ON THE REARING OF DUCKS FOR SHOOTING AND THE KEEPING 
OF ORNAMENTAL WATERFOWL IN CONFINEMENT 
Of recent years there has been a distinct move on the part of British sportsmen to raise a 
stock of wild ducks (principally Mallard) for shooting purposes as a pleasant variety to the 
ubiquitous Pheasant and Partridge ; and whilst these birds may be reared and brought to 
the gun in one season without the adjuncts of lakes and rivers, it seems to be somewhat 
pressing the point of artificiality a little too far to do so. Nevertheless, there are few places 
where lakes, burns, or rivers are to be found where ducks cannot be reared with success, and 
where in due time they may be induced to fly and furnish quite as good, if not better, sport 
than Pheasants, as well as providing the necessary variety. In proper surroundings the 
flock of duck, even if artificially reared, do not look out of place ; whilst the expense and 
difficulty of rearing them is not more than that of the Pheasants, and in ordinary seasons 
the death-rate of young birds is smaller.^ To explain modern methods of rearing ducks, I do 
not think I can do better than recapitulate certain articles I have written on the subject, and 
combine these remarks with the experience of others who have had a wide experience in 
management of these birds, taking in the first instance the experiments conducted at 
Netherby, Cumberland, by Sir Richard Graham. 
After a preliminary effort in 1890, when 120 Mallard reared under hens were turned 
out on a pond and found to furnish indifferent sport. Sir Richard, in 1894, tried the 
experiment of rearing wild ducks under hens on the ground where they would eventually 
be shot, namely, at the Carwinley Burn. These ducks, to the number of 600, were fed 
higher up the burn, and flushed in small numbers on the day of the big shoot. They flew 
well, and the gun at the burn mouth killed 91 at his stand. Then, since the birds knew no 
country beyond the burn mouth, they circled round and came over the other guns, eventually 
settling again at the feeding places, and so afl"ording several drives. The result of the day's 
shooting was 400 duck, and the experiment was voted a success, as 625 were killed in the 
season. More duck were brought up in 1895, and 799 were killed in three days' shooting 
and 1093 in the season, the places of shooting being the Solway Moss, Red Bank (the burn 
mouth), and the upper part of Carwinley Burn, which is surrounded by a wood. Here the 
birds were fed into a pen and let out in small parties, which took their flight down the 
water. The birds in the pen acted as natural decoys, to which the duck that had already 
been flushed and shot at returned, and were again re-flushed. In 1896 the same methods 
were pursued, and 2317 duck were killed ; 1898 may be said to mark the third stage in the 
proceedings, when Sir Richard tried for the first time the experiment of letting hand-reared 
wild ducks sit and hatch their own eggs and bring up their own young. Three areas— (i) on 
the edge of Solway Moss at the Gap Burn ; (2) the Carwinley Burn ; (3) at the mouth of 
Carwinley Burn — were wired in against foxes to the area of 200 acres, and in each were 
1 About 90 per cent, of duck eggs are reared at Tring. This is a somewhat higher average than usual ; 80 per cent, is considered 
quite good. 
