June 8, 1876. ) 



JOURNAL OF HORTICULTURE AND COTTAGE GARDENER. 



459 



AYLESBURY DUCKS. 



BY .T. K. FOWLTSB. 



The White Aylesbury Dock stands pro-eminent ; their repu- 

 tation is universal; they are well adapted to almost every 

 climate and soil; indeed, they are like the shorthorns amongst 

 cattle, thriving anywhere and everywhere, from our warm 

 southern coasts to the bleak mountain districts of the High- 

 lands, in the burning tropical sun of Australia, and the icy cold- 

 ness of the Canadian " fall." As their name denotes, their chief 

 centre is Aylesbury in Buckinghamshire, in which town and its 

 neighbourhood they appear to have been an established breed 

 for more than a century past. For the farmyard let us strongly 

 resommcnd them, as for that purpose they excel in every 

 requisite. In the first place they reach maturity sooner than 

 any other Ducks; they are as hardy as Sparrows, attain to a 

 very great size, and are remarkably prolific. The London 

 markets are supplied with enormous quantities of them ; in fact, 

 though it may perhaps appear to strangers almost incredible, 

 oftentimes in the spring in one night a tun weight of ducklings 

 from six to eight weeks old are taken from Aylesbury and the 

 villages round about by rail to the metropolis. During the first 

 week in January this year the trade commenced again (it is, by 

 the way, unusually early), and I know of one " ducker " who then 

 Bent up his first batch of them, which at eight weeks old re- 

 turned 12s. a couple. They are generally not killed till between 

 seven and eight weeks old, when good birds will be about -1 lbs. 

 weight each. Prices vary considerably during the season, from 

 lis. to a guinea a couple being obtainable ; the latter price they 

 BometimeB reach towards the middle of March and the beginning 

 of May, then they decline gradually in value till July, after 

 which there is but little demand. It has been computed that 

 npwards of £30,000 per annum is paid into the town and ncigh- 

 bourlaood for this early delicacy. The " duckers," as the 

 breeders of them are called, are for the most part a superior 

 class of labourers — men who by their industry have saved np 

 money enough to secure an independence from downright hard 

 work, and who do not grndge giving their whole time and atten- 

 tion to the young broods, so long as the supply is in demand. 

 But before I go further it will be well to deacribe as clearly as 

 possible the system by which this curious trade is carried on. 

 In and about the town of Aylesbury very many of the cottagers 

 maintain, each of them, their set of Ducks— about four Ducks to 

 a drake. These they keep in any outbuilding attached to their 

 dwelling, and failing such a place in the cottage itself. From 

 them the " duckers " collect the eggs, and generally bargain with 

 the owners for their whole supply at a given rate for the season. 

 They begin their collection in October, and the contract is often 

 made for the whole produce up till June, a fair price being 3.?. Gd. 

 a sitting of twelve eggs throughout that time. During the last and 

 present month I know that as much as 12s. per dozen have been 

 constantly offered. The purchaser has to stand the chance of 

 their proving fertile. The breeding stock of a "ducker" who 

 does an average trade consists of six drakes and twenty Ducks ; 

 these all run together, and the brooks and ponds are looked upon 

 almost as common property. It is a strange and pretty sight to 

 Bee some hundreds of these snow-white beauties on the river 

 Thames, which winds round and through a part of the old town, 

 all with a large patch of red, green, black, or blue paint on head, 

 neck, or wings, the distinctive marks of ownership. They are 

 separated at night, driven up to their respective homes, well fed, 

 and warmly housed. The eggs which were laid during the night 

 time are set as soon as possible under large and attentive hens, 

 for which purpose good Dorkings and Cochins are considered 

 best. The Ducks themselves are never allowed to sit, though 

 they may desire to do so ; the result of this practice is almost 

 certain to prove a failure. Thirteen eggs comprise a sitting, and 

 these are easily covered by a large hen. Whilst speaking of the 

 eggs, it will be well to dispel a stupid fallacy to which many 

 give credence — viz., that drakes hatched under hens are objec- 

 tionable, through having a partiality to fowls when grown up, 

 and thereby causing a disturbance in the poultry yard. The 

 eggs are either a clear or creamy white, or a very pale eau-de- 

 7nl green. This diversity seems to be a mere freak of Nature, 

 and there is no truth in the old woman's story that the colour 

 varies with the sex of the duckling in embryo. Such is not the 

 case, nor does this variation of colour point to any impurity of 

 the breed, for I have known my best Ducks lay both green and 

 white eggs, and this change has taken place within a week. 



