Atlanta semi-weekly journal. (Atlanta, Ga.) 1898-1920, 1912-07-26
QUESTIONS ASKED AND ANSWERED.

am after a little Information re-
garding Indian Runner Ducks. l have
been breeding them several years
first year on this groundJ and have
had uniform success with them but
now 1 find a few of the young ones
a to months old get weak legged,
topple over, can't stand and seem
weak generally and eventually die.
Have lost six now. They eat, but
not so hearty as usual. Have ten
acres woodland range, are fed twice
daily on mixture of equal part bran,
shorts, cornmeal and u per cent beef
scrap, with little powdered charcoal
and fine sand. Have plenty fresh
water from tank all the time.
I can tell what to do with a sick
chicken, but ducks are another prop
osition. I can't find any treatise on
duck diseases; having always been
given to understand that ducks have
no disease. My Pekins and Buzz Or
pington ducks are not affected this
way, only the /. r. ducks.
F. I shall be grateful for any advice
you may care to offer and assure
you in advance of my appreciation of
same.
- ]. w. wENDLER.
Lakeland, Fla.
ANSWER.
If you have been feeding and treat
ing the Buff Orpington and Pelxin
ducks the same as you have the In
dian Runners, the chances are that
your Indian Runner breeding stock
lack constitutional stumina to impart
vigor to their offspring as the other
two varieties have done. Usually leg
weakness in ducks comes from two
causes. From being overfed on an
unbalanced ration and growing too
fast for their tender bones to support
their weight. This can be overcome
by feeding a greater variety and es-
pecialiy by adding a small amount
OF bone meal and feeding largely
on oat meal and boiled oats. This
food has the tendency to strengthen
the muscles. Where ducks have been
kept up and grown very rapidly and
then turned out on a large range
they win often become stiffened from
taking too much exercise and some
times the weaker ones become sepa-
rated from the flock and in their eff
forts to get back with the flock will
strain their legs and back which
causes them to get down in their
back and legs. Ducks are very nerv-
Gus and very often at night they will
stampede and run themselves until
they are exhausted. The next day
several of them will be oown. How
ever, from your letter you have fed a
variety Of food and indications point
to your young ones coming from weak
breeding stock and not having the
constitutional vigor of your other two
varieties.
We have about 1900 thorough
bred cattle and recently some of
our herd has become affected with
some trouble with their eyes. At
first the eye begins to water, and
then begins to turn white and the
sight of the ball comes out In
some instances after the eye has
turned white IL clears up, and the
cattle can see again, but in other in
stances the ball remains white, and
-Ae animal is entirely blind in one
or both eyes. s.
It has been suggested to us by a
western cattle man that it is the
pink eye, but we have never known
any kind of disease like this in this
part of the country. ..s-
Any information that you can
give us along this line will be ap-
preciated by us. re r-
E. t. CONFER & co.
Millhaven, Ga.
. b. 4.
ANSWER.
From description given I am con-
fdent that your cattle have what is
known as the pink eye" have
never had any experience with this
disease therefore, could not tell you
how they are affected or the treat
ment for same. However, DR..
Bauhnsen, the state veterinarian,
viii be glad to cooperate with you
in handling the disease and give
you the desired information.
would be glad TO hear from you
as to how you come out with them;