128 The Profitable Duck. 



ble, nitrogenous food should be used in order to promote the 

 growth of bone and tissue. At a later period, when fattening 

 the birds for market (which will require from ten days to a 

 fortnight), and fat is the main object, carbonaceous food 

 should be given. Great care should be taken to feed no more 

 than they will eat clean. Indeed, it is always best to keep 

 them a little short ; they will then fatten more readily, as no 

 creature when overfed and clogged will take on fat. My 

 method is to allow the birds ten minutes to eat, then clean out 

 the troughs and turn them over so that the birds will not fill 

 them with excrement. They will then be clean and ready for 

 the next feeding. 



When six or seven weeks old, ducklings, when closely con- 

 fined, often acquire the habit of eating the feathers from each 

 others' backs. This should be attended to at once and the of- 

 fenders should be confined by themselves ; for if the practice 

 is allowed to become general, as it surely will if all are kept 

 together, it may cause great trouble. In this case the birds 

 should be transferred to a grassy yard and the quantity of ani- 

 mal food be increased. When the birds are ready for fatten- 

 ing which will be when they are about nine weeks old the 

 quantity of meal should be increased to 90 per cent., and the 

 birds should have plenty of water and shade. At this stage 

 and even before, when they are confined in large numbers, 

 they are very apt to get frightened in the night. In such 

 cases they crowd together in a compact body and whirl around 

 with the greatest rapidity and keep it up throughout the night, 

 making an unearthly din, the weaker ones often being trod- 

 den down. Of course, this puts an end to all fattening, unless 

 it is speedily stopped. This can be easily done by hanging a 

 lantern near by, about two feet high, when the birds will con- 

 gregate around it and quietly settle down. 



When the young birds are ready for market, if one has a 

 large number, it is better to secure the services of an expert 

 to dress them tastily. In a fair day's work he can dress 40 

 ducks, though I have had men who could pick sixty, and do it 



