144 Profitable Poultry Keeping. 



but to fatten and kill them off. Ducks are capital layers, as 

 a rule, and the eggs, when the drake is not older than we 

 have just mentioned, very fertile. In hatching, large Cochin 

 or Brahma hens should be used, as these can cover eleven, or 

 sometimes thirteen eggs, very easily ; but, it is necessary to 

 remember, when hens are used, that a duck in sitting a nest 

 "will, on going off to feed, have a swim before she returns, 

 and, as her feathers will be wet in consequence, the eggs 

 get the benefit of it. Eggs under hens, therefore, must be 

 kept moist, or they will not hatch, for, when this is not done, 

 the inner skin gets hard and tough, so that the little inmate 

 cannot make its way out. The nest should be in a moist 

 place, but if this cannot be arranged, then the earth below it 

 must be kept damp, much more damp than is required for 

 fowls. We have always found it very advantageous to 

 sprinkle the eggs with a little warm water when the hen is 

 off feeding, so that the shells get moist all over. Ducks' 

 eggs can easily be hatched in incubators, and we have been 

 very successful in this way ; but one thing must be borne in 

 mind, that ducks' and hens' eggs are not to be put into one 

 machine, as each kind requires different treatment. Hens' 

 eggs only need a reasonable amount of moisture, and should 

 never be sprinkled, whereas, for ducks' eggs, the moisture 

 trays are by no means sufficient, and they should be sprinkled 

 daily, so that the air in the machine will be more heavily 

 charged with moisture than is good for ordinary eggs. Not 

 only so, but duck eggs hatch all the better if given con- 

 siderably more air, and a longer time for cooling, than is 

 good for hens' eggs, and for these reasons, it will be seen 

 that separate machines are required for the two kinds of eggs. 

 The period of incubation for ducks is twenty-eight days, 

 but, when the eggs are very fresh, they very often hatch a day 

 or two earlier. If the sprinkling of the eggs is attended to, 

 there is seldom any loss during the process of hatching; but, 



