I04 Money in Broilers and Squabs. 



to which is added five per cent, of beef scraps, and it is given them 

 twice daily. At this time they are also mated just as they are to be 

 Dred the following season. Beginners usually mate ducks too late 

 in the season; it should always be done by November i, to insure 

 best results. 



"During the summer and early fall these birds are not housed 

 at night but allowed access to a house that is openly built of boards 

 and is without windows, which gives them shade or shelter. About 

 November 15, they are placed in the houses for laying ducks and 

 allowed the liberty of a yard 100 by 20 feet during the day. They 

 are then fed twice daily on a mixture of equal parts shorts and 

 ground oats, to which is added five per cent, beef scraps. 



"About Christmas, when grass and green rye are no longer 

 available, corn meal is substituted for the ground oats and ten per 

 cent, of beef scraps given instead of five per cent. To the mixture 

 is also added one-fifth part of boiled vegetables — beets, turnips, or 

 carrots cut up in a root cutter and cooked in a boiler. They are also 

 fed cut raw cabbage and raw turnips, two or three times per week. 

 The raw cabbage is cut in a root cutter and the turnips in a bone 

 cutter. The cabbage fed is never cooked. They estimate that they 

 receive an average of 150 eggs per duck during the season. Most 

 of the eggs laid before January are sold in the market. The clear 

 infertile eggs, tested out on the fifth day of incubation are also sold 

 throughout the season. The production of ducks' eggs to sell in 

 the market they do not consider profitable. 



"They have no ponds for their ducks, but by the above method 

 of feeding they have no trouble to get eggs that will hatch from 

 January i until August. During the season of 1896 fully seventy- 

 five per cent, of their ducks' eggs were fertile, and of all eggs put 

 in the machine fifty-eight per cent hatched. About January i, 

 1896, their ducks were laying about sixty eggs per da)^ In March 

 they were getting 480 eggs per day from 520 ducks. On February 

 ID, 1897, they received about 400 eggs from 600 laying ducks of 

 which 425 were young ducks, 29 eggs being picked up from a pen 

 of 30 young birds. They also had at this date no ducklings, but had 

 4,000 fertile eggs in their incubators. On February 23, they had 

 800 ducklings and 5,200 fertile eggs in their machines. 



"The point is to get the ducklings into market when they bring 

 $1.25 to $2 each. 



"Their houses for laying ducks, are 85 feet long, 18 feet wide, 

 6 feet high in the rear, 4 feet high at the front, 12 feet high at the 

 ridge, and cost, covered with Neponset, $150 each. They are high 

 and airy and make excellent winter quarters. They are divided up 

 into pens 20 by 15 feet, leaving a three-foot passageway along the 

 back of the building. In the front there are two ordinary half win- 

 dows to each pen, and a door for the ducks. There is a window 

 every 20 feet in the back of these buildings for ventilation. In sum- 

 mer the sashes are taken out and the openings covered with netting. 

 In cleaning out the building the litter is thrown out through' the 

 front windows where it can be conveniently removed by team. The 



