Part 2

One-half or ten feet of the twenty-foot pens should be utilized for feeding purposes. The lower board of this slat partition should not be more than three inches wide and should rest upon the ground so the birds can readily feed over it. As this ten-foot partition is but two feet high, the attendant can readily step over it to pick up a stray egg occasionally. Six feet of this partition should be portable and secured with a groove or button so it can be easily removed to allow the entrance of a barrow in cleaning out the pens; this should be done when the birds are out, never when they are in.

The remaining ten feet of the pen should be used for nest boxes, which can be fifteen inches square and one foot high. A board four inches wide may be fastened in front to prevent the nest material from being drawn out. This latter may be composed of finely cut hay or chaff. This must be perfectly dry, as the duck while laying will work it all over and cover her eggs carefully, which as they are pure white, become easily soiled and stained; this will necessitate washing unless things are kept dry and clean. This is a vital point with us, as it never did seem as if a filthy egg would hatch as well as a clean one. I abominate a machine filled with filthy eggs; it actually hurts my feelings to handle them. These nests should be covered closely and the partition above them be correspondingly high, as the birds will often mount upon the boxes. The back of the nest boxes next the walk should be closed with a board hinged below so that the attendant can let it down readily and secure the eggs from the walk.

The Room for Mixing Feed.

Some twelve feet of this breeding-house may be utilized as a cook and mixing room, and must necessarily be a little higher posted than the rest of the building,--say, two feet higher. This cookroom, with boiler, is an essential thing in a duck-house. Unlike hens, they do not take kindly to hard food and whole grain. Their digestive organs, in many points, are different from the hens, and they do not assimilate hard food readily. They require more vegetable food, and those vegetables must be cooked,--but more about this hereafter.

Of course, this building should be sweet and clean, and must be well deodorized; for, though ducks do not generate vermin like other fowl, and are not subject to as many diseases, or as readily affected by thermal changes,--in fact, a good driving rainstorm is their delight,--yet they will not thrive when confined in filthy quarters. It engenders a morbid appetite, impairs digestion, and your bird is poor before you know it. This, of course, arrests the egg production at once.

I wish here to impress upon the breeder the absolute necessity of the careful handling and feeding of his birds; and, when necessary, handle very gently, always taking the bird by the neck. This is very essential, because the bones of a well-bred, well-fatted duck seem wholly disproportioned to the size and weight of his body, and we have often seen a wing broken or a leg disjointed by the convulsive efforts of the bird to escape when caught by those members through the carelessness of the attendant.

The timidity of the Pekin is proverbial. You should move quietly among your layers if you would have them thrive, as constant agitation and disquietude will surely debilitate them and reduce their flesh. I have known a pair of heavy exhibition birds to lose a pound per day during their confinement the first four days of exhibition, and to be eight pounds lighter than they were ten days before when started for the show. Their recuperative powers are equally wonderful. I have often seen Pekin ducks, after having produced one hundred eggs in nearly as many days, on evincing a desire to sit, and being somewhat reduced in flesh, when shut up in a yard with drakes and well fed, in less than a week commence her regular contribution of an egg per day.

Water Not Needed.

The majority of people have the impression that water to bathe in is essential to secure fertility in duck eggs, but it is a great mistake. My ducks never see water, the year round, except to drink. They are confined in yards 24x100 feet, some forty in each yard, twenty-four feet being the size of the pens inside of the breeding house. They are confined in these yards for nine months, or till August 1, when they are removed in order that the land may be disinfected. This is done by plowing and growing a crop of barley or rye, when the land is ready for the ducks again.

Free Range Unnecessary.

I am constantly experimenting to see if there are defects in my system. A few years ago I had thirty breeding-yards devoted to ducks. I wished to ascertain the difference in egg production and percentage of fertility between ducks yarded close and those with free range, the feed and other conditions being the same. One lot of fifty ducks were allowed the range of a five-acre lot, in addition to their own yard. They ranged in common with our cows, there being plenty of grass. Another lot of seventy-five were allowed the range of the whole premises, with the same feed and care as the eight yards confined. The latter were liberally supplied with all the green and vegetable food needed. The egg production and the fertility of each were carefully noted. I was much surprised to find that the difference was very little, and that in favor of the birds confined.

The Mode of Feeding.

differs with the season of the year. During the autumn and early winter months feed twice each day about equal quantities of corn-meal, wheat-bran, and boiled turnips and potatoes, with about ten per cent. of ground beef scrap thrown in. At noon, give a small amount of dry food, composed of equal quantities of cracked corn, oats, and wheat. When the birds commence laying, as they will about January 1st, gradually increase the quantity of meal and animal food, proportionally decreasing the amount of bran.

