25 
important part of their work, and after a bird has passed the u critical 
age ” they may be counted on for the market. 
Usually the care of the ducklings at this age is given to the women. 
They are more careful of the wants of the youngsters and attend to the 
detail work religiously. A case is known of a single attendant living, 
as it were, in the brooder house with the ducklings. She began her 
work with the morning feed at 6 a. m., and until sundown, when the 
night’s meal was given, she was with her charges. The cleanliness of 
the brooder and pen was carefully attended to and everything was done 
to promote the health and comfort of the youngsters. At night they 
were all in their brooders and as snug as it was possible for them to be. 
A single neglect in the starting of a duckling will result in loss to the 
raisers. System is the key to the situation, and there should be no 
deviation from it whatever. 
The duckling goes from the warm brooder house to the cold brooder 
house. The latter house is planned in a way similar to the former, with 
the exception of the 30-inch brooders. When the birds are taken 
from the warm brooder house they are three weeks old and of sufficient 
age to withstand a cooler temperature. They do not need the extra heat 
of the warm house, and in it would not grow nearly so well. The size 
of pens in the growing house is larger, and the ducklings are not crowded 
so many in a pen. If the birds are to be raised in colonies of one hun¬ 
dred each, the accommodations should be ample for them. It has never 
been proved to be good policy to crowd the growing stock; it retards 
their growth and encourages disease. 
The cold brooder house should have a system of heating if birds are 
to be raised for an early market. The same system of pipes used in 
the warm brooders should be run around the sides of the building, 
