Show suggestions ON RAISING PEKIN DUCKS 2711 57 41 lt ik s faza R IN pekin Is best duck for market purposes Pur poe ny by ANNA GAMMIER OALia itEn we raised the for a number of years during which time we four found d that they were different in nanny many respects from tiny any other variety of ducks we had ever raised rained to begin with the imperial pekin Is the best duck duall for market purposes that we have yot yet found because it la is the largest grows the fastest anif and makes the best beat appearance when dressed the has a fino heavy coat of feathers that bring almost as high a price in market as the goose feathers there are many people who would rather havo the white duck feathers than the colored goose feathers tho he feathers of a pekin duck are creamy white it the ducks are fed on an white corn their feathers will bo be almost alm it pure white itchey it hey eat much yell yellow corn their feathers will show a rich yellow tint ours were never pure white because w we a fed yellow corn meal not alone however as aa will be seen later on in this article perhaps the worst fault the pekin ducks have if it can be called a fault la Is that they are enormous feeders but to off offset bet this they gain in weight when properly fed in proportion to ille the ali amount fount of feed consumed four or five indian runner ducks will eat about as aa mech grain teed feed as aa one pekin the former are great foragers for agers while the latter stay around close to home for eggs alone the indian blunner la Is far superior to but their eggs are small about the slie etze of 0 largo large hens bens eggs they lar lay about twice the number of eggs in a year that the will but felan duck eggs ft are always large they are about twice as aa lari large as aa hens eggs A fully matured pekin ack Is about size of the common goose meaning ing the old fashioned spotted goose that la Is so scarce nowa dayn a in order to succeed with ducks it Is necessary to have eggs from strong vigorous stock and they must be fv resh fresh not over one week old other duck eggs may be different but the cokins eggs are worthless tor for hatching batching purpose when ton ten days old duck eggs as a rule require four weeks to hatch batch they may be hatched batched with either incubators or hens only largo large hens are suitable for hatching batching duck eggs of course if an incubator Is used keep the temperature as near degrees as possible ble turning the eggs regularly twice a day they should be allowed time to cool a aj ittle onke one each day the twentieth twenty sixth day or two days before they ibey are due to hatch when they begin to pip the shells the temperature may be ba allowed to raise to or but be careful not to let it go higher protect the ventilators rs from cold drafts but dont shut out aalthe all the air no matter what the instructions say any young fowls need ait air at least a little of it while they are hatching dont bother the eggs tho they j are hatching unless it la Is absolutely necessary t it lowers the temperature every time the inner door Is moved of course in the mild weather it is safe afe enough but even then the door should hould be kept closed as much as possible it if the little duckstad ducks do not coma out shortly after they pip the shells do not become alarmed theado do not come out as soon as chicks aa as they require moro more time after breaking the shell in this respect they are more like gollings goslings go slings sometimes they will break the shells sheils 24 hours before they are ready to come out but they seldom need any help As aa stated in a previous article a duck egg presents a very queer appearance at a certain stage of incubation for when hold held before a bright light the shells appear to be nearly half balf empty dont throw the eggs away they may all contain live ducklings duc klinga klings when they hatch they should not be taken from the incubator until they are thoroughly dried off and a ble able to td hold bold up their heads beads 0 then they hey should be placed faced in a bro brooder oders or some place where they them will be comfortable it placed in a broeder breeder see that they have fresh a air ir frean air how however eiver to la not essentially cold 1 il so watch WE tho have ilav 1 avo the I 1 brooder floor cover covered edwith with some clean litter oi or straw cut straw or hay bay la Is best dont i use ie baw dust the young ducks will sometimes eat it whan Wh cn cleaning ahe brooder remove th paper litter and alli all vurn b urn at once at and id replace with fresh this to la 14 great do deal albaster easier ana nl more satisfactory bian be scrubbing rubbing the ui broaders brooders bro odora oders because when a brooder Is scrubbed it la is often difficult to got it dried however Ilo weyer it to is not necessary to keep ducklings duc klings in a brooder except at night after they get a start even while they aro are very small email they seem to prefer sunshine in the daytime to tho the brooder heat beat tho the okan ducklings duc klings soon boon outgrow tho tha br brooder obder A number of duck houses should bo be provided before the duck lings are hatched if they are anro hatched with liens hens tho the houses should bo be provided before tho the ducklings duc klings aro are hatched just the same but of courso course no brooders broaders bro oders will bo be needed canuso 10 by 10 feet la Is large enough tor for about 25 ducklings duc klings to stay in at night each house should havo have a separate reparato yard fences fencee need hotbo inches high BS as ducklings duc klings have po no wings to speak of Ilo however wever it to lo well al to have fences that will keep chickens out at feeding time dont try to raise ducks and chickens together some people try this and aitho the result Is failure ducks require different food and different management from that required by other poultry even geese and ducks will not thrive together for instance go slings will thrive on grass while tho the ducklings duc klings will starve it is better however to feed tho the goslings gollings go slings some boma ground grain but we will have something to say about geese and goo goslings go slings lings later whole grain Is not good for young ducks neither Is the so bo called chick food too much whole grain Is not good tor for old ducks it if it must bo be used it should be soaked for several hours or overnight before feeding A very common mistake among beginners la Is that ot keeping ducks in da dump wp quarters they imagine because ducks like to swim idd and paddle anwa in water that they can endure any amount of dampness without injury |