FANCY WATERFOWL. 
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desired. Of course if you merely want a pretty show, 
it is best to stick to drakes entirely, except where the 
sexes are both gaily coloured, as the homely plumage of 
the ducks, in my opinion, very much mars the effect of 
a mixed collection of both sexes. Unfortunately, in 
almost every case where the drake differs strikingly from 
the duck he assumes a plumage very closely resembling 
hers after she has gone to nest, and thus puts himself 
out of court as a show bird. Ducklings of both sexes in 
first feather are usually very like the old duck, but may 
have a special plumage of their own. 
Ducks hybridise in confinement, and even in a wild 
state, with remarkable readiness, and the hybrids are 
sometimes very handsome, and not infrequently more or 
less fertile, though the various species of the duck tribe 
are as distinct as any others. This must be borne in 
mind by the breeder who wishes to keep his stock pure, 
and hybrids are best removed from the collection. 
Where there is danger from rats, or where the parent 
birds are valuable, the eggs should be removed as soon 
as the duck has laid her full clutch and begun to sit, and 
hatched under a steady light hen. Miss Hubbard, in 
her excellent book on ornamental waterfowl, to which 
I shall frequently be indebted, very wisely recommends 
that the duck herself be given some eggs of the common 
wild duck by way of gratifying her natural maternal 
instincts. Miss Hubbard also recommends that the eggs 
of fancy ducks, when incubated by a hen, should be 
covered by a piece of light woollen stuff when she is 
absent, as ducks are in the habit of covering their eggs 
with down at such times. 
FEEDING. 
The young ducklings should be fed on egg and bread- 
crumbs, and allowed plenty of duckweed, or, in the 
absence of that, lettuce or grass chopped up ; later on 
small seeds and a little boiled minced liver may be 
given, and when the feathers are being assumed, grain 
should by degrees be added, and will ultimately be the 
sole food that need be given to the adult birds. Any 
ordinary poultry mixture will do, and it should be 
supplied in pans of water, so that the birds may eat it 
more comfortably, and that it may not be stolen by 
sparrows. Of course if the birds have the range of a 
large pond, one meal a day will be enough, except in 
time of frost, when, as in confinement, a larger quantity 
may be given. Indeed, with captive ducks grain may 
be left constantly with them. It is desirable also to 
allow' confined birds plenty of duckweed whenever 
possible, and also water snaiis, which are much relished. 
They will also graze on the turf in their enclosure, 
which should be kept up by renewing it when necessary, 
as grass is not only useful as food, but more pleasant for 
the birds’ feet than the bare ground. It is most 
unnatural for ducks to have to walk about on bare hard 
earth, and a hard floor should lie avoided ; if for any 
reason they have to be penned up, a layer of moss litter, 
dead leaves, etc. , should be provided for them. 
DISEASES. 
I have said nothing about ducks in disease, assuming 
that the intending dnek fancier will lie careful to buy 
only birds which appear active and in fairly good 
feather. If such be treated fairly, according to the 
directions I have laid down, they are not at all likely 
to fall ill, no birds enjoying better health than the 
ducks ; while, if they do become diseased, they are not 
easy of treatment. 
I may, however, perhaps be permitted to mention 
here two causes of possible disaster, which I should have 
alluded to in the introduction, though no one who is 
observant of and thoughtful for his birds is likely 
to sutler thereby. One is the liability of ducks, when 
placed in a cage or other very confined space, to 
flutter wildly at nightfall, and hence injure themselves ; 
and the other consists in the fact that the plumage of 
these birds, after they have been even for a few days 
debarred from bathing, loses its water-resisting pro- 
perties and allows them to become thoroughly draggled 
when they do get a wash, so that chills or even drowning 
are likely to ensue. The remedies, or preventives, are 
obvious; pens for ducks should have upright bars so as 
to afford no hold for the birds’ feet, and should not be 
higher than they require to stand fully upright in ; and 
when they are allowed access to a bath after long 
deprivation of it, they should not be allowed to stay in 
very long until the plumage has recovered its normal 
tone. Except in these two ways it is hardly possible to 
go w'rong with ducks, which are generally blessed with 
excellent constitutions and tempers. 
SHOWING. 
In preparing ducks for show the chief thing is to over- 
come their natural timidity and aversion to close con- 
finement, and herein lies one advantage in having them 
to hand in comparatively small enclosures, where they 
can be tamed and petted. Anyone who thinks of going 
in for the duck fancy should, if possible, pay a visit to 
the London Zoological Gardens, where these birds have 
for many years been very successfully kept. 
The smaller members of the Duck family will, of 
course, interest a larger number of fanciers than the 
more cumbrous geese and swans, but since these are also 
much kept, and are intimately allied to the true ducks, 
I shall deal with the best known and most popular 
species of these also. But I do not recommend anyone 
to keep these birds who cannot give them a free range, 
as they are not suited for close captivity. How often 
one sees a pair of swans on an absurdly small 
piece of water, looking like the proverbial elephant 
iu a dog-kennel. Halla-dozen pairs of fancy ducks 
in the same space would be far more interesting 
and in keeping with their surroundings, and the 
additional outlay in fencing, etc., needed to protect 
them against vermin, which would not be dangerous to 
the larger birds, would be repaid by the superior value 
of the young obtained from them. 
CHAPTER II. 
SWANS. 
I shall not, in this series, describe the young in down 
or the eggs of each species, my object being to furnish a 
ready guide to the identification of full-fledged birds, 
such as the fancier will find offered for sale. The scien- 
tific names used are those employed in the British 
Museum Catalogue of Birds, vol. 27. Swans are easily 
recognised by their very long necks, bare faces, short 
legs, and large feet. They are all large, and essentially 
surface-feeders in habit, not diving, and walking awk- 
wardly on land. They are omnivorous feeders, and are 
best turned out to shift for themselves on a large piece 
of water, where they will be of service in removing 
weeds ; but they are also very destructive to fish-spawn. 
When they need hand-feeding, the usual grain may be 
given ; for the young, crushed Spratt’s biscuits, stale 
bread, and groats may be thrown on the water. They 
should be allowed to manage their own nesting and 
rearing arrangements, being well able to look after their 
cygnets, and, indeed, dangerous to interfere with. 
More than one pair should not be kept on one piece of 
water, unless it is very large. The best-known species 
are the common white and the black Swans. 
