DUCKS, GEESE AND GUINEAS 119 



several times a week. If the ducklings are being 

 cared for by a hen, she may be allowed to jump out 

 and roam around. The youngsters have no use for 

 her, anyway, except as a source of heat, and pay no 

 attention when she gets excited over a bug or worm 

 and tries to' call them to the feast. The hen is 

 likely to get disgusted with her charges rather early, 

 but that does not matter, for they become large 

 enough in a few weeks to dispense with her services. 

 Even after the ducks are full grown a low fence 

 will confine them and they give much less trouble 

 than hens. They may be driven like sheep from 

 place to place, as the flock always keep together, 

 and suffer little from vermin. 



If given a wide range, the Indian Runners will 

 pick up a large percentage of their rations, for they 

 are excellent foragers. When confined, it is most 

 important that they have green food in abundance. 

 Grass clippings and the refuse from the garden 

 should go into their pen and it is well to grow let- 

 tuce, cress or other vegetables for them. 



The birds of this breed do not dress as heavy or 

 as attractively as Pekin ducks, which are the table 

 ducks par excellence, but the meat is fine-grained 

 and unsurpassed in flavor. The Runners make ex- 



