BREEDING MALLARD DUCKS FOR PROFIT 



By W. T. Hokxaday axd Lee S. Crandall 



Iu endeavoring to supply, at short notice, the need of the State 

 Conservation Commission for a paper on the breeding of mallard 

 ducks, we do not advance the idea that we think we know all that 

 there is to know about this subject. On the contrary, we regard 

 the subject as one in which much remains to be discovered by those 

 who propose to rear ducks on a commercial basis; and we offer 

 only what we have learned in the New York Zoological Park by 

 duck-breeding which was not done on a cash-producing basis. In 

 the breeding of ducks for park purposes, our Bird Department has 

 been very successful; and we now offer, for the benefit of the 

 public, the results of our experience. We must also add that it is 

 physically impossible for us to amplify these notes through the 

 laborious channel of correspondence. 



Of all American ducks the common Mallard (Anas platyrhyn- 

 chos) is the most persistent and successful breeder. It quickly 

 becomes accustomed to captivity, it enjoys park life, and when 

 given even half a chance, it will breed and rear its young. Its 

 nearest relative, the Black Duck (Anas ruhvipes) is of similar 

 size and desirability as a food duck, but its difference in tempera- 

 ment is a serious obstacle to its propagation on a commercial basis. 

 The black duck is more nervous and shy than the mallard, and its 

 breeding is too easily interrupted. 



Unquestionably, the mallard duck can be reared in captivity in 

 numbers limited only by the extent of breeder's facilities. The 

 amount of net profit that can be realized depends wholly upon the 

 business acumen and judgment displayed in the management of 

 the flock. The total amount of knowledge necessary to success is 

 not so very great; but at the same time, the exercise of a fair 

 amount of intelligence, and also careful diligence, is absolutely 

 necessary. Naturally, the care and food of the flock must not cost 

 extravagantly, or the profits will inevitably disappear. 



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