the first ~placeafter the first three weeks q
duck requires less care than a chicken.
Ihoy are much more quiet to have around
the yard.
AS they do not sleep on perches they
are cheaper to hOuse. To keep a hOck
healthy the house in which they sleep in
the summer and in which they live during
the severe weather in the winter should
be dry both above and below. Sixteen feet
Of floor space SHOULD be allowed to zach
half dozen ducks.
MY duck houses are all built with my
own hands and are made Of about the cheap
est grade OF lumber. They are covered
with roofing paper, both on the top and at
the sides. Instead OF glass IN the windows
l have the frames covered with heavy I'M
bleached muslin. This gives the ducks
good ventilation n enough warmth to
keep them in laying condition during the Sc
Verest weather.
BY using incubators ducks can be had
every month in the year. During the -four
years hat 1 nave devoted myself to breed
ing them there hasn't been a day when / did
not get eggs. No, all ducks do not lay all
the time, but there will be some ducks law
ing all h time.
Another point in favor Of ducks against
chickens is the quality n quantity Of
their feathers. The feathers Of a Pekin
duck are az good and bring "a high prices
as those Of geese. This is especially true of
their breast feathers. 1 always get extra
good prices for my breast feathers. Then,
zoo, the Pekin duck is much easier plucked
than the goose.
while [ admit that when it comes to
selling duck eggs in the general market
chicken Eggs are in greater demand, still l
rave never failed 10 get a good price from
professional cooks and confectioners. Pekin
ducks are prolific layers, n when they
are not allowed to forage on rank and
strong vegetation their Eggs are quite az
palatable as those of chickens.
As IL happens, 1 have very few eggs TO
sell. I prefer to put them in the incubators,
and besides there il always a steady de-
mand for eggs for breeding.
"As I raise my fowls for all the money
that can be made from them I have found
that il was best TO sell only tho best. /
demand always a fraction above the reGu-
lar market price and / get il. because my
fowls are always a little better than the
avera ge duck 20 be bought In the open
market. The reason for this is the care
| take in fattening them.
Il never kill an unfattened duck. Ny
usual method is to take the young ducks
at eight weeks old. just two weeks before
they arrive at their full growth. and fatten
NoH Nhra0 rfaalra AOpNafiWnaa aoun.