RANKIN'S DUCK BOOK 



begin and then they will be sure to keep it. As an induce- 

 ment to all, I would say that there is nothing in the way 

 of farm industry or any other legitimate occupation which 

 will at all compare with the profits obtained from poultry 

 when artificially conducted. There are, however, a few 

 notable exceptions in favor of watered railroad stock, bogus 

 mining shares, patent medicines, and the business done by 

 our bank cashiers when guaranteed a safe transit through to 

 Canada. I would advise all contemplating the poultry busi- 

 ness to combine the growing of ducks and chicks together, 

 for the reason that more profit can be realized from both 

 than from either alone, because they do not necessarily inter- 

 fere with each other, and the same buildings and machinery 

 can be utilized for both. The brooding-house should be 

 filled with chicks in November and December, which they 

 will have outgrown by February, when the building will be 

 required for ducklings. The ducklings, strange to say, 

 though two months younger, will be ready for market as 

 soon as the chicks (provided the latter are held for roasters, 

 as they should be) and they will both be in the market in 

 time to command the highest prices. This is what the poul- 

 terer should always cater to, and machinery alone will enable 

 him to do it. He who expects to incubate with old hens 

 during the winter will surely get left. But more of this 

 hereafter. 



Select A Good Site 



The first thing for one to do (if he is not already located), 

 is to select a good site. It should have a gradual slope to 

 the east or south, enough for natural drainage. No matter 

 how poor the land, it will be rich enough before your fowls 

 get through with it. I need not say that in those regions 

 where snow lies upon the ground four or five months of the 

 year, the conditions are not as favorable for the poultry 

 grower as near the coast line, where snow, though a frequent 

 visitor, remains but a few weeks or days at a time. In the 

 one case it means close confinement to the fowls a great 

 part of the winter, with want of exercise and consequent 

 want of action in the digestive organs. The food is not 

 assimilated, the fowls become debilitated, and though they 

 may give a fair share of eggs, these eggs can seldom be 

 depended upon to hatch. It is true, the active poulterer may 

 overcome this in a measure by clearing away the snow for 

 ten or fifteen feet in front of his buildings after each storm, 

 and by a free use of barn chaff and chopped straw induce 

 his fowls to go out on sunny days, but all this increases his 



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