The Pekin Duck.

is my favorite. I have experimented carefully during the last thirty years with all the larger breeds, crossing them in every conceivable way to obtain the best results, and am perfectly satisfied with the Pekins. I am now through experimenting, and as I grow nearly 20,000 ducklings yearly, can hardly afford to guess at it, as one cent per bird makes a difference of over $200. in my receipts,--one cent per pound, a difference of over $1200. It is readily seen that I can only afford to use the bird that will grow the greatest number of pounds of flesh in the shortest space of time. Nor is this all. It must be the bird that will give you the first eggs of the season, as this will enable you to get your birds on the market when they will command the highest price, as there is more clear profit from one early bird than from three later ones. This will be the more readily understood when it is known that the maximum price paid for early birds is thirty cents per pound in Boston and New York, the minimum price for late ones eighteen cents, the cost of production being the same for both.

The Pekin Combines the Best Points.

The Pekin is the only bird that will cover all these points. It has two slight defects,--its extreme timidity and its heavy, coarse voice, which it does not scruple to use when congregated in large numbers. The former can be easily overcome by careful handling. But to off-set these defects the Pekin will not only produce the first eggs of the season, but by far the greatest number of any of the breeds, with one exception, the Indian Runner. They mature earlier, are more hardy and domestic in their habits, never wandering far, and always returning to the coops at night. They are not mischievous, and require less water than either of the other breeds.

My birds have for generations been bred in dry yards, with simply water to drink, and all desire for it for other purposes seems to have been bred out of them. When allowed their freedom in the fall, the flocks never visit the brook, fifteen or twenty rods distant, and when driven there occasionally for the purpose of purifying their feathers, get out again just as soon as possible. Indeed, after a water bath their feathers cling to their bodies, and they present the same bedraggled appearance that the old hen did many years ago after one had immersed her in a water-barrel to cure her propensity for sitting.

A wealthy New Yorker ordered a dozen of my best ducks, a year or two ago. In a few weeks he wrote that he wished to return them, as they did not answer his purpose; "for," said he, "I have an artificial lake on my lawn, near my piazza, and I wanted these ducks to disport in the water for the pleasure of my wife and children, and they will not go in the water at all unless I drive them in with a whip, and I have to stand guard over them all the time, as they get out the moment my back is turned." I wrote him in return that had I known he wanted the ducks for their aquatic performances, I should have recommended the common puddle duck, when he would have had as much trouble to get them out of the water as he had to get the Pekins in.

Feathers are Pure White.

Another advantage of the Pekin over the other breeds is their pure white, elastic feathers which are largely mixed with down. These feathers readily command from forty to fifty cents per pound, and as the reader can see, are no mean source of income, especially when the birds are grown in large numbers. These birds, as their name indicates, originated in China. They are large, beautiful birds, of a proud, erect carriage, with pure white plumage outside. The inside feathers are slightly cream colored. The neck is long and gracefully curved; the head long and finely shaped, with a full bright eye. The legs and beak are of a very dark orange, and form a fine contrast to the pure white feathers. The minimum weight of our birds when matured is about fourteen pounds per pair, while the very heaviest will tip the scales at twenty-two pounds. My first experience with ducks commenced more than forty years ago. We used the common puddle ducks and grew them for the city market. The ducks were very small and so were the profits. They were fed but little and allowed full range, consequently the home ties were not strong.

Those ducks followed the little brook in the pasture through swamps and marshes for half a mile in either direction, wholly regardless of farm limits. If we expected any eggs from those ducks they should have been safely housed at night. This task devolved upon the boys. Now our paternal head, though a kind and indulgent parent (unfortunately for us), had the impression that boys were made to work, and work we did. Now, what boy of ten or twelve years had not rather chase ducks through the mud in the swamp than to wield the hoe among the weeds in the corn field? It was our recreation, our chief solace and delight through those long, hot summer days--the anticipation of that duck hunt in the evening. I think our extraordinary love for the duck hailed from this date. Later on we used a cross between a Rouen and Cayuga. This cross made a much larger and better market bird. The flesh was better flavored. They produced more eggs and began earlier in the spring, consequently prices and profits slightly improved.

