IHKIFTY GROWTH 15 



to chicks to drink because they get it all over theiii' 

 selves, which makes them anything but pretty birds. We 

 prefer to give it in soft food. We begin to add about 

 five per cent beef scrap on the fifth day and from that 

 we gradually increase the beef supply imtil at two 

 weeks they should be getting about ten per cent. If 

 they do not seem to be thriving we take away most of 

 the beef and give them grain almost altogether. 



Of late our tendency has been to feed more bran. 

 We never exceed the proportion of half meal and half 

 bran. Some breeders give at the end of ten weeks eighty 

 per cent of meal, but we like bran better. Ducks and 

 geese detect a very slight change in food and at any 

 abrupt change they will refuse to eat. I think ducks 

 are even more particular than geese. The theory with 

 hens is that they should have as constant change of food 

 as it is possible to give them, but this theory will not 

 work on ducks. 



We carry them right straight through on this feed, 

 not exceeding one-half bran and one-half meal, and 

 some beef scrap. One can mature birds more quickly 

 by giving more beef scrap. Of course it is a question 

 whether one can afford to pay so much for beef scrap 

 when one could get the same results with bran in a 

 little longer time. One can get fairly good results with 

 nothing but bran and meal. 



If raising for breeding birds, you can mature them 

 and get as good a frame on bran and meal, but it will 

 take two months longer. A bird hatched in March 

 would be pretty well developed in September if fed 

 stimulating food, but it would be November before it 

 was developed if fed no stimulants. We believe in an 

 abundance of green food for breeding birds. In all 

 waterfowls the white-meated ones are the desirable 

 birds. A large proportion of bran will give a white- 

 meated bird either in ducks or fowls. 



