for the hand reared mallard duck, 
but I feel sure that after you learn 
the whole story you will agree that this 
Yi must pardon my enthusiasm 
_ really is a grand sporting bird. It has 
always been a puzzle to me to find so 
few sportsmen who shared my enthu- 
siasm, because the mallard is one of the 
most satisfactory of game birds to raise 
in captivity. 
In the northern states if hatching 
eggs are desired at an early date they 
can be obtained by keeping the breeders 
under lights, and they will lay a large 
number of fertile eggs. You can ex- 
pect 60 to 70% of the eggs to hatch, 
and some breeders have even a better 
record for hatchability. The young 
ducklings are hardy creatures, and 
with the proper treatment you should 
be able to raise at least 90% of them 
unless you meet with some unforeseen 
trouble. 
When you get your flock on the pond, 
and they begin to show signs of flight 
with the drakes taking on their beauti- 
ful plumage you have a picture of 
beauty with action, which is unsur- 
passed by any other wild duck. ‘The 
sight of these ducks will produce genu- 
ine pleasure to the owner as well as 
the game keeper, and the size of the 
flock makes little difference, because 
the ducks grow so rapidly that you feel 
you have done something very construc- 
tive. The flock is coaxed or driven to 
the feeding pond, and after they know 
their way they provide the added pleas- 
ure of seeing them flying back to the 
pond. Their action in returning to 
their pond shows whether they have 
been properly handled, and when you 
have a large flock of several thousand 
starting in their return flight with a 
few pair following by groups of 10 to 
20, or finally up to 50 or more, it is a 


real thrill to watch them landing just 
like wild ducks in their normal flight. 
After the ducks are fully grown, and 
properly trained, they will provide good 
sport for the hunter with moderate 
means as well as the millionaire. The 
breeder operating on a small scale need 
not have an incubator or brooders, and 
as long as he protects them against the 
destruction by predators he can raise 
a good number of ducks at very little 
expense. [he sportsman with more 
money can operate on a larger scale 
with more birds, but he will not have 
any better shooting than the breeder 
that raises a small flock without any 
help. 
Now let us consider the plans for 
establishing a duck shoot. Let us as- 
sume that owner or sportsman expects 
to spend considerable money, and has 
set as his goal about 5,000 ducks. We 
will assume that he has his own breed- 
ing stock, has bought the eggs, or the 
young ducklings. The owner has a 
pond of 2 to 5 acres in area where the 
ducks have been raised and fed with an 
abundance of grain. It is compara- 
tively easy to tell when the ducks are 
full winged and ready to fly by the way 
they exercise their wings while still on 
the ground as they sit along the bank 
of their rearing pond. The next step 
is the establishment of a feeding place 
about a quarter or a half mile from the 
pond. This is a comparatively short 
distance but far enough for the purpose 
of training. If conditions permit it is 
desirable to have the feeding grounds 
on a higher level than the pond. A 
chute or platform is a handy device to 
get some of the timid ones started on 
their return flight. It is surprising how 
many ducks will go up this runway ap- 
parently for the fun of taking off from 
the chute themselves. 
The ducks are fed once a day at our 
preserve, and we have found it advis- 
able to use hoppers with an abundant 
supply of feed on hand at all times. 
After the ducks have finished their 
training they will fly back and forth of 
‘netting as the sides. 
Se 
By THOMAS RAE 
their own accord. After a few months, 
of flight training you will begin to 
realize that they would rather fly than 
eat, and that is saying something for a 
duck. 
Just a day before a shoot we catch 
the ducks in a pen built for the purpose, 
and then transfer them to a wire bottom 
pen with running water, but without 
tood. ‘The wire bottom keeps the 
ducks clean if it happens to rain, and 
the lack of food makes them more alert, 
and anxious to go somewhere when they 
are released. During the morning of 
the scheduled shoot they are placed in 
carrying boxes, which are constructed 
with wire bottoms, wire sides, and can- 
vas top covered with the same wire 
The crates are 
transported to the high ground, which 
has previously been marked and _ pre- 
pared for the shoot. When there are 
10 or 12 guns at the shoot there are 
three release places each with a definite 
marker such as A, B, C; and the crates 
are marked for the drive. So when a 
crate is marked A 5-25, it means that 
the crate goes to A station, on No. 5 
drive, and it contains 25 ducks. 
The man in charge of loading the 
crates has a sheet of paper with all this 
information on it, so that his record 
gives the number of crates to go to each 
station as well as the number of ducks 
in each crate. Record cards on the 
crates correspond with the information 
at the loading point. 
Even though it is customary to use 
blinds for the gunners, I personally 
do not regard it necessary to have them, 
and this also may help in saving an 
expense item, especially when the duck 
shooting is operated on a modest plan. 
Ducks are usually released by hand, 
and this gives them a better start as they 
fly toward the gunners. To have duck 
shooting at its best the weather should 
be cool and a wind for the ducks to ride 
out on. Even during stormy weather 
you can always get a break between 
(Please turn to page 23) 
17. 
