TURKEYS, DUCKS AND GEESE 



a day all they will clean up of a mash made of four parts by 

 measure wheat bran; one part corn meal; one part low grade 

 flour; three per cent fine grit; five per cent fine ground beef 

 scrap (soaked first by scalding). Finely cut green clover, rye 

 or cabbage is fed freely. 



From the end of the fourth week until six weeks old they 

 have the following mash four times a day all they will clean up 

 quickly: Three parts by measure wheat bran; one part corn 

 meal; one part low grade flour; three per cent fine grit; five 

 per cent beef scrap; one per cent fine oyster shells and a liberal 

 amount of fine cut green food mixed in mash. 



Ffom the end of the sixth week until eight weeks old, 

 they have the following mash three times a day: Equal parts 

 by measure wheat bran, and corn meal and fifteen per cent 

 low grade flour; ten per cent beef scrap; ten per cent green food 

 and three per cent grit. Keep oyster shells before them. 



From eight weeks until finish at ten or eleven weeks they are 

 fed three times a day on a mash of one-half corn meal; equal 

 parts by measure wheat bran and a low grade flour; ten per 

 cent beef scrap, and three per cent grit. Oyster shell is kept 

 before them. Green food is fed less freely until within ten days 

 to two weeks of market time and then is omitted altogether. 

 The birds are watered at feeding time. All mashes are made 

 dry and crumbly, never gummy or pasty. As soon as the ducks 

 are weaned from the brooder they are housed in the fattening 

 sheds and yards to remain there until ready for market, unless 

 selected for breeders, in which case they go out on pasture. 

 The mortality among ducklings on this plant is estimated at 

 not over two per cent of the sound, healthy ducklings hatched. 

 All weaklings are killed when the ducklings are taken from the 

 machine to be placed in the brooders. 



GRAIN, GRIT AND SHELL BY THE CARLOAD 



All grain, grit, shell and beef scrap used on this farm is 

 bought by the carload. It takes a vast amount of food to keep 

 this plant going in the height of the season. At the time of 

 our visit the 1,100 breeders were receiving about fifteen bushels 

 of mixed mash food at a meal. 



When the brooder houses are full and the plant is going 

 at full capacity it requires 760 buckets of mash mixture a day 

 to satisfy the hungry ducks and duckhngs. These buckets 

 average 12 quarts each, so that it means 285 bushels of mixed 

 feed per day to run this plant in the busy season. 



Four expert pickers are employed by this plant while the 

 market season is on. These men receive seven cents per head 

 for picking ducklings and wiU dress from 40 to 60 ducks each 

 as a day's work. 



Maplewood averages to market 200 ducks a day during 

 the season which begins in Februay and ends in August. Be- 

 sides this many hundreds of breeders are grown and thousands 

 of eggs are sold for hatching. Pekin ducks are remarkably 

 prolific layers and when once well established in laying it is 

 not uncommon to get as high as 90 per cent egg yield from the 

 flock. After the first few eggs are laid and the birds get in full 

 lay the fertility is remarkably good. The ducks usually start 

 laying in January and are well established and showing a good 

 fertihty by the middle of March, and they keep it up until well 

 into June or early July. The ducks will average about 140 

 eggs per head for the season, some making records as high as 

 165 eggs. Young ducks will often begin laying at five months 

 old but it is customary to endeavor to hold them back until 

 they are more mature. 



MARKETING AND PROFITS 



All ducks marketed by this plant are hatched, grown, 

 killed, dressed, cooled and iced on the home farm. They are 



marketed when from nine to eleven weeks old. Mr. Rankin 

 estimates that the total cost of raising duck meat, labor in.- 

 cluded, is not over 10 cents per pound at the present prices 

 for grain. 



Marketable ducklings will average to dress six pounds each 

 at nine weeks old and seven pounds each at ten to eleven weeks 

 old. One drake grown last season weighed nine and one-half 

 pounds when dressed and ready for market at ten weeks old; 

 this is an exceptional record weight. 



The prices for fancy market ducks are highest early in the 

 season and the man who beats his competitors getting into 

 market gets the cream of the profits. This season had only 

 begun when we made our last visit to Maplewood and it was 

 too early to obtain figures on the market, but all the incubators 

 were in full blast and the brooder houses rapidly filling up with 

 ducklings. 



Last year (1905) the top price was 30 cents per pound for 

 early ducklings and did not go below 15 cents late in the season. 

 Mr. Rankin at the last of the season during July made but one 

 shipment at this lowest price as he was able to control the market 

 for his output, and for all other lots the lowest price paid was 

 19 cents per pound. Boston market takes the bulk of the out- 

 put of this plant although some few shipments are made to the 

 New York market when prices are favorable. Last season 

 sales of Maplewood ducklings averaged 20 cents per pound. 

 At an average gross cost of production of 10 cents per pound 

 this means quite a tidy profit. 



The buying pubhc is only just beginning to get acquainted 

 with the excellence of properly grown duck meat and each year 

 sees a constantly increasing demand. With such generous pro- 

 fits to pay for the hard work it is not strange that the industry 

 is developing by a steady and sturdy growth. 



For a man who likes outdoor hfe and is willing to stay at 

 home, work hard and keep long hours there is no branch of 

 the poultry business that gives promise of better or more cer- 

 tain returns. 



To Mr. James Rankin belongs the honor of being one of 

 the first men in the United States to recognize the value of the 

 Pekin duck and to help create the great market outlet in this 

 country for specially grown, fed and fatted ten weeks old duck- 

 lings. May he live long and prosper. 



TOULOUSE GEESE 



B. F. HISLOP, Milford, 111. 



Several years ago we decided that geese would be a source 

 of income in connection with other poultry rearing. The 

 question then was to decide on the variety we would breed. 

 First we looked to the common market's demand, knowing that 

 this went hand in hand with the fancy. We easily learned the 

 market demanded the heaviest geese, also the fattest, and that 

 the To^ilouse came nearer this type than any other, hence our 

 selection. 



There are drawbacks to all kinds of poultry rearing — one 

 don't get from this "something for nothing" any more than in 

 another calling, but of all the birds we have handled, geese have 

 the least, and they can stand pampering and heavy feedipg 

 and all the breeder needs to do is to see that they have green 

 forage, plenty of drinking water and a httle grit; then he can 

 feed any kind of grain he chooses and in any quantity. Of 

 course grain for the young goslings should be in the form of 

 mash and generous in quantity, in connection with gi-een forage, 

 etc., but the adult birds may be scrimped on this if one does 

 not care to fatten them. 



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