POULTRY KEEPING 607 



Machinery has enabled the duck raiser to accomplish his ambition of 

 having his stock in the markets when prices are the best, and also 

 of raising large numbers of birds in a limited space of time. The 

 season for raising ducks is about six months from February to 

 July, inclusive. 



Duck raising is to be recommended to farmers as a profitable 

 source of revenue; and by careful attention to the work, as knowl- 

 edge increases, the scope of the industry may be extended. There 

 are numbers of farms in this country to-day that are devoted ex- 

 clusively to raising ducks, averaging from 5,000 to 30,000 ducks as 

 an annual output. An idea of the proportions of the business may 

 be had from the fact that as high as three tons of feed are used daily 

 by a single raiser during the busy season. The profits are the very 

 best, and good incomes may be made when once the business is thor- 

 oughly mastered. But the reader should not jump imprudently to 

 the conclusion that these results can be easily obtained. Duck rais- 

 ing is an arduous task ; one that requires an apprenticeship and abso- 

 lute knowledge of the business before/ success is reached. Those who 

 have been successful in raising ducks/have learned the business much 

 as one does any other vocation. The beginner should start modestly, 

 and increase his plant as his knowledge of the work increases. The 

 average farmer has all the facilities for raising a goodly number of 

 ducks, and may with a little oujtlay add considerably to his income. 



It is not at all necessary tha^ducks should have access to water 

 to be raised successfully, for they grow and thrive as readily without. 

 There are successful plants where thousands of ducks are raised that 

 have no water, save that which is given them as drink. It has been 

 a matter of much dispute which is the better way. Some duck raisers 

 tise water and allow their breeders the freedom of it; some allow 

 their growing stock intended for market free access to water until 

 they are eight weeks old, when they are penned and fattened for 

 market. On the other hand, there are raisers who have no water on 

 their farms, excepting wells, who are just as successful and raise as 

 many birds as those who have the water. The only noticeable dif- 

 ference between "upland" and "water" ducks is that the latter are 

 of prettier and cleaner plumage than the former. 



Buildings for Breeding Ducks. Houses for ducks are simple 

 affairs. They are built plain and comfortable, and have no furnish- 

 ings whatever. A duck is differently constituted from a hen, and 

 must be cared for under different conditions. The hen needs warmer 

 houses and drier surroundings than does the duck. A duck does not 

 mind the cold if she can keep her feet warm. Cold feet will affect 

 a duck as a frozen comb does a hen, retarding laying and inducing 

 ailments. The feathers of a duck are almost impenetrable and will 

 -withstand almost any degree of cold. Again, a duck can not stand 

 the amount of confinement in a house that a hen can ; she is more 

 restless in disposition and is given to exercise in a greater degree than 

 is a hen. Indigestion is not so prevalent with ducks as with chickens ; 

 the duck's ceaseless motion aids the digestive organs and keeps her 

 generally in good health. 



