Ducks as Egg-Producers. 



[Apr., 



Foraging Capabilities. — Given a good range, ducks will travel 

 -far and wide and pick up a large proportion of their food. 



Small Liability to Disease. — Ducks are more healthy and at 

 the present time less subject to disease than hens. They seem 

 to be more or less immune from most of the commoner fowl 

 ailments. 



Hardiness. — Ducks are less affected by rain, snow and frost 

 than hens, so that they can profitably sleep out of doors. 



Damage to Crops. — Ducks do much less damage to farm and 

 orchard crops than hens, as they are unable to scratch v^dth their 

 webbed feet and their .bills are too blunt to do much damage 

 by pecking. They are of great value in orchards for destroying 

 insect pests. 



General Remarks. — On partly arable farms durks are a source 

 of income which is helped by the w^t unsettled weather which 

 so often damages arable crops in this country in summer time. 

 Nearly all duck eggs are laid early in the morning before about 

 9. BO a.m. This simplifies gathering and makes individual 

 recording much easier. The colour of the egg shell of the best 

 strains of ducks is a pearly white. These eggs find a ready 

 market and usually make al)out the same price as hen eggs: 

 sometimes in the spring they command a little more. The green 

 duck egg, however, is less easily marketed, especially in summer 

 time, and should be eliminated. The flavour of duck eggs from 

 the best laying breeds is not strong unless unsuitable feeding is 

 allowed. They are like large white hen eggs except that the 

 shell is rather more pearly white and the membrane lining is 

 slightly thicker and stronger. 



Disadvantages of Ducks as Egg-producers. 



(1) Ducks are more nervous then hens, and easily harassed. 

 Handling or any change of feeding or treatment are liable to 

 disturb them, with consequent loss of eggs. ^Moulting out of 

 season is also more hable to occur in ducks. 



(2) Duck houses are more difficult to keep clean than hen 

 houses. 



(3) When ducks are so disturbed that they cease laying, it is 

 sometimes very difficult to get them to commence to lay again. 



(4) Ducks are not so suitable for the back garden as hens. 

 They lay well in confined runs, but the ground is difficult to 

 keep clean and the amount of food required is much greater 

 than when the birds have free range. They are also more likely 

 to disturb neighbouring households by their quacking. 



