i6o PROPAGATION OF WILD BIRDS 



with the hen until it is reasonably safe to let them out. 

 They need air and exercise as soon as feasible, but they must 

 not at this early stage get wet or chilled. Three-fourths- 

 inch mesh wire will keep in ducklings of the larger species, 

 but for wood ducks and other small species the ^-inch size is 

 necessary. The young of the wood duck and other tree- 

 nesting species climb, which the others do not, and for these 

 it is important that the run be covered above at first. 



Hot Sun Dangerous. Hot sun is a danger for ducklings 

 to be avoided as carefully as cold. There must always be 

 cover so that they can get in the shade, which they know 

 enough to seek. A surprisingly short enforced exposure to 

 hot sun will cause sunstroke. Hence in the pens in front 

 of each coop there should always be either an awning or a 

 frame covered with foliage, preferably evergreen, or stalks. 



Popular Fallacy. Mallard ducklings and those of a num- 

 ber of other species, especially of the "Anatinae" or "river 

 ducks," are much easier to raise than quails or pheasants, 

 in that they are not nearly so liable to epidemic diseases and 

 do not require free range. The process, however, is not so 

 simple as is commonly supposed. The popular idea is that 

 young ducks are all right if they have a pond to swim in. 

 This is a most mistaken notion when applied to ducklings 

 uiider artificial conditions. Without the mother duck, their 

 plumage is not properly oiled, and they quickly get soaked 

 and die of cramp. Moreover, various aquatic enemies de- 

 vour them. The practical fact is that water is dangerous, 

 and it is safest to rear them on dry land, with certain partial 

 exceptions which will be discussed later. The generally ac- 

 cepted method, notably with such species as mallards, is to 

 rear on dry land till the young ducks are about eight weeks 

 old, when their bodies have become well feathered. 



Common Method. At first the young are kept with the 



