POULTRY 



663 



The cheeks are nakea and nave a scarlet 

 fleshy space around the eyes ; the base of 

 the bill is carunculated with scarlet 

 folds, which makes them unattractive 

 and savage in appearance. The colored 

 Muscovy has a glossy back and white 

 head, while the White Muscovy is pure 

 white throughout. Adult drakes of 

 standard size should weigh 10 pounds, 



Fig. 418 — INDIAN RUNNER DUCKS 



ducks 9 pounds. These ducks have a 

 quarrelsome disposition, are a distinct 

 species and when crossed with other 

 breeds produce only sterile strains. 



Call duck — There are two varieties of 

 this breed, the Gray Call and the White 

 Call. They are bantams and their chief 

 use is for show purposes and for decoy 

 ducks in wild duck shooting. The 

 smaller they are bred the more highly 

 they are valued. 



The White Call is pure white in color 

 throughout, while the Gray Call is 

 marked with green and brown. The 

 drake is characterized by a ring around 

 the neck, the same as found in the 

 Rouen. 



The Black East India i s another ban- 

 tam breed, seldom exceeding 2 x /2 pounds, 

 and grown primarily for show purposes. 

 Plumage is rich black tinted with bril- 

 liant green throughout. One male to 

 two females is recommended. 



Crested White ducks — These are or- 

 namental birds seldom seen in this 

 country outside of exhibitions. They 

 are white birds having a well-balanced 

 crest. Drakes will weigh 7 pounds and 

 ducks 6 pounds. They are but little 

 value to the farmer in comparison to 

 the Pekin or Aylesbury. 



Eggs and incubation — Duck eggs are 

 generally a little larger than hens' eggs, 

 weighing about 2V2 pounds to the dozen. 

 Under favorable conditions of manage- 

 ment, such as is supplied on the large 

 duck farms, laying begins in December 

 and January and continues until early 

 summer. In order to secure fertile eggs, 

 about one drake to each four to seven 

 ducks should be used. Most breeds lay 

 their eggs anywhere on the ground or 

 in the water, if they have a swimming 

 pool, though occasionally they make 

 nests. Generally they are poor sitters, 

 and on this account the eggs are hatched 

 either with hens or in incubators. With 

 hens, the Plymouth Rocks and Brahmas 

 make the best mothers. About nine- 

 eggs can be placed under a hen in win- 

 ter and 11 or 12 in warm weather. The 

 incubator, however, is depended upon 

 entirely for raising ducklings on a large 

 scale. 



The method of operating the incuba- 

 tor is exactly the same as for chick- 

 ens, except that it requires 28 to 30 days 

 to hatch duck eggs. The eggs should 

 be examined on the third day of incu- 

 bation and those that are sterile re- 

 moved and sold with the cull eggs, which 

 are excessively large or small eggs, and 

 sold to bakers or grocers. On the 

 seventh day the eggs should again be 

 examined and all those with weak germs 



Pig. 419 — COLORED MUSCOVY 



hard 



removed and saved to be used 

 boiled as food for the ducklings. 



Handling in the brooder — The duck- 

 lings should not be removed to the brood- 

 er until they are dried off and should 

 not be fed until they have been hatched 

 at least 36 hours. In the brooder they 

 require fully as high a temperature as 

 chicks for the first three days, after 



