264 Farm Poultry 



so easily confined. Muscovy ducks are often 

 troublesome in the poultry yard on account of 

 their disposition to attack other fowls, both young 

 and old. On account of their disposition to fly 

 they are not easily kept within inclosures. 



Call ducks. Call ducks are bred chiefly for 

 exhibition purposes. The gray Call ducks are some- 

 times bred for decoys and are used by sports- 

 men to lure wild ducks within shooting distances. 

 They are not recommended as profitable farm 

 fowls. 



DUCKS FOOD AND CARE 



The natural food of the duck differs in some 

 respects from that of the hen. While ducks, like 

 hens, eat a great variety of food, yet, because the 

 duck is not possessed of a distinct crop, the food 

 is passed more directly to the digestive organs 

 and does not undergo so complete a softening 

 process as that consumed by the hen. It is, there- 

 fore, of the utmost importance that the food be 

 consumed in a soft condition. In nature the duck 

 gathers a large proportion of its food from streams, 

 ponds, or marshy places. This food consists of 

 the young, growing shoots and roots of water plants, 

 snails and the larvae of various water insects, together 

 with small fish and other aquatic life. Those who 

 have made a success of rearing ducks on an extended 

 scale have learned a valuable lesson from nature 



