704 IOWA DEPARTMENT OF AGRICULTURE. 



fed regularly the ration should be given late in the afternoon and no 

 opportunity allowed to get food during the day, except that obtained in 

 the fields. If the supplied ration is only sufffcient, when added to the 

 food secured by foraging, to properly nourish the body and is not suffi- 

 cient in quantity or composition to put on fat, externally or internally, 

 the good health of the flock will be maintained. 



RECENT EXPERIMENTS IN FEEDING DUCKS. 



U. S. DEPT. OF AGRICULTURE BULLETIN. 



The feeding and management of poultry has been studied by a num- 

 ber of the stations. In most cases the work has been confined to chick- 

 ens, although some noteworthy investigation have been conducted with 

 geese. Quite recently three of the stations have reported experiment 

 with ducks. 



The Michigan Station studied the comparative growth made by 39 

 young ducks and the same number of chickens on similar rations. The 

 ducks were two weeks old at the beginning of the test and were fed 

 middlings, corn, and bran, together with the necessary grit and green 

 food (lettuce), and were given the run of a small yard with a grass patch. 

 The chickens were fed bran and relatively more corn meal than the 

 ducks, but had no middlings. They were also given lettiice and allowed 

 the run of a grass plat. Both chickens and ducks were given skim 

 milk in addition to the other food. At the beginning of the test the 

 ducks weighed 13.25 pounds and the chickens 7.5 pounus. In five 

 weeks the ducks were nearly ready for the early market and had gained 

 108.75 pounds. They had eaten 41.3 pounds of corn, 93.1 pounds of 

 middlings, 43.4 pounds "of bran, .59 pounds of lettuce, and 88 pounds 

 of skim milk. The total cost of a pound of gain was 1.9 cents. In the 

 same period the chickens had gained 22.5 pounds and had consumed 

 52.2 pounds of corn, 2"5.9 pounds of bran, 46 pounds of lettuce, and 44.3 

 pounds of skim milk. The total cost of a pound of gain was 4.84 cents. 

 In discussing the profit corn- and bran are rated at $14 and middlings 

 at $15 per ton. milk at 20 cents per hundred, and lettuce at 1 cent per 

 pound. The ducks gained mii^h' more rapidly than the chickens and 

 the gains were more economically made. The chickens were n«t large 

 enough for mark^ at the close of the test and the feeding was con- 

 tinued for some time before th»y were sold. 



At the North Carolina Station 18 Pekin ducks were fed for fifty-six 

 days from the time they were hatched. At the beginning of the test 

 the total food eonsisted of 4.4 ounces of corn meal and an equal amount 

 of bran per head daily, while at the close of the test. G pounds 10 ounces 

 of meal, 4 pounds 3 ounces of bran, and 3 pounds 5 ounces of bone were 



