DUCK DOLLARS 85 
Q.—Please give me the amount of feed necessary for a pen of thirty 
breeding ducks. A.—A ten-quart pailful twice a day. 
Q.—Please tell me the difference per pound between ducks alive and 
dressed. A.—In the eastern markets, the difference is four to six cents 
a pound. We mean by this that live ducks sell for four to six cents a 
pound less than dressed ducks. 
Q.—I live within one mile of a city that has a population of 55,000, 
but there is no market there for ducks, so I am going slow and try to 
work up a home trade. A,—You are in error in stating that there is no 
market for ducklings in the city of 55,000 people. They are not sold 
there now, perhaps, because there are no ducklings to be shipped there 
to be offered for sale. You may have been told that there is no market 
there by somebody who has no call for something which does not 
yet exist for him. It rests with you to ship to such a market and create 
the supply. The demand is there waiting for you. You will have to 
show your goods and attract admiration for them, and sell them on 
merit, as everything is sold. There are thousands of families in that 
large city who would eagerly buy delicious ducklings for a change of 
eating, once a week, or oftener; and such people you ought to reach 
by circular, or word of mouth, or by letter, and get them interested. 
They are consuming milk, egg&$ and poultry now, of course, and it 
rests with you whether they shall consume ducklings. Give a pair of 
ducklings to the leading marketman there, if necessary, and let him 
display them in his stalls to his trade. You will find they will sell, and 
the dealer will ask you for more. If you are the first duck raiser to start 
shipping to that city of 55,000 people, you are lucky, for you can get a 
foothold with your stock quickly, and you need not worry about selling 
all you can turn out. But you must tell and show people what you do. 
Do not be afraid to talk and advertise. If you hide your light under a 
bushel it certainly will not be seen, nor will people go to you inquiring 
for the illumination. 
Q.—I should like to know the cost of erecting a 100-foot duck house. 
A.—A duck house too feet long by fifteen feet wide, covered with roofing 
(which never requires painting) is built in a good, substantial manner 
for about $2.50 per running foot. 
Q.—I wish to ask only one question, and that is, could ducks be 
raised profitably by attending to them in the ordinary way, say with a 
few, giving part of my time to them, as I am employed regularly at 
something else which takes me from home? A.—Certainly, you can 
manage them exactly as a small poultry plant is managed by men who 
work at something else for their main living. 
Q.—How many ducks would I need to supply 100 eggs to fill incuba- 
tors every two weeks? I should wish to run two incubators, one hatch- 
ing two weeks later than the first. A—Twenty ducks and four drakes 
would be about the proper-number. 
Q.—Brewers’ grains cost but $3 per ton in New York and make 
excellent feed for cows. Can brewers’ grains be fed to ducks and if 
so, with what result? A—We have had no experience with ‘brewers’ 
grains, but see no objection to feeding them in moderate quantities 
mixed with other feeds, say about twenty per cent., and fed to ducks after 
they are six weeks old. 
