or blue." But a little more of this class of information would 

 have told him that the Standard demands dull, cucumber-green 

 in bills of ducks and greenish-yellow in drakes, when matured. 



One of the large growers of market ducks, who raises from 

 20,000 upward each season, says of ducks in general that he 

 considers that the average man has as good a chance to succeed 

 with ducks as with any branch of poultry raising, and that some 

 men have the best chance with ducks. 



Because he is a man of such wide experience, I will give 

 his method of using machines for hatching, as told in "The 

 Poultry Advocate" in 1910, though not quoting much literally. 

 He believes that ducks hatched during the first two weeks in 

 May make the best breeders. He places his young birds in- 

 tended for breeders on sod, with access to a stream, at eight 

 weeks of age. Bran, corn-meal and middlings, equal parts, with 

 eight percent of beef scraps, form their entire ration, fed twice 

 daily till mid-November. As his main food for getting eggs, he 

 gives : 



"One part bran; one part middlings; one part low grade 

 flour; one part whole corn; two parts whole wheat; two parts 

 cornmeal; four parts cut clover hay; twelve per cent beef scrap, 

 sand, grit and oyster shells, all they will eat; mix with water 

 till crumbly." 



Eggs for hatching are washed very lightly and carefully, if 

 they are much soiled. "We set daily, and find we get better 

 results than when we used to set every four days," he says. The 

 (Cyphers) machines are run at 103 the first two weeks, at 103 J^ 

 for a week more, then a week at 103, running up to 104 and 

 105 at the hatching period. Eggs are turned once a day till 

 the first test, at end of first week ; after this twice daily till they 

 pip. Then all pipped eggs are turned the pipped side up, and the 

 machine closed till hatch is complete. "A 350-egg machine will 



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