To return to the process of rearing : the hens are set either 

 in fish-pads, small hampers, or, in what I have found most 

 serviceable, the round boxes in which cheeses are packed. In 

 the bottom of these is placed some lime or wood ashes, and 

 then a nest of hay or soft straw; there the hens must be kept 

 43 quiet as possible. Special care should be taken to guard 

 against the intrusion of rats or other vermin, by which the hen 

 mother may be disturbed, and, as is often the case, the whole 

 Bitting destroyed thereby. The period of incubation is twenty- 

 eight days, and daring the last week of that time care must be 

 taken to sprinkle the eggs daily with lukewarm water, which 

 softens the shells, so that when the time comes for the dnckling 



to make its appearance it has not much difficulty in breaking 

 through its covering; this is only an imitation of nature, for in 

 tho wild state the parent bird It aves her nest in the early morn- 

 ing when the grass is covered with dew, and as she seeks her 

 food of worms, grubs, and such like, her feathers become well 

 moistened, and returning to her eggs she imparts to them that 

 moisture which we by artificial meaus are obliged to give. When 

 the young are hatched they should be left with tho hen till well 

 nestled, well dried, and strong enough to stand; many scores of 

 ducklings are lost by inexperienced persons through their im- 

 patience to remove them from the nest. The little duckling 

 is at first clad with soft yellow down, which gradually dis- 

 appears as the feathers grow. After a few days three or four 

 broods are put together with one hen, which is quite able to 

 take care of them all. For market purposes the treatment of 

 the ducklings is as follows :— They are not allowed to go into 

 any water, but are kept in hovels or the rooms of cottages, each 

 lot of thirty or forty separated by low boards ; it is no uncom- 

 mon thing to see two to three thousand all in one establishment. 

 They are kept very clean and dry on barley straw ; their food 

 consists of hard-boiled eggs chopped fine and mixed with boiled 

 rice and bullock's liver cut up small. This is given to them 

 several times in the day for about a fortnight or more. When 

 they are capable of consuming more they are fed on barleymeal 

 and tallow greaves mi.xed togi-ther with the water in which the 

 greaves have previously been boiled. My ponltryman also uses 

 horseflesh to mix with their other food. 



The above constitutes all that is necessary to produce early 

 ducklings for the table. Now, as to the treatment of such as 

 are intended for breeding and exhibition : To produce birds of 

 great frame and weight the same food is given during the 

 earliest stage, but after about three weeks they are allowed to 

 go to the water, and their food is varied as soon as possible, by 

 giving them maize and barley alternately, when they can eat 

 the same. They should be fed three times a day; and always 

 have a trough of water by them, and it is an advantage to have 

 some gravel or sand at the bottom, so that when drinking they 

 also get hold of some grit, which helps digestion and tends to 

 keep the bill the proper colour. 



Little description is needed aa to the plumage, for it must 

 simply be the purest white throughout— a single discoloured 

 feather points to impurity, and would necessarily be a dis- 

 qualification. There is no difference between the drake and 

 Duck, except that the male bird has one or two beautifully 

 curled feathers in his tail, and is larger than his mate. When 

 the birds are very young it is not easy to distinguish the sex, 

 for the drake's feathers are not developed tUl they have once 

 moulted. The question, however, can be solved by noting the 

 difference in the cry, which in the Duck is a loud " quack, 

 quack," whilst the drake makes a much fainter and not so 

 distinct a noise. The bill should be long and broad, and coming 

 straight from the skull, like that of a Woodcock. It must be a 

 delicate pale flesh colour, and is so naturally ; but a ferruginous 

 soil will often affect them in such a prejudicial mariner that it 

 becomes quite yellow. Any spots of black or any discoloration 

 on the bill should disqualify. Birds for exhibition must be kept 

 out of the hot summer sun, and not allowed to run too much 

 on the grass, both of which are likely to spoil the delicate pink 

 and turn it yellow. The legs are deep orange. The whole body 

 should be as symmetrical as possible, the neck fine and long. 

 First-rate prize birds when well fatted will reach 10 lbs., but 

 that weight is seldom obtained even by the best specimens ex- 

 hibited at Birmingham. I consider 7 lbs. at twelve months old 

 almost beyond the average. Very hot weather is sure to cause 

 mortality to a great extent amongst young broods, and the ex- 

 pression " Like a dying Duck in a thunderstorm," often applied 

 to a person who looks doll and stupid, is derived from the fact 

 that when there is thunder in the air young Ducks are some- 

 times affected thereby in a peculiar manner, turning, as it were, 

 giddy, becoming unable to walk, and frequently dying from the 

 effects of the close atmosphere, which produces a sort of apo- 

 plexy. I think I have exhausted my subject, and will conclude 

 with the following facetious lines from the pen of a local bard, 

 who writes : — 



"But of Iho Ducks— the Aylesbury Ducks, 

 There i^ no need to tell; 



Through Eoglaud broad their fame has spread, 

 And they themaelvea as well. 



And there's no man throughout the land. 

 Nor yet beyond the seas, 



Who loveth not the Aylesbury Duck 

 When served with early peas." 



— {American Fancier's Journal.) 



POULTRY AND BEE NEWS AND QUERIES. 



This will be a memorable spring for bee-keepers in the north 

 of Scotland as well as for all interested in the produce of the 

 soil. The great thing was the snow and storms of AprU, which 

 were so continued and severe that my bees did not get out of 

 doors uutU the first day of May. In our quarter bees get out 



