THE POULTRY YARD. 



229 



Rouen Ducks. 



weights (standard) of domestic ducks are: Pekin drake, 

 eight- pounds ; A ylesbury drake, nine pounds ; Rouen drake, 



nine pounds ; Cayuga 

 drake, eight pounds ; 

 Muscovy drake, ten 

 pounds. The duck of each 

 breed averages about lib. 

 less in weight than the 

 drake. Pekins and Ayles- 

 bury breeds are white, 

 Cayugas black, and 

 Rouens of varied colour. 

 The Muscovy does not 

 really belong to the duck 

 family. The eggs require 

 the same period for hatch- 

 ing as those of the goose, 

 while the produce of a mating of the Muscovy with 

 other breeds causes a sterile hybrid. 



Breeding, Rearing and Marketing. They do better 

 on good grass without water than when they have water 

 without the grass. Board floors are best for the camping 

 places of grown ducks, with bush scrapings or litter on the 

 floor. When in confined yards it costs about 3d. per Ib. 

 to produce ducks. They eat twice as much as chicks, but 

 they make up by growing twice as fast. Feed ducklings 

 on soft stuffs, and have shallow pans of drinking water 

 near, as a duckling may choke to death if deprived of water 

 while eating. Very cold water for drinking causes cramps 

 in ducklings. So, also, does water on their backs. The 

 Pekin and Muscovy are considered the most rapidly- 

 growing breeds. When crowded in yards, ducklings often 

 die suddenly, due to eating the filth in the yards. 

 Dampness is fatal to ducks, both adults and ducklings, 

 hence they must have dry sleeping places. 



GEESK. All the varieties are common the handsome 

 white, the Toulouse, the China, and improved Irish. They 

 are healthy, and a desirable addition to the poultry-yard 

 wherever there is plenty of good, rich grass, or soft, green 

 feed and a liberal supply of water. They are really grazing 



