FEEDING OF FOWLS 83 



and yet not where they can run through it. It is a 

 habit of ducklings to take a mouthful or two of feed, 

 then some water. They will run backwards and for- 

 wards from the feed trough to the water, eating and 

 drinking alternately until they have finished. If duck- 

 lings are fed on dry grain or dry food of any kind with- 

 out plenty of water they will frequently choke, stagger, 

 fall over, and in some cases die. 



Another good plan for feeding ducklings is to teach 

 them to take from a trough cracked corn, whole wheat, 

 and any other kind of grain without husks, these grains 

 to be submerged in water. After being fed in this way 

 for several weeks, they can be gradually taught to eat 

 dry grain or even whole corn without injury, provided 

 they have water to go to at will; but they cannot stand 

 such feeding when very young. 



Dr. Prince T. Woods, of Massachusetts, recommends 

 the following formula for feeding ducklings less than 

 4 da. old: Mix 4 qt. of wheat bran, 1 qt. of corn meal, 

 1 qt. of low-grade flour, 4 oz. of grit of small size; 

 moisten some of this mixture with cold water and feed 

 the ducklings four times a day all they will eat of it in 

 a short period of time. After the ducklings are 4 da. 

 old they may be fed from this same mixture of meals 

 with 12 oz. of beef scraps of small size added to the 

 mixture. When feeding beef scraps to young ducklings 

 it is always a good plan to scald the beef scraps sepa- 

 rately, stir them up, mix them into the meal; but when 

 feeding, add sufficient cold water to moisten the whole 

 of it slightly, so that it is of a proper consistency for the 

 ducks. After the ducklings are a week old, green stuff 

 of some kind should -be cut up very small and mixed in 

 with the feed. After the ducklings are 3 wk. old, con- 

 tinue to feed them from the same meal mixture, adding 

 double the quantity of beef scrap and giving them more 

 green feed. 



