102



Mr. Herbert K. Job,



captives. The Canvasbacks at first would lie down flat on the

ground and skulk, but they soon got over this. In a few hours all of

them would be shyly eating and drinking, and within a week they

would eat out of my hand. The only serious trouble or loss was due

to fighting, on account of a lack of coops, in which to segregate new

arrivals. The larger ducks are terribly savage to others put in with

them as strangers, chasing and hammering them, and we lost some

nice birds thus. Those that could stand it for a day or two were

then accepted on equal terms. We found that the prairie is no

lumber-yard, when it comes to building operations. The proper way

is to build a number of coops in advance, keep new arrivals separate

till they get to eating well, and then mix the groups so that, more

or less, all feel strange.


Though heat is not needed after the ducklings are over a

month or so old, it is necessary to provide good shelter for cold

windy nights and the heavy rains of the region. After learning a

lesson by losing a fine Canvasback, we brought into the kitchen each

night all the ducks not fully fledged, not having material for coops,

and not daring to take any more chances. We also found that a

moderate percentage of wild ducklings captured at a very tender age

were liable to die from shock, exhaustion, or abstinence. Most of

them, though, would take right hold with the tame incubator

birds. With these latter, it was encouraging to find that practically

about the only losses were due to overcrowded conditions. In the

large brooder hardly a bird died, save in the youngest brood of

Gadwalls. The others seemed to get the start of them and were

always stepping on them and pushing them aw T ay from the food.

They became more and more bedraggled and stunted, and in the end

we lost them all.


In the other brooder, with the smallest ducklings, the hover

was crowded at night. It was too bad to have to make fat Scoters

and tiny Teals sleep together, for some of the little ones were

trampled or smothered. There was very little loss from any other

cause. If I were doing the thing again, I should know exactly what

equipment and facilities to provide and should expect the losses to be

almost nil, certainly no more than on a well-regulated tame-duck

farm.



