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MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



want to ask you how many ducks to 

 put with one drake of this variety, so 

 as to secure the highest possible fer- 

 tility of eggs without keeping unnec- 

 essary drakes? I have a flock of 20 

 ducks and within a few days will be 

 ready to start my incubator, so if you 

 will kindly reply as soon as possible, 

 I will be very much obliged to you. 

 L. F. R. 



Answer The number of Indian 

 Runner ducks to one drake is ten. 

 This has been found to be the best 

 number for Indian Runners, although 

 you can mate fifteen ducks to one 

 drake and have good fertility. I 

 want, however, to warn you that the 

 eggs are not nearly so fertile in the 

 fall and winter as they are in the 

 spring, so you must not be disap- 

 pointed if at least half of the eggs are 

 infertile at this time of the year. To 

 increase the fertility, would advise 

 you to increase the amount of animal 

 food you are feeding. You can tell in 

 five days of incubation whether the 

 eggs are fertile and those that are not 

 fertile should be removed from the 

 incubator and can be used for cook- 

 ing or eating. They are merely in- 

 fertile eggs that have been kept in a 

 warm place for five days, and are 

 better than most store eggs. 



Weight at Ten Weeks Will you 

 please inform me what weight most 

 of the duck men can put on Indian 

 Runner ducks at ten weeks? I. L. R. 



Answer Indian Runners at ten 

 weeks of age weigh as much as do 

 the Pekins at that time, namely, about 

 eight pounds per pair. They should 

 be sent to market at from eight to ten 

 weeks of age. After that the pin 

 feathers develop, making them very 

 hard to pick. I think you will be 

 greatly pleased with the ducks when 

 you try them. Their flesh is very de- 

 licious, fine grained and the bones 

 are small. They have very much the 

 flavor of the canvas-back, and I have 

 heard, are sometimes sold instead of 

 them. They are also the greatest 

 layers of any known fowl; the eggs 

 are white and very delicious, with no 

 strong taste like the eggs of other 

 varieties of ducks. 



Feeding for Eggs I bought some 

 Indian Runner ducks, thirty-six in 

 all, and six drakes. They were lay- 



ing up to the middle of December; 

 since that time have layed none. I 

 feed them about everything that 

 would come from a first-class hotel 

 bread, meat, oat and corn-meal 

 mush, all kinds of vegetable and fruit. 

 Three times a week I mix cracked 

 corn and bran. I feed in the morn- 

 ing, twelve quarts, same amount at 

 night. They have access to plenty 

 of running water and keep perfectly 

 clean. The pen is covered with for- 

 est leaves that makes it warm. What 

 I want to know is, am I feeding right 

 for laying later on? Is it customary 

 to pick them? Does it affect their 

 laying? I have over two hundred 

 eggs engaged at 10 cents a piece. I 

 want to raise all I can the coming 

 season. J. W. A. 



Answer I think that your hotel 

 waste may have rather more bread in 

 it than is good for egg production. 

 Indian Runner ducks usually stop lay- 

 ing in October, commencing again in 

 December, and getting into full lay in 

 February. The best time for hatch- 

 ing Indian Runners is from the first 

 of February to the end of July; the 

 eggs are very fertile at such time. It 

 may be that you are fattening the 

 ducks too much, as over-fat ducks do 

 not lay well. They require much 

 more animal food than chickens. In 

 their wild state they live on grasses, 

 fish, frogs and insects, with but very 

 little grain. If you think they are 

 getting too much bread, you might 

 save some of it for chickens, and in- 

 crease the amount of meat; keep 

 them well supplied with coarse sand, 

 grit and crushed oyster shells. 



Picking the ducks affects their lay- 

 ing, and it greatly prevents the 

 drakes from being fertile. While 

 they are moulting the eggs are never 

 fertile. 



Eggs, Goose and Duck I would 

 like to know what care duck and geese 

 eggs should have when a hen is sitting 

 on them instead of the goose or duck. 

 Also, what feed should they have 

 when first hatched? Mrs. J. A. P. 



Answer Goose and duck eggs re- 

 quire more heat and a longer period of 

 incubation than hens' eggs. Five 

 goose eggs are sufficient to place un- 

 der a hen, and be sure that she turns 

 the eggs every day or the gosling will 

 be a cripple. The goose eggs are 

 heavy for a hen to turn, and for this 

 reason, and also because they require 



