144 MRS. BASLEY'S WESTERN POULTRY BOOK 



Hatching and Brooding 



The first thing the amateur needs is first-class breeding stock or 

 eggs of the same. There is sure to be sad loss among young duck- 

 lings, bred from debilitated stock. Good stock should be secured 

 to start with, and when properly fed and cared for, there need be no 

 fear of loss. 



A good incubator, carefully operated without variation of tem- 

 perature, should receive the eggs. They take twenty-eight days to 

 hatch. Duck eggs will hatch well in any of the standard incu- 

 bators ; they require more airing than do the eggs of the hen, and I 

 have found that by sprinkling them every other day, after the first 

 week, I was sure of a good hatch. Sprinkle the eggs, or moisten 

 them thoroughly, with warm water, when they are out of the ma- 

 chine, and do not put the water in the incubator. I found this much 

 the best plan. I think wetting the shell of the egg helps to soften 

 it and make it more brittle, enabling the duck to break its way out 

 easily. I also do this when hatching duck eggs under hens. 



A brooder adapted to chicks will answer equally well for ducks. 

 The little fellows should be at least thirty-six hours old before 

 taken from the incubator and placed in the brooder, which should 

 be previously prepared for them by placing a board about ten inches 

 wide a few inches from the front of the brooder forming a very 

 small yard with a little water fountain so arranged that they can 

 get their bills in but not their bodies. The birds should be con- 

 fined to this small space in front of the brooder for the first day, 

 or until they have learned the way into the hover. Bed the little 

 fellows with hay, chaff or cut straw. Keep the pens clean, both out- 

 side and in. The welfare of the ducklings depends upon this. Be 

 sure to give them shade. 



Mr. James Rankin has been called the father of the duck indus- 

 try in America. He and a number of others in the East are now 

 hatching by the thousands and tens of thousands. He writes : 

 "With us it is the surest crop we can grow; it makes the best 

 returns of any crop on the farm." 



As he is a noted expert in the business I cannot do better than 

 give his directions for raising the ducks and his formulas for feed- 

 ing at the different ages. I have tried them myself and do not 

 think they can be improved upon. 



Feeding 



The first food should consist of bread or cracker crumbs slightly 

 moistened and about 10 per cent of hard-boiled eggs chopped fine, 

 shell and all ; mix in this food five per cent of coarse sand. Do not 

 place grit by them and expect them to eat it, but mix the sand in 

 their food and so compel them to eat it as it is the most essential 

 part of the whole thing. 



Scatter the food on a board, place the young ducklings on it and 

 they will be busily eating it within ten minutes. One hundred to 

 one hundred and fifty ducks can be put in one brooder six feet long. 

 When two or three weeks old, not more than seveny-five should be 



