RANKIN'S DUCK BOOK 



QUESTION BUREAU 



QUESTION 1.— Why do my ducks not lay? I feed them 

 all the corn they will eat. 



ANSWER. — Ducks will not lay on hard grain alone. 

 They should have a mash composed of equal parts of wheat- 

 bran, corn-meal, and twenty per cent, low grade flour, with 

 about one-quarter green food and vegetables; ten per cent, 

 of beef-scrap, with grit and oyster shells. 



QUESTION 2. — My ducklings are weak in the legs, can- 

 not stand, and soon die. What is the matter? 



ANSWER. — Your trouble is too highly concentrated 

 food and too much of it. Feed on mash composed largely of 

 wheat-bran, low-grade flour and about fifteen per cent, of corn- 

 meal. Mix in plenty of green food, as green rye, clover, corn- 

 fodder, etc. Ten per cent, of ground beef-scrap, or other an- 

 imal food ; five per cent, of coarse sand. This diet is absolute- 

 ly necessary to properly develop the bird and form flesh, bone 

 and feathers. Feed sparingly. This is essential, as it invites 

 exercise, which is much needed during close confinement in 

 inclement weather. 



QUESTION 3.— My ducklings are troubled with sore 

 eyes and do not seem to thrive, what can I do for them? 



ANSWER. — -This disease savors of filthy quarters, and 

 yet it is not always attributed to that. Improper assimilation 

 of food through want of grit and other ingredients will have 

 a tendency in the same direction. A gummy secretion ex- 

 udes from the eyes, hardening up among the feathers around 

 them, seriously retarding the growth and development of the 

 bird. Feed sparingly of light food with plenty of grit, and 

 sprinkle a little ginger in their food. Remove the bird to 

 clean quarters and a few days will usually effect a cure. 



QUESTION 4. — I am losing my ducklings from diar- 

 rhoea. Have but twenty left out of eighty, and they are not 

 ten days old. Please counsel me. 



ANSWER. — This disease may have several causes, 

 though I am convinced that the food has but little to do with 

 it. It may originate through the degenerate condition of the 

 parent bird, and consequently want of vitality in the egg from 

 which the little bird comes out in no shape to live; or from 



[ 94 ] 



