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HOW WE RAISE DUCKS AND GEESE. 



(Mrs. John Steele and Son, Chillicothe, Mo.) 



We use an ordinary chicken hen with which to hatch our duck 

 and goose eggs. We have had good results with duck eggs in in- 

 cubators, keeping them in incubator two weeks and then putting 

 them under hens to be hatched. Have never attempted to complete 

 a hatch in the machine, although it can be successfully done. Some 

 advise wetting duck eggs while they are under the hen, but we have 

 never done this, simply let them take their time and don't get -in too 

 big a hurry to help them out. 



We always give the young to the care of chicken hens. Care 

 must be taken at first to give them a shallow water vessel for they 

 are very apt to get on their back and perish. After four or five days 

 give a deeper vessel so they can get water into their nostrils or they 

 will become closed by food and dirt so the birds cannot breathe. It 

 is important to have plenty of water for the young ducks, but it 

 should be so arranged that they cannot drown themselves while 

 young, and you must also remember that they cannot stand much cold 

 and dampness at first. 



A scene on a large Eastern duck farm. 



The two all-important things with young ducks are water and 

 feed, but they do not need to have a lake or pond, as some imagine; 

 in fact, we have never had such for our flock, but we like to supply 

 their water and aim to keep it continually before them. Our reason 

 for prefering this method to ponds and lakes is that turtles and 

 varmints which usually infest ponds and lakes do not kill the young 

 ones. One of the best reasons for supplying their water is that they 



