If the water yards used freeze over in winter it is necessary to cut holes in the ice so that the ducks can get water for drinking purposes.
Sometimes the ducks will go into these water holes and after getting their plumage wet will come out and sit down in the yard and freeze fast to the ground. During such weather conditions it is necessary to make the rounds of the yards frequently and to loosen any ducks that have frozen fast. If they are left in that condition they are apt to injure themselves in trying to pull free and if left too long will die.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 19. Another successful type of house for breeding ducks. It is 20 ft. by 40 ft. and is divided into two pens each of which will accommodate 100 breeders. (_Photograph from the Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture._)]
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 20. Meal time for the breeders. (_Photograph from the Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture._)]
_Feeding the Breeders._ Breeding ducks are fed twice a day, in the morning and at night. It is usual practice to feed the breeders last in the morning and first at night. The reason for feeding them last in the morning is that they are usually fed in the yards rather than the house and they should be kept in until they are through laying which will be after daylight. A good breeding ration consists of the following, the proportions being given by measure in bushels.
1 bushel bran.
1 bushel low-grade flour.
1 bushel corn meal.
1 bushel green feed.
bushel either raw or cooked vegetables.
1 bushel in 10 of beef sc.r.a.p.
bushel in 10 of cooked fish.
This ration will keep the breeding ducks in good flesh but there will be no difficulty in their getting too fat. It is also a good laying ration and will promote good egg production. The vegetables used in this ration usually consist of sugar beets, cow beets, potatoes, etc. However, if potatoes are used the amount of flour in the ration should be reduced a little so as not to make the ration too heavy. Beets, when used, are fed raw cut up and mixed in the feed. Small potatoes, boiled and mixed in the feed are more valuable as they have a greater food value than beets.
Some duck growers feed fish entirely, using no beef sc.r.a.p. This is done where a plentiful supply of fish can be secured by going out into the bay after them. However, this is not very good practice for a sufficient supply of fish may not always be available and the ducks are so fond of the fish that they will not eat well the beef sc.r.a.p used as a subst.i.tute for the fish, until they have become used to it. Fish is prepared for feeding by boiling it thoroughly in a feed cooker.
The available land on the plant is used to grow a supply of green feed.
Rye is used for this purpose early in the spring as soon as it is high enough to mow. It is mowed the first time when it is like a lawn. At this stage it does not have to be cut up. Oats are used in the same way.
During the summer fodder corn is used. This is the poorest crop for the purpose but is as a rule the only one available at that time. Rape is sowed in August and its use begun about the time of the first frost and kept up until the hard freezes come or until it is buried under the snow. Creek gra.s.s which is secured from the fresh water streams on Long Island by going out in a flat bottom boat and raking it off the creek bottom with a wooden rake, is very much relished by the ducks and is used whenever it is available. However, the supply of this material is not as plentiful as it was formerly and it is rather hard to get. When it is available it can be used either in winter or summer.
Good field clover cut up and boiled with the potatoes or with the fish makes a good green feed. All of these green materials for use in the ration, unless they are already in short lengths, are cut up by means of a power feed cutter before they are mixed in the mash. When no other form of green feed is available ground alfalfa is used but only half as much of this material is mixed with the ration as is used of any of the other kinds of green feed. Wherever possible the various duck yards should be used to grow a crop of green stuff such as oats or rye as this not only helps out on the supply of green feed but also helps to sweeten the soil. The growing of a crop on the heavier types of soil used for ducks is especially important as such soils are more likely to become contaminated from the droppings.
The ration for the ducks is mixed up in a power feed mixer which works much on the principle of a power dough mixer. In fact, dough mixers are used on some plants. In mixing the feed enough water should be added to bring the material to a consistency where it will hold together when squeezed in the hand. In fact, the consistency should be between crumbly and sticky, but should never be sloppy. The feed is dumped from the mixer into a low horse drawn wagon and driven around to the various yards where it is shoveled off on to the feed troughs or trays. On some large duck plants a track is provided which runs over the yards and over this a car loaded with feed is pushed and the feed shoveled into the feed trays.
The breeders should be fed in the same place. If feeding is begun in the house this practice should be continued. If feeding is begun in the yards it should be continued there. To change disturbs the ducks and interferes with their egg production.
