Selling and Cooking Value of Indian 

 Runner Eggs 



CHAPTER XIII 



There are three aspects under which eggs may be considered, 

 viz., as breeding material ; as market stock ; as a household neces- 

 sity and luxury. The last is the strong point, if we take num- 

 bers into consideration; yet, as the number of eggs produced de- 

 pends quite largely, in some cases, upon the breeding value, it 

 seems to me rather fitting to consider the eggs as breeding ma- 

 terial, before taking up the other two points. 



Indian Runner eggs, at their best, hatch better than any other 

 eggs of which I have had personal knowledge, taking the season 

 through. During several hatching seasons, we had them running 

 for a long time, under actual test, at from 95 per cent to 100 per 

 cent fertile. One hundred per cent of fertility does not, neces- 

 sarily, mean a one hundred per cent hatch. But it is known that 

 duck eggs generally hatch well when all the conditions are favor- 

 able, as compared with hens' eggs. They need a little more mois- 

 ture ^vhile under incubation, than do the better-known hens' eggs. 



The real value of the Runner eggs, as breeding material, will 

 rest very largely on the conditions under which the ducks are 

 kept. In order to be able to hatch near the one hundred per cent 

 vvhich we take as ideal (and not impossible a part of the time) 

 the conditions of yarding, feeding, etc., must also approach the 

 ideal. There must be fair room, proper proportion of males to 

 females, sufficient shell material and grit, and plenty of fresh, 

 lush green feed, besides the grain and meat, in various forms, 

 which comprise the usual rations, not to mention the indispensable 



135 



