DUCKS AND GEESE 



breeds of the meat class in general type or shape of 

 body showing good length, breadth and depth. It 

 is a very solid duck and weighs heavier than it looks. 

 The body carriage is slightly more upright than the 

 Rouen but not so much so as the Pekin. The back 

 line should be straight and any tendency toward an 

 arched back must be avoided. It is slightly smaller 

 than the Pekin, Aylesbury and Rouen, averaging 

 about a pound less. 



In making the mating, size is important and 

 breeders should be selected which are up to stand- 

 ard weights if possible. While this breed is not 

 kept very widely at the present time, nevertheless 

 it is an excellent market duck, dressing out into a 

 very plump yellow carcass in spite of its black plum- 

 age which is a disadvantage in dressing. The 

 color should be a lustrous greenish black through- 

 out, being somewhat brighter in the drake than in 

 the duck. The duck is more likely to show a brown- 

 ish cast of plumage, particularly as she grows older. 

 It is hard to hold good black color with age. More- 

 over, white or gray is apt to occur in the breast of fe- 

 males. With age also a little white sometimes de- 

 velops on the back of the neck, around the eyes and 

 underneath the neck at the base of the bill. The 

 white which occurs in breast is more likely to come 

 in ducks and is not commonly found in the drakes. 

 In the drakes on the other hand, there is a tendency 

 for the white to come on the throat under the bill. 



Drakes as a rule run truer in color and hold their 



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