The Democratic advocate. [volume] (Westminster, Md.) 1865-1972, 1912-01-26
Geese and Ducks.

tn number Of recent articles, IT..
Michael K- Boyer, the well-Mown
poultry expert, or Hammonton, NV. J.,
has been discussing ducks and geese
as poultry plant propositions The
following extracts will be OF no lit
tie value to those who are interested
in this end of the poultry game:
"The Toulouse, Embden, African
and Chinese are the market varieties.
Geese are grazers, so that II sup
piled with plenty of grass land, very
little extra attention will b. required,
al far as feed il concerned Yet they
do much better If allowed mash in
the morning and a feed OF grain at
night.
eff given range over field Of
short bender grass, goslings grow
with remarkable rapidity.
1.-The Toulouse and Embden are two
varieties that are close rivals for SUI
premacy for market purposes. There
il somewhat more favor for the lat
ter On account OF it, pure white
plumage and ability to rapidly put On
flesh. In the value OF their feather
crop they also excel as white goose
feathers command a better price In
market.
picked alive, it is claimed the
Toulouse will yield 81 worth Of feath-
ers in a year, but the o1d-time prac-
tice Of plucking live geese is gradual
ly being done away with, ii being
generally believed that there IL more
Oh less curelty attached to it.
tit il claimed by some that the
Toulouse is the most profitable, as 1t
grows to larger size, natures quick
Iy, and is not so much rambler and
flyer as are the other varieties. The
Toulouse is also credited for accumu-
lating fat much faster, and is not so
noisy as many of the other kinds.
"The white feathered varieties are
preferred for green geese While the
Toulouse il known a. the Christmas
goose, al it natures just about right
for the holidays, it's black pin feath-
ers, at eight weeks of age, makes 1t
undesirable for the green-goose mar
ket The Africans and the Brown
Chinas have this same drawback.
Some growers say that there is
more profit in geese than in ducks
but the former cannot be grown in as
large quantities a. can the latter.
Goslings or green geese can b. pro-
duced at a cost Of about or 8 cents
per pound, when they are fed heavily,
and at less cost when they have ac-
cess to good pasture.
Duck raising, as business, is car
ried on to a greater extent in this
country than is goose culture, for the
reason that ducks can be handled in
much more wholesale manner, ow-
| ing to the use OF artificial methods
in Matching and brooding, and do not
require the amount of land that il
needed for geese. For years the
market duck Of America has been the
Pekin. The English prefer the
Aylesbury, claiming for that variety
that they are not only good layers,
but the ducklings mature more quick
ly, weighing as much as six pounds
at nine weeks of age. Some breed
ers consider it advantageous to cross
the Aylesbury ducks with a Pekin
drake, a. the young % produced are
often found to be harder than the
pure Aylesburys.
F"The Indian Runner is more re-
cent arrival, coming originally from
India, and having the distinction OF
literally running instead of waddling
| like most ducks, hence it's name Run
ner' This variety is credited with
great laying powers, laying as many
as 200 eggs in a year, it is claimed.
A small-sized roasting fowl, or "a
broiler duck, the Indian Runner IL
becoming very popular.