158 POULTRY PRODUCTION 



ducks begin to lay from the first of December until the middle 

 of February, and should lay from eighty to one hundred 

 eggs each before the middle of July, when they begin to 

 moult.' Only ducks over two years old should be used for 

 breeding. The drake is at his best the first two seasons. 



Number of Ducks per Drake. — In the early part of the breed- 

 ing season five ducks should be allowed for each drake, and 

 the number increased as the season progresses. The propor- 

 tion of drakes should be decreased when they begin to worry 

 the ducks. In April eight or ten females is not too many for 

 one drake. 



Means of Telling Drake from Duck. — In the colored varieties, 

 as the Rouen, the drake may be distinguished by his brilliant 

 coloring, but in the solid white varieties, such as the Pekin 

 and Aylesbury, the task is not so easy. The drake seldom 

 quacks, but hisses, is generally, heavier, and not so fine 

 about the head and neck. The most pronounced difference, 

 however, is that the drake has two feathers near the base of 

 the tail, called " curl feathers," which curl toward the head, 

 while the duck's feathers lie smooth. 



Selection of Breeding Geese. — Geese should not be used 

 for breeding purposes until the second breeding season. 

 The ganders may be used the first season and for several 

 seasons thereafter. For best results not more than two 

 geese should be mated to one gander, though the number is 

 frequently increased to four. 



Live Plucking. — The live plupking of geese is not nearly 

 so common as formerly. It used to be quite common to 

 pluck the geese five titnes a year at intervals of seven weeks, 

 beginning the last week in March. Where it is practised 

 at all now it is generally confined to the period immediately 

 preceding the moult. They should not be plucked during 

 the breeding season. 



Breeding Guineas.— It is frequently difiicult to distinguish 

 between the sexes with guinea-fowl. While the head fur- 

 nishings of the male are generally more developed than in the 

 female, the surest way to tell them apart is by their cry. 

 The female has a cry that sounds like " buckwheat," while the 

 male always gives a prolonged scream. 



