Money in Broilers and Squabs. 105 



floor is well bedded with sawdust and in mid-winter with meadow 

 hay. 



"During the laying season the ducks are kept shut in the 

 house until 9 o'clock in the morning, that they may lay in the house 

 instead of on the ground in the yard. No boxes are furnished for 

 nests ; they make their own right in the sawdust. 



"During the winter one drake is provided for every five ducks, 

 but after June ist one is sufficient for ten ducks, and it is then best 

 to lessen the number of drakes one-half. 



"Pekin ducks are very nervous timid creatures, and at night 

 will dodge the shadow from a light in great terror. If startled in 

 the dark by one jostling against another, they become so frightened 

 that the whole lot may rush about in excitement and terror until 

 morning. Unless this is prevented, they run off much flesh in a 

 very short time and otherwise injure themselves. To prevent loss 

 in this way, the Webers light the houses and yards at night. 

 Every house and yard where ducks that have feathered out are kept 

 is provided with a large street lamp such as are frequently used 

 for lighting country towns. Young ducks while in the brooders do 

 not need to have their quarters illuminated at night. 



"During the height of the incubating season, the Webers fill a 

 six hundred (hen) egg incubator every other day and therefore 

 have a machine hatching ducklings every two days. 



"Usually it takes about two days for all the ducklings to hatch. 

 Twice each day, those that have dried off are put beneath the trays, 

 where they are left for 24 hours and then transferred to the brooder- 

 house, where they are at once watered and fed with rolled oats and 

 bread crumbs. Each downy duckling is counted as they are taken 

 from the box in which they are brought from the incubators, their 

 bills dipped in a pail of water, and then dropped upon the feed board 

 covered with bread crumbs. When their beak touches the board, 

 some of the dry food adheres to it, is tasted and immediately they 

 search for more. As soon as they have eaten, they are put under 

 the hovers, which are at first kept at 100° and then gradually reduced 

 in about four days to 80°. The Webers buy stale bakers' bread by 

 the ton. They have no bowel trouble among their ducklings, be- 

 cause they are so strong and vigorous. It is only those that have 

 weak vitality that die. These little ducklings are fed the above five 

 times daily for about a week. The very early ducks are fed on rolled 

 oats and sweet milk until they are two weeks old and sometimes 

 longer. 



"At three weeks of age a more growing food is given the young 

 ducks. This is composed of equal parts shorts, gluten feed and 

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

 'red dog" flour or fine middlings is added to make it stick together. 

 This is fed four times daily. The food is fed in troughs. Wooden 

 troughs eight inches deep, nine or ten broad and five by fourteen 

 feet long also make the best receptacles for water. Green food is 

 also given them once per day. At eight weeks of age their food 

 consists of four-fifths corn meal and one-fifth low grade flour and 



