1108 THE PEOPLE'S FARM AND STOCK CYCLOPEDIA. 



and during the cold rains of early spring and late fall the ducks 

 spend a good deal of the time there. This building or shed is but 

 five feet high in front, and slopes down to within a foot of the 

 ground at the back. It was built of refuse lumber ; has a board 

 roof; three windows, each containing six panes of seven by nine 

 glass in the south side ; no floor, but every fall a few loads of dry 

 gravel are put in, which keeps it free from filth. Under each 

 window there is an opening for the ducks, and along the rear 

 there are nests. 



Ducks are very much inclined to lay around anywhere, and 

 a little management is necessary in order to secure the eggs. 

 The best way is to shut them up at night during the laying 

 season. Ducks always lay at night, or very early in the morn- 

 ing, so the eggs can be collected and the ducks fed and turned 

 out by sunrise. In front of our duck-house there is a good- 

 sized yard, and as they are always fed in that yard they come 

 regularly at sundown for their supper, when they are shut in 

 for the night. 



A trough of water should always be kept in the pen or yard 

 where the ducks are shut up at night, unless the weather is 

 freezing cold, and in that case they should be supplied with 

 drink when given their supper. Ducks are often killed by giv- 

 ing them a hearty supper without drink, and then shutting them 

 up all night where they can not get at water, and when not 

 killed outright there is no doubt but that they suffer greatly 

 from thirst. 



Ducks generally make poor mothers, and as they lay a long 

 time before offering to sit, it is necessary to set the eggs under 

 hens. The directions that have been given for the management 

 of turkey's eggs during incubation will answer equally well for 

 duck's eggs. Duck's eggs usually hatch well. Ducklings should 

 not be hatched too early ; those hatched in April and May will 

 grow to a good size for the early fall market, and those hatched 

 later will make fine birds for the winter market. 



Until they are fully feathered ducklings are as liable to die 

 of chills and damp, caused by exposure to cold and wet, as 

 young turkeys, and for this reason they must be kept out of the 



