404 fOULTRY PRODUCTION 



of sifted meat scrap may also be added, and green food in the 

 form of chopped lettuce, alfalfa, or clover should be fed freely. 



After the first week a good growing ration is 2 parts wheat 

 bran, 1 part wheat middlings, 1 part corn meal, § part meat 

 scrap, 5 per cent, sharp sand, scalded cut clover, alfalfa, 

 or other green food, as much as they will eat. Feed four 

 times a day. 



At the beginning of the eighth week the young ducks should 

 be moved into the fattening shed or kept in a shady place 

 and fed for three weeks on a fattening ration of equal parts 

 wheat bran, middlings, corn meal, and 10 per cent, of beef 

 scrap, 5 per cent, sharp sand, and green food. It must not 

 be left before them at all times, however, as it is rather 

 concentrated, and they are liable to tire of it. 



Special care should be taken that young ducks are not 

 exposed to a hot sun without a chance of shade, nor allowed 

 out in a rain-storm before they are feathered out. Rain while 

 in the downy stage is oftentimes fatal. 



Feeding Mature Geese. — ^When, because of drouth in the 

 summer or during the winter, it becomes necessary to feed 

 mature geese, they should be fed such feeds as mangels, 

 turnips, steamed clover and the like, supplemented by a 

 mash of equal parts of corn meal, bran, and ground oats. 

 Owing in part, perhaps, to the limited development of the 

 crop, the goose is not able to make very satisfactory use of 

 dry whole or cracked grains. In furnishing any feed to young 

 or old stock there must always be an abundance of drinking 

 water at hand at the place of feeding. Grit, bone, and char- 

 coal should also always be available. 



Breeding geese should not be very fat. For this reason 

 geese do better on pasture with stock than about the troughs 

 of the feeding lot. They should be fed grain only stemi-occa- . 

 sionally, to prevent their becoming too wild. In the winter, 

 mangels, Swede turnips, clover, or alfalfa hay should form 

 most of their ration. Wherever they are kept they must 

 have plenty of drinking-water, though water for swimming 

 is not necessary. During the breeding season, however, 

 water deep enough for swimming is considered a necessity for 

 successful mating. 



