REPORT OF THE POULTRY MANAGER. 271 



SESSIONAL PAPER No. 16 * 



Twelve to twenty-four birds ghould be packed in a case. The case should be packed 

 quite full, so as to prevent birds knocking about inside, during transit or in cold 

 storage. 



The case recommended is six feet long by twenty inches wide, and from seven 

 to eleven inches deep. Top, bottom and sides are made of half-inch lumber, with a 

 strengthening piece in centre, one-half inch thick. 



The cocks and hens should be packed in separate cases. 



The weights of the birds and their sex should be marked on the left-hand corner 

 of both ends of the case. 



A quantity of clean straw or wood pulp should be put on the bottom of the case 

 and on tcp of contents, with wrapping paper between the birds and packing material, 

 to prevent any possibility of injury. 



SHIPPING BIRDS IN FEATHER. 



In shipping birds in feather the following directions should be followed : — 



Kill birds by cutting in roof of mouth as described in previous page. 



Before being packed the birds should be thoroughly cooled. Pack in air-tight 

 barrels. 



In packing, the heads of the birds should be on the middle of their backs. The 

 barrels should be marked so as to describe contents. 



DUCKS. 



Lbs. Lbs. 



Pekin Drake 8 Pekln Duck 7 



Young Drake 7 Young Duck 6 



Aylesbury Drake 9 Aylesbury Duck 8 



Young Drake 9 Young Duck 7 



Rouen Drake 9 Rouen Duck 8 



Young Drake 8 Young Duck 7 



Early in the season three to five ducks are allowed to a drake. Later in the season 

 when running outside, eight or twelve. The drake should not be over two years of 

 age. 



Ducks lay from 100 to 140 eggs in a season. The eggs take twenty-eight days to 

 hatch. Duck eggs are hatched by hens or ducks. They hatch well by incubator. 



RATIONS. 



For first three or four days, mash of cornmeal, a little hard boiled egg chopped 

 fine, ground wheat or oats, or granulated oatmeal, the whole being mixed with 

 boiling milk. The young birds are very fond of cabbage, lettuce or clover, which 

 should be chopped fine and may be mixed in mash. Make mash crumbly. Skim.- 

 milk for drink. 



Later on a mash may be made of cornmeal, bran and oatmeal, with chopped green 

 stuff, and mixed with skim-milk boiled. 



Feed the young ducks five times per day. Keep them in dry quarters, out of the 

 hot sun and supply water in limited quantity in shallow dishes, so as to prevent them 

 ducking into it. 



After three or four weeks reduce the rations to four per diem. As the ducklings 

 grow the rations may be added to by house-waste, ground bone, beef scraps or cooked 

 meat. Small pieces of charcoal are aids to digestion. 



FATTENING. 



To fatten, feed on ground grain, meal, beef scraps, &c., made into a mash. Barley 

 meal is excellent in the soft food. Nothing should be fed that will give the flesh a 

 bad flavour. 