Coa.r.s.e ground oyster sh.e.l.l about as large as corn should be kept before the breeders all the time in boxes where they can help themselves. A flock of 700 or 800 breeders will eat upwards of 200 pounds a week of this material. Unless sand is available in the yards where they can get it, ducks should also have access to a supply of good sharp creek sand but when kept in sand yards no other form of grit need be furnished.
The usual method of feeding is to utilize flat troughs on which the feed is shoveled. Only as much feed should be given at the regular feeding time as the ducks will eat up clean. This makes it necessary to watch the feeding carefully and to regulate the amount accordingly. It is good practice to gather up any feed that is left by the ducks so that it will not lie there to sour and spoil as such feed is bad for the birds.
Egg Production
The average egg production of Pekin ducks kept under commercial farm conditions will run from 80 to 125 eggs per head for the season. This will vary somewhat from year to year and also with the management and feed given the ducks. The laying begins to a small extent about December 1 and gradually increases until the ducks are laying freely in February.
As the hot weather of summer begins to come on the laying drops off until about July 1 and after this not enough eggs are produced as a rule to pay to hold the breeding ducks longer. Often many ducks will stop laying considerably before this, especially those which have started laying early and it may not pay to keep such pens later than May. Laying takes place early in the morning and practically all the eggs are laid soon after daylight. It is for this reason that the ducks are usually shut up at night so that all the eggs laid will be secured as some of them would otherwise be lost by their being laid around in the yard or in the water. In the spring the ducks can be let out about 6 a. m., as the laying will be pretty well over by that time, but in winter they must be kept shut up later in order to secure all the eggs. After the ducks start laying in the spring they are very regular and continuous layers and will miss fewer days than most hens.
After the breeding ducks are first put in the breeding pens and shut in the houses at night it is common practice to use electric lights for the first 2 or 3 weeks in order to keep them from stampeding as ducks in strange surroundings are quite nervous and are quite likely to stampede and to run over one another thus causing cripples. Electric lights have also been used to some extent during the late fall and winter for the purpose of inducing egg production earlier than the natural season. As a rule the ducks can be started to laying about 4 weeks after turning on the lights but the average production under this system is not likely to run more than 60 eggs for the season as so handled they moult quite early in the spring. A single 25 watt light is sufficient for a house or pen 16 24 feet and the lights are left turned on all night.
The object in feeding and caring for the breeding ducks is to keep them from moulting and to keep them laying as long as possible. It must be remembered that any radical change in feed or manner of feeding, shutting them up too closely, change of temperature, or other disturbing conditions are likely to cause moulting and to check egg production. Any change in feed must be made carefully and gradually, not suddenly. It must also be remembered that ducks are excitable birds and must be handled and driven carefully so as to disturb them as little as possible.
Time of Marketing Breeders
The breeders should be turned off to market whenever their egg production drops off so decidedly that it no longer pays to hold them.
In most cases this will be about the 1st of July but it may range considerably earlier than this, especially with pens of ducks that have started laying early. When the ducks finish laying their eggs they begin to moult and it is at this time that they should be marketed. If marketing is delayed, the ducks will lose condition as the moulting progresses and will therefore be held at a loss.
Diseases and Pests
_Disease._ Old ducks, that is, mature ducks, are practically free from disease. Of course, there will be a certain amount of loss in the breeding stock from various causes but this should not run for the entire season more than 10% of the flock. Ducks do not become egg bound, but sometimes, especially during heavy laying, they become ruptured.
_Insect Pests._ Ducks are remarkably free from lice and other insect pests and those which they do have do not trouble them much. It is unnecessary therefore to take any precautions in the way of treating the ducks to keep them free of insects.
_Dogs._ Occasionally trouble may be experienced from dogs. If these animals get into the yards with the breeders or the fattening ducks, they may kill a good many and in addition will seriously injure the rest by chasing them and by the fright which the ducks are given.
CHAPTER V
Commercial Duck Farming--Incubation
The Pekin duck is essentially a non-broody breed. It, therefore, becomes necessary to resort to incubators for the purpose of hatching the eggs.
Occasional ducks will sit if allowed to do so but it is not the practice on commercial duck farms to allow them to sit and hatch their