H3


fastened so as to lean outwards at an angle of 450, to prevent cats

or foxes from climbing over. There should be a plot of grass

within the enclosure, as many kinds of ducks, and especially

geese, are very fond of grass.


The best food for almost all the foreign ducks is a

mixture of buckwheat, barley and wheat, and plenty of green

food such as duckweed, lettuce, cabbage, etc. If there are

very many ducks in an enclosure together and some appear to

be quarrelsome, it will be as well to take the eggs away from any

very valuable duck and hatch them under a light hen. The food

of the young ducks may at first consist of hard-boiled egg

chopped fine and mixed with breadcrumbs and chopped lettuce;

also oatmeal and vermicelli, that has been scalded, are good.

When the ducklings are a week old, ants’ eggs should be given

in addition, and in a short time they will eat soaked seeds.


All the ducks must, of course, be pinioned unless they

are to be kept in a small place that is wired over the top. The

ducklings should be pinioned when about six or eight weeks

old, by cutting off the first joint of the left wing with a

sharp pair of scissors, and when properly done there will be very

little pain, and often no loss of blood. It is most important that

the same person should always attend to the birds and that no

dog should be allowed to approach their enclosure, as ducks take

fright very easily. The nest of any foreign duck should never

be approached, unless indeed the eggs are to be taken altogether

with a view to hatching them under a Bantam or other light hen.

Any alteration in the surroundings would in all probability cause

the duck to forsake her nest entirely.


There should be at the disposal of the aviculturist a large

wooden shed, well lighted, into which he can drive the more

delicate species in cold weather, especially such as have recently

been imported, and are consequently not thoroughly acclimatised.

The floor of this shed should be covered with straw, and the

ducks should be kept very clean and supplied with plenty of

water. Perhaps it will be as well to give the names of a few of

the most desirable exotic ducks, for the benefit of any member

who may think it worth his while to go in for this branch of

aviculture:—Mandarin (Aix gcilericulata), Summer or Carolina

(Azx spo?isa),'Ba.h.a.ma.(Dapi/a bcihamensis), Chilian Pintail (D.spini-

caudci), Spotted Bill (Anaspcecilorhynca), Rosy Bill (A. peposacci),

Japanese Teal (Querquedula formosa ), Chiloe Widgeon (Mareca

chiloensis'), Ruddy Shellduck (Tadorna casarca'). And, of course,

many others, as well as many charming and interesting species of



