92 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 



year-old drake ; yet to insure fertility, it is sometimes necessary to 

 use a drake of the first year for the early months. 



G. A. McFetridge gives this method of fattening: If the trade 

 calls for yellow skin use yellow corn ; if a white skin is more sale- 

 able use white corn. A very good feed is composed of one-third 

 cornmeal, one-third middlings, one-third bran. A feed composed 

 of the above will make more muscle and require more time to fatten 

 than when more cornmeal is used. If the demand is for fat, which 

 is the case in New York market, then use one-third cornmeal, one- 

 fourth middlings and one-fourth bran, and about one-eighth beef 

 scraps. Do not use much green stuff while fattening; not more than 

 one-eighth part, as the skin will be affected by the color of the feed. 

 When ducks are put up for fattening, feed light for the first five 

 days, then commence to increase their feed a little each time. You 

 will find that they will eat until they will be unable to swallow the 

 last mouthful, yet they run to the water with that mouthful and 

 mix it with the water and try to drink it. This is the cause of filthy 

 water troughs. It will be necessary to scrub them every day. If 

 this is neglected and the ducks drink from their filthy troughs it 

 will taint their flesh. 



Most_ of the trade for ducks come through the restaurants and 

 mountain house and shore resorts, and in these places they generally 

 serve the duck in quarters, that is, cut into four pieces, so you can 

 easily see that a duck that weighs 4 or 5 lbs. will bring just as much 

 money, so served, as one weighing 6 or 7 lbs. 



E. O. Roessle says: The shells of duck eggs being thicker 

 than those of hens, they require more air; hence it is frequently 

 necessary to run the machines with slides wide open, and also to 

 give the trays plenty of cooling by taking them out of the machines 

 and placing them on top, letting the thermometer run down to not 

 lower than 85 degrees. 



Col. Roessle says : "I believe that it benefits ducklings quite 

 as much as chicks to let them remain in the bottom of the machine 

 at least 36 hours after they are all hatched. When you wish to re- 

 move them, after this time, it is better not to handle them, but 

 place a basket, lined with flannel, close up to the door of the ma- 

 chine ; they will scamper into it as soon as the door is dropped." 



A young duck will sometimes choke if it has no water to drink 

 when eating. The water must be deep enough to allow the duck- 

 ling to get its head and bill down into the vessel, says Mirror and 

 Farmer, as with each mouthful it cleans the bill. This is the reason 

 ducklings appear to throw water all over the floor. They are 

 simply cleaning their bills, which prevents clogging of the nostrils, 

 and permits them to breathe. They should have no water to swim 

 in, but water is a necessity with them when feeding-, as they wash 

 down the greater portion of the food eaten, some of them apparently 

 not swallowing the food at all. 



Col. Roessle, in Country Gentleman, says: "I consider the 

 ducklings first requisite is water to drink. If they do not find it 

 readily it will pay to dip their bills in it. As for food, after exper- 