These birds did not stray as far, but were as fond of mud and water as their little predecessors. It was a pleasing and comical sight to see three or four hundred of these ducklings of all ages, when first let out in the morning, run down the hill in their eager haste to reach the swamp, a part of them right side up, then rolling over and over on their broadsides; others still reversing themselves end for end down the steep incline, apparently a matter of supreme indifference how, so long as they reached the mud first.

These ducklings always returned at night with their numbers more or less depleted, as they were the legitimate prey of skunks, minks, weasels and mud turtles; and if we reached the summer's end with sixty per cent. of the original number we were well satisfied. All this has been changed. We have learned a number of points on duck culture since then. First, that all losses by vermin can be easily avoided by yarding your little birds at home and keeping them under your own eye. Second, that mud and water externally applied are not essential to their growth and well-being, and that in fact they will thrive better without.

Ready for Market 3 Months Earlier.

Third, that it is not necessary to keep your birds till they are six months old in the fall and then put them on the market when it is sure to be glutted, but much better to market them at ten weeks, when they are nearly as heavy, and you are sure to get more than double the price, as well as save three or four months extra feed. There are many other points connected with this thing which the novice must ponder carefully before he begins, as a slight mistake in the beginning often means a great loss in the end. As pioneers in the business we have for many years been carefully experimenting with the different breeds, different treatment and variety of food. We have met with many failures, suffered some loss, but with a gradual improvement through it all, which has been very encouraging to us, and though we do not claim perfection, yet we are now reaping a rich harvest compared to which our former losses are simply insignificant. It is a source of gratification to know that success has at last crowned our efforts.

When we look back forty years--when year after year chronicled failure and our best efforts met with loss--when we were the butt, ridicule, and laughing stock of the whole community; when we were assured again and again that we were fighting against nature and never could succeed, and repeated failures only seemed to confirm that assertion,--and compare it with the present, when we can grow our birds by the thousands, regulate the growth, control the mortality, and grow flesh or feathers at will; have shortened the precocity, increased fecundity, and even educated the birds to an aversion for water, which was formerly their home; we have completely reversed the order of things and taught our birds to reproduce at a season of the year when all nature is against them, we can safely feel the victory is won. We hope that our readers will not only benefit by the experience we shall present, but that many of them will be able to take this and carry it on where, according to the natural course of things, we shall be obliged to leave it. We are no longer young, the infirmities and decrepitude of age are slowly creeping upon us and admonish us that our days of research are nearly over, and we find that our life is all too short. But there is a satisfaction in knowing that others will take this thing up where we leave off and carry it on to the end.

The Superiority of Artificial Poultry Growing.

We predict a great future for artificial poultry growing. It is yet in its infancy. The time will come when it will gradually supersede many of the regular farm crops on the sterile soil of New England, when every farmer will have his proper complement of poultry appliances, and when you can prove to the average farmer that the capital necessary to run a poultry plant (which will with less labor ensure him a greater income than that from his whole farm) is less than one-fourth of that required for any other farm investment. You will begin to see him scratch his head to evolve ideas. The beginner in starting, should recollect that this is a business of detail and that small things must be taken into account. It is not only a very essential thing to choose the best breeding stock that can be had, but, all other conditions being the same, to select the color of their feathers.

We have always had a predilection in favor of white birds, for the feathers (which are no small item in ducks) command nearly double the price of colored ones, and are always more saleable. Again, we must cater for the market with young birds, and every one knows that young birds are more or less addicted to pinfeathers, many of which it is very difficult to remove, as they have secured a lodgment just under the skin, but have not found their way through. Now a dark pinfeather is a blot upon the fair surface of a fine chicken or duck, and the thrifty housewife in selecting her dinner will always leave the pins behind. She does not like a variety of colors in her duckling, if she does in her dress. The dealer, aware of this peculiarity of the ladies (who, by the way, form a large share of his customers) will, if he buys at all, cut you on the price.

Unfortunately we started in with dark birds, but it did not matter at that time, as the Pekin had not been imported, and there were very few Aylesburys in the country. We were surrounded by vermin of all kinds. Our young birds disappeared mysteriously, and in such large numbers that we were nearly discouraged. Hawks do not trouble ducks, but rats, weasels and minks developed such a fondness for them as to completely atone for any neglect on their part. We made a free use of steel traps, guns, and phosphoretic poison. The battle raged for two years; at the end of that time I think it would be difficult to find one of the above-mentioned vermin one-fourth of a mile from the place. It was a great relief; our ducklings could range at will, even be left out during the night, and still the full complement appear at the dough-troughs in the morning.

Do Not Have Neighbors Too Near.

