On the Rearing of Ducks for Shooting 
149 
by a small ladder, are necessary. The top of the box or small dog-kennel should be roofed 
with turf and a certain amount of dry grass or soft wood placed inside the box itself to 
encourage the birds to house-keeping. If an incubator is used to hatch the eggs the 
temperature should not be allowed to rise above 102° Fahr., and attention should 
be paid to sprinkling and turning the eggs twice daily. But the best foster-mother is 
undoubtedly the hand-reared wild duck that is tame and will allow herself to be handled, 
whilst the "silky" bantam is not far behind. 
Mr. Wormald, in his excellent little book. Notes on the Management of Ornamental 
Waterfowl in Confinement (pp. 11-13), gives explicit advice on the rearing and feeding 
of young ducks as follows : 
" But whatever means may be used to hatch the eggs, it is important to know the period of 
incubation of the various varieties ; this is a subject which we have never seen dealt with in any 
work, so we can only give the periods for the various species which we have had under our own 
observation. The period in many cases may differ by a day or more, according to the temperature 
of the weather and the means which are employed to hatch the eggs ; a hen gives out a higher 
temperature than a duck, so that eggs set under a hen will probably hatch out a day before eggs 
of the same species set under a duck. 
"The period of incubation in the case of the Sheld-Duck is 30 days; Mallard, Pintail, Wigeon, 
Gadwall, Carolina, and Mandarin, 28 days ; Tufted- Duck, Pochard, and White-Eyed Pochard vary 
from 24 to 28 days; Teal and Garganey Teal, 21 or 22 days; Shoveller, 24 days. 
" Once the eggs are hatched, we have found that the incubator foster-mother is the best method 
of raising the ducklings, though they may be quite successfully reared by a tame wild duck or 
a careful bantam. The hot chamber of the foster-mother should be kept at about 85° Fahr. for 
the first week or so, and artificial heat may be entirely dispensed with after three weeks, provided 
the weather is not too cold. It is important that the floor of the warm chamber should be kept 
quite clean ; ^ pieces of sacking can be cut to the size of the floor and removed as soon as dirty ; 
care must also be taken that the young ducklings do not come into contact with the paraffin of the 
lamp. 
" Newly-hatched ducklings have many enemies, and when reared under a bantam or duck 
should be enclosed in a covered run for the first few days until quite strong ; they should always 
be shut up at night in a rat-proof coop or shed until they are three-quarters grown, though even 
at that age they are not always safe from the attacks of rats. 
" At first the ducklings should not be allowed any depth of water, a flat zinc tray six inches 
square by f-inch deep will, we think, be found the most serviceable. The food to begin with 
should consist of hard-boiled egg chopped fine and mixed with a little fine wild duck meal and 
bread crumbs ; in addition to this, duckweed, dried flies, and ants' eggs should be floated on the 
surface of the water. It sometimes happens that young ducklings in a foster-mother refuse to eat 
anything ; they may often be induced to pick if the food is sprinkled about the level of their bills 
on blades of grass, or even on the backs of their companions ; any moving object such as a spider 
suspended above them by his web, or a fly crawling up the side of the foster-mother, may induce 
them to take their first meal, and once started they soon learn to pick up their food. Duckweed 
especially is a great help to the young birds, as it will be found to be full of animalculae, small 
water-beetles, larvae of gnats, &c., all of which form natural food. Fresh water should be given at 
least three times a day, as dirty water is injurious to the ducklings. 
"When about three days old, the ducklings may be given chopped earthworms and thoroughly 
cleansed maggots, and, by degrees, wild duck meal (Spratt's), and barley-meal may take the place 
of the hard-boiled egg and bread-crumbs. 
" When three or four weeks old the ducklings may be allowed on to the water ; a natural pond 
with gently shelving banks is best, if free from rats, pike, and eels, provided it is small enough to 
allow the ducks to be easily driven into their rat-proof coop at night. 
