968 EXPERIMENTAL FARMS 



5 GEORGE v., A. 1915 

 Table No. 10. — Showing feed consumed, cost, and price realized at Ottawa June 27. 



FEED CONSUMED, 



Bran 160 pounds at $1.35 per 100 pound8=$2. 15 



Shorts".'.".". '.'.'. ".'.".'.' 200 



Corn meal 501 



Beef scrap -'5 



Bread 30 



MUk 1,000 



Total. 



S!xty-ei.\ ducks, 310 pounds net, maiketed June 27 at 20 cents per pound =$(2.00 



Total cost of feed 21 70 



Profit over cost of feed $40.30 



Feed to make pound of duck, 3.18 lbs. 



THE DUCK MARKET. 



The best time to sell ducks intended for market is just when their first feathers 

 are complete. This is usually from 8 to 12 weeks of age, depending on the breed, feed, 

 and season. Ducks of this kind are known on the market as " green ducks," and no 

 matter what the season, ducks should always be marketed " green." 



As soon as the first coat of feathers is full the ducks begin to grow another crop, 

 and if allowed to remain even a few days too long they will be found to have pins, 

 and it will take about 6 weeks to get rid of them, during which time the increase in 

 weight is very slight as most of the feed goes into feathers instead of meat. 



With the exception of some of our large cities there appears to be only a limited 

 demand for green ducks. A few large wholesale firms, however, say they will take any 

 quantity of ducks marketed in good condition at this age and at any time. We 

 preferred to sell our birds in Ottawa. Several dealers said there was no 

 demand for ducks at this time of the year, but our experience was that wherever any 

 of these ducks went there was a call for more. This will doubtless be the case any- 

 where; give the dealer or consumer a good article and more will be wanted. 



SHIPPING EGGS FOE HATCHING BY PAECEL POST AND EXPEESS. 



Upon the introduction of the Parcel Post system it was decided to test this method 

 of shipping eggs for hatching and with this end in view several settings were sent 

 from the Central Earm by parcel post and express to the superintendents at the branch 

 Farms, who were also instructed to ship settings in return. 



In each case the method of packing was identical. The eggs wrapped separately 

 in paper with a thin layer of excelsior at the top and bottom of an ordinary corrugated 

 cardboard shipping box such as is supplied by any of the poultry supply houses. The 

 condition on arrival, cost of shipping, and the time the package took to reach its 

 destination has been carefully noted and is shown in Table No. 12. 



Ottawa. 



