enjoy it, but places all corn in the water troughs to soak a little. 

 "Otherwise, they may get a rather packed crop of dry, hard 

 grain." This writer says that ducklings will "invariably" grow 

 better and develop much faster when they have a good supply of 

 water, both at night and during meals. He makes mash at least 

 two-thirds the ration, in bulk, in cold weather and for laying, 

 and says that if ducks are well raised and kept warm and com- 

 fortable during the winter at all times, they "will lay without 

 faltering." I think this is rather near the secret of getting winter 

 eggs from ducks : a rich and ample ration, with reasonable uni- 

 formity of conditions both as to feed and housing. The same 

 man tells of finding a breeder who was complaining of no e:ggi>, 

 plucking his ducks every six weeks ! This is sufficient to explain 

 any lack of eggs under even the best conditions, otherwise. 



In yard conditions, without natural water supply, the filthy 

 and ill-smelling soil becomes an acute menace, and the ducks are 

 not a matter of pride to the raiser. On heavy land, I would not 

 raise ducks thus, without a sharp slope for drainage of surplus 

 water. But, on light land, one may dodge this issue by excavat- 

 ing a fair-sized hole, laying over it a stiffened wire netting, and 

 setting the water dishes on this netting. In case of bad odors, a 

 covering of fresh earth, or a sprinkling of some safe disinfectant 

 is indicated. 



One breeder, who has raised several kinds of ducks, in- 

 cluding the Imperial Pekins, says that the Indian Runner is, by 

 far, the most profitable, and that it is much easier to induce the 

 Runners to lay in extreme weather than to get eggs from hens. 

 The methods on this place include a house 16 ft. by 35 ft. and 

 a yard 24 ft. wide and 100 ft. long to each forty ducks. The 

 layers are fed four times a day ; a grain and vegetable mash 

 early and at night, with two lighter meals in between. The breeder 

 says : "Twice a week a little raw cut bone or some beef scraps 

 are added to the mash. Cooked vegetables with some milk added 



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