May, 1912 
nor running stream. Even 
when there is water in 
abundance at hand, the 
ducklings should not be al- 
lowed to paddle in it until 
they are feathered out. 
Indeed, even the watering 
dishes should be of a kind 
which will prevent the 
ducklings splashing into 
them and getting their backs 
wet. Sometimes ducklings 
drown in a hard rain storm, 
so that it is wise to get them 
under cover at such a time, 
just as in the case of chicks. 
It costs very little to 
equip a small duck plant which will answer for an amateur. 
Of course, it can be made as ornate as may be desired on 
the exterior, if it is where appearance counts, but a simple 
little house only high enough for a man to work ‘in, and 
constructed of single boards covered with roofing paper or 
with the cracks battened, is sufficient so far as strict utility 
goes. Indeed, that is more than is necessary, even when 
several breeding ducks are kept. Boxes six feet long, three 
feet wide and two feet high, made of rough boards, with a 
door occupying all of one end and containing holes for 
ventilation will answer every needful purpose and wiil 
accommodate five ducks. - There should be two inches of 
clean straw on the floor all the time and the boxes must be 
kept under shelter, as in an open shed, or have a sloping 
roof arranged which will shed water. The imperative re- 
quirements of a duck house are that it shall be free from 
draughts and dampness. Mere cold the ducks do not seem 
to mind, but dampness is disastrous. 
Two-inch mesh, No. 19 chicken wire makes the best 
fence. It is light and may be stapled to pointed stakes 
easily driven into the ground. Such a fence can be rolled 
up, stakes and all, when it is desired to plow up the yard, 
and may just as easily be transferred to another location. 
7 # aj, re on 
ELE 
Pekin ducks are pure white and they grow to full size within a few 
AMERICAN HOMES AND GARDENS 
A well-arranged duck yard 
months fr 
183 
Ducks may be hatched in 
incubators if desired, and 
that is the practice, of course, 
on all large plants. If an in- 
cubator is being bought for 
this purpose, the purchaser 
should remember that it will 
not accommodate as many 
duck as hen eggs. A machine 
with a rated capacity of sev- 
enty hen eggs will take fifty- 
six duck eggs; a machine to 
accommodate 244 hen eggs 
will hold 200 duck eggs; a 
390 hen-egg machine has 
room for 300 duck eggs. 
When using an incubator 
for ducks, it is well to remember that much moisture is 
required. Where a cement floor makes it possible the floor 
is often kept wet with a watering can. The machine is 
run at 102 for the first week or two and then at 103. The 
ducklings are best left for thirty-six hours before they are 
removed to the brooder, which should be ready for them 
at a temperature of ninety. The ducklings need heat for 
a much shorter time than chickens. Although much will 
depend upon the weather, the temperature ought to be ma- 
terially lowered as the birds become stronger so that it 
will be down to eighty when they are two weeks old, and as 
soon as they begin to forsake the hover, heat may be dis- 
continued. It is well for the birds to run outside as soon 
as weather conditions are favorable. They need good venti- 
lation. Probably more ducklings are killed from too much 
heat in the brooders than any other cause. ‘They are sus- 
ceptible to heat, anyway, which is not to be wondered at 
when the thickness and warmth of their feathers is consid- 
ered. In Summer it is well to have a shelter of rough 
boards or of canvas, if there is no natural shade in the 
yards. Sometimes young ducks get on their backs and find 
much difficulty in getting right side up again, unless they 
(Continued on page 191) 
Catena tas: = 
om ening They are Ronaidered: the best inte for the market 
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