Report of Missouri Farmers' Week. 243 



subject and also invested in a book upon the care and feeding of 

 these birds. While I gained quite a little information from read- 

 ing, I soon found that they required very little attention after all 

 and were almost self-supporting. They do not roost in trees, nor 

 do they have lice or mites, and a three-foot fence will confine them. 

 The eggs have to be set four weeks, preferably under chicken hens, 

 as the incubator seems too dry and hot for them, and because the 

 duck hens do not take the time to set. Until the ducklings are 

 about ten days old they require only a little feed of bread, squeezed 

 dry out of water and mixed with sand or fine grit, four times daily, 

 after which time corn meal, bran and meat meal may be gradually 

 added. Later on cracked corn may be substituted for corn meal. 

 They can now be fed three times a day, and when they are full 

 grown they will eat a little wet mash in the morning and some 

 cracked corn in the evening. While they are growing they are very 

 greedy and mature rapidly, but when full grown they require very 

 little food. They lay about five o'clock in the morning, but it is well 

 to keep them in until nine o'clock. A low candy bucket will supply 

 them with water, so that a pond is not absolutely necessary. 



The Indian Runner duck egg is a little larger than a hen egg, 

 the shell is somewhat harder and is of marble whiteness. 



Not having had any experience with the green egg strain I 

 cannot say anything about their flavor or the quality of ducks 

 hatched from them, although I have been informed that they are 

 inferior to the white egg strain. 



The white egg has a good flavor and is equally good for cook- 

 ing and table use. Thereby hangs a tale. I had occasion last 

 spring to send an order of two dozen duck eggs for setting to one of 

 two office men. By mistake in their addresses, I sent the eggs to the 

 wrong man and the directions for setting them to the other man. 

 In the meantime the one who received the eggs, thinking them a 

 gift, I suppose, took them home and, manlike, ate them. He ac- 

 knowledged them as "fine eating," as of course they should have 

 been at $3.00 per dozen. Suffice to say, the other order was duplicated 

 and the owner made happy. Now, regarding the laying qualities 

 of the Indian Runner ducks, I have known young ducks to lay early 

 in the fall, but it is better to have them begin in January, when they 

 will lay almost every day until August, and from then on they rest 

 and molt. The old ducks will lay more or less irregularly in the 

 fall. 



I would not advise any one to try to house Indian Runner 

 ducks with chickens, as their habits are different and they puddle in 



