DUCKS AND GEESE 



the rest of the house and only the smaller partitioned 

 off end used as a separate and independent section 

 of the brooder. This is especially useful when only 

 a small number of ducklings are being hatched 

 early in the spring when the weather is cold and it 

 may be difficult to heat the whole building properly. 

 It is also economical in fuel under such conditions. 



If, on the other hand, the number of ducklings 

 hatched during the cold weather is so large that all 

 or nearly all of the house capacity is needed to care 

 for them, it will usually pay to install an additional 

 heater, the pipes from which can be run along the 

 rear wall of the building, in order to keep up a 

 proper house temperature when the weather is 

 severe. 



Pens. Having the hovers in the center of the 

 house, makes it possible to have double sets of pens, 

 one running from the center to the front wall and 

 the other from the center to the rear wall. The pens 

 are divided off by means of partitions made of one 

 foot boards. These are high enough to confine the 

 ducklings to their own pen and at the same time 

 are easy to step over. In a house of this width, 20 

 feet, with 4 feet in the center taken up by the double 

 hovers or walk, each pen is 8 feet long in the clear 

 or 10 feet to the partition under the hover. The pens 

 in the first third of the house are made 5 feet wide, 

 in the next third 6 feet and in the last third 7 feet 

 wide. When the ducklings are first brought from 

 the incubator cellar they are placed in the pens 



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