1 Dec., 1897.] QUEENSLAND AGRICULTURAL JOURNAL. 439 
Poultry. 
POINTERS IN DUCK CULTURE. 
(A. Capital Article by Mr. Boyer in Farm Poultry.) 
Tue following pointers have been gleaned from interviews, correspondence, 
and writing of such men as Rankin, Hallock, McFetridge, Campbell, Irish, 
and others, together with our own experience in duck culture on a small scale, 
covering a period of nearly ten years. We combine them here in one article, 
believing that they will be appreciated and of value :— 
The American Cultivator. says the duck has fewer objections than any 
fowls—it is no scratcher, is not given to flying, is healthy, hardy, has a 
fine-sized carcass; a strictly home bird. They are easily raised after the first 
few weeks, during which time they have to be kept from wet until their 
feathers grow and shed the water, after which they are liable to fewer ailments 
than chickens. 
An experiment carried on some years ago in France, to determine the 
relative value of hens and ducks as egg-producers, resulted greatly in 
favour of the ducks. ‘Ihree birds of each sort were selected for the trial, and 
between the first day of January and the last day of August the three hens 
laid 247 egys, and the three ducks 402 eggs. Moreover, in the autumn of the 
previous year the ducks had produced 215 eggs after the hens had ceased 
laying altogether. 
The Rural New Yorker says, for the table, everyone is willing to admit 
the duck’s excellence, though the want of cleanliness in its habits meets 
with everybody’s reprobation. As a feeder it has few equals, while its feathers 
in the market stand high above those of the hen or turkey, and only second to 
those of its giant companion, the goose. 
At Hammonton, N.J.,an experiment was tried with ducks and chicks by 
P. H. Jacobs and others, to determine the relative growth of each in a given 
time. This is the result :— 
Compared with chicks, the growth forced on high feeding, with a lot of 
ten ducklings and chicks for experiment, with the same amount of food for 
producing 1 lb. of flesh (usually a cost of 5 cents for each 1 1b. of carcass), we 
present the following :— 
Duckling. Chick. 
Lb. 02. Lb. 02. 
1 week old ... O 4 () BP 
2 weeks old... oi) oO 4 
3 weeks old .. it - @® 0 t 
4 weeks old... uf) 0 10 
5 weeks old... 2 a2, O 14 
6 weeks old... Palit 1 "y 
7 weeks old... BO eee 
8 weeks old... 4 O 1 12 
9 weeks old.. 5 eedites8 yi WW) 
As they approach maturity (after the eighth week) the ratio of gain 
begins to become proportionately less, while some were heavier than others. 
The ducks were kept in a small coop, and fed to demonstrate the highest point . 
they could be made to attain, the purebred Pekins being used for the 
experiment. 
A duck generally lays as many eggs in a year as a hen, but she performs 
the work quickly, and rests the remainder of the season. ‘The hen extends her 
laying throughout the entire year. 
