338 FARM ANIMALS 



as hens' eggs excepting that it maybe more essential 

 to moisten the eggs with tepid water two or three 

 days before hatching. Young ducks may be kept 

 in brooders in which a similar temperature and 

 similar care is provided as for young chicks. 

 Ducks, however, are somewhat more hardy than 

 young chickens and less subject to diarrhea. 



Feeding Ducks. Ducks have no crop and there- 

 fore should not receive whole grains such as are 

 recommended for young chickens. Their diet 

 should consist of soft vegetable and animal food. 

 The grain feed should be finely ground and fed in 

 the form of a mash together with finely cut vegeta- 

 bles, grass and animal feed. A system of feeding 

 highly recommended by some duck raisers consists 

 in the use of a mixture of bread crumbs, green 

 material, boiled eggs, and five per cent, of sand 

 mixed with water and fed four times per day for 

 the first five days. During the next fifteen days 

 a mixture of wheat, bran, corn, and rolled oats, 

 beef scraps, sand and clover may be used. For 

 the succeeding twenty-two days, bran, corn meal, 

 beef scraps, sand and clover are recommended, 

 and finally during the last few weeks a similar 

 mixture in which the corn meal is considerably 

 increased. The amount to be fed naturally varies 

 according to the size of the ducks. The feed should 

 be measured out in rations such as they will eat up 

 clean or if any is left it should at once be removed 

 in order to keep the pens in a sanitary condition. 

 Oyster shells or some other form of grit should 

 always be present for young ducks. Breeding 

 stock should be fed on rations similar to those 

 already mentioned, that is, containing a considerable 

 quantity of grain, beef scraps and other animal feed 

 and using a relatively small amount of green feed. 