Another source of discomfort was our neighbors' cats. Now, we are eminently social in our disposition, and enjoy our neighbors' company very much. We like to spend a social evening with them and have them do the same by us. But not so their cats. We never interchanged civilities with them, their visits were too ill timed and frequent. Our ducklings were carried off in large numbers, and in pure self-defense we shot the cats.

Of course, this made trouble in our neighbors' families, especially the female portion, by whom it was promptly resented. The principle of "touch my dog, touch me," was illustrated here in all its force. No amount of provocation ever justified us in their eyes in killing their cats. With pater familias it was different. His affections were not engaged. He recognized the necessity of the thing, laughed it off, and said it was all right. Now, cats breed fast and are very prolific, and our neighbors were plenty, and we are unwilling to state the amount of our losses from those sources, for fear our veracity would be doubted. We endured this sort of annoyance for some twelve years, but made up our minds that if we ever selected another poultry ranch we would locate our neighbors at a distance. We have done so, and now have no trouble from this source.

We found that the Cayuga duck was a more precocious bird than the Rouen, and were better layers. The eggs were more fertile. They were also much hardier, and, as a consequence, there was less mortality among the young. But they were rather small in size, dressing only seven to nine pounds per pair. The Rouens were nearly four pounds heavier, but had their disadvantages. They were not so productive in eggs, and those did not give us the same percentage of hatch, while the mortality among the little ones was much greater. We do not like to condemn any variety of birds on one trial, as we may be unfortunate in our selection of a strain, but our subsequent experience with these birds fully confirms the above; and though they are a large, attractive bird, we do not consider them as hardy as either Pekin, Aylesbury or Cayuga.

We conceived the plan of crossing this bird with the Cayuga, with a view of increasing the size, not knowing whether the good or the negative qualities of the two birds would prevail. We were very much pleased with the results of this cross, as it gave us all the good qualities of the Cayuga with the largely increased size of the Rouen. It gave us also a good table bird, the flesh of which was far better flavored than that of the puddle duck. We made the duck business then supplementary to that of growing chickens. Our chicks were hatched out early in the winter in order to secure the high prices. Our ducks during the spring and summer were not marketed until fall. We did not expect those ducks to lay till the first of April, and they did not disappoint us. If anyone had told us that young ducks could be made to lay at four or five months old, and that we could have our young broods out by the thousands at that time, we should have called him insane. We then gave our ducklings free range, and, as a consequence, lost large numbers of them from eating injurious insects, which, in their haste, they did not stop to kill, and paid the penalty with their lives.

Now, the genuine duckling is proverbially stupid. He has an immense faculty for getting himself into trouble, without the first idea as to how he shall get out. As, for instance, we had taken up some old fence-posts one day, and carelessly left the holes (some two feet deep) unfilled. When feeding time came at night we missed many of our little ducklings, and, at the same time, heard a great squeaking, which we could not locate. We finally traced it to the post-holes, which we found nearly full of young ducklings, not much the worse for the adventure. When we look back at the difficulties with which we had to contend, and the losses we sustained in consequence, I often wonder that we were not discouraged. It was blunder after blunder, repeated always with the same results. We had very little idea of the systematic care and regular food required to ensure against loss and enable the young birds to attain a weight in a few weeks which we supposed required almost as many months. We still had the impression that water was essential to the welfare of the birds, both old and young, and that eggs would not be fertile unless copulation took place in the water. So we built a tank for use during the dry season of the year (which held about a hogshead), and cemented it thoroughly.

This tank we laboriously filled with water for the birds to sport in, but it did not work, as it soon became so offensive that we were obliged to renew it at least every three days, so that we soon became tired of it, and once more allowed the ducks the liberty of the swamp. We never obtained more than half of the number of eggs that we now get from our Pekins. About this time the Aylesbury duck came under our notice, and we procured a number of them at once, as they came highly recommended, but they did not meet our expectations. They were a very pretty bird to look at, and their feathers were more valuable, but there the advantage ended, for the strain we obtained was a trifle smaller than the mongrels we had been breeding,--rather more delicate to rear, and, worse than all, we found it almost impossible to pick them. In all our experience before or since we have never seen anything to equal those birds. The tenacity of those feathers was exasperating. Every one was bound to retain its complement of flesh. Of course the birds were so disfigured that the most of them were retained for family use. It was no use to think of scalding them,--that would not only seriously injure the feathers, but would completely spoil the birds for Boston market, as scalded birds are rejected at once and classed with cheap Western fowls.