RANKIN'S DUCK BOOK 



eggs are not only thus, but a very small per cent, of those egg* 

 can be induced to hatch, and no amount of petting and coax- 

 ing can induce those that are hatched to live. 



Every young breeder of poultry should inform himself of 

 these facts before he starts in, for no living man can afford to 

 breed from inferior stock. I passed through experiences of this- 

 kind many years ago, and always found that the laws of pri- 

 mogeniture cannot be lightly set aside. I invariably select 

 the choicest of my early hatched birds for breeding stock, and 

 no matter how high the price in market, I cannot afford to 

 sell them. A gentleman, who was a large breeder, said to me 

 a few years ago : "How is it that your ducks are so much 

 larger than mine? I bought stock from you four years ago r 

 and have been breeding from it ever since, and now your 

 birds are six or eight pounds per pair heavier than mine."" 

 "True, but you bought my latest-hatched birds, because they 

 were cheap, and have been breeding from your latest-hatched! 

 birds ever since, while I have been breeding only from the 

 choicest of my early birds. You have been steadily breeding, 

 your stock down, while I have been breeding mine up. There 

 is now a wide gap between them." 



Caring for the Ducklings When Hatched. 



The little ducklings should be left in the machine for at 

 least twenty-four hours longer. Be sure and open the air- 

 valves and give them plenty of air, so that they may be welll 

 dried off. A uniform heat of 90 degrees should be held in 

 the egg-chamber. The outer doors of the machine should be 

 closed and the little fellows kept in darkness the first twelve 

 hours. After that the outer doors should be let down. Then 

 you will see some fun, for the little ducklings are far more 

 active than chicks, and will begin to play at once. In the- 

 meantime the brooding-house should be prepared for the re- 

 ception of the young brood. The heat should be started some 

 twenty-four hours previous to use. 



The brooding-house should be the same whether you are- 

 growing on a small scale or a large one, with simply the length 

 proportioned to your needs. But always recollect that heat 

 should radiate from above on your ducklings, as bottom heat, 

 will soon cripple them in the legs and render them helpless'.. 

 In fact, I do not consider bottom heat as essential even for 

 chicks. The most successful grower I knew of, who grew 

 3,000 chicks each spring, getting them all out between Jan- 

 uary 1st and March 1st, and closed up the whole business by 

 July 1st, used top heat exclusively. He experimented fairly 

 with both, and said he wanted no more bottom heat. If the 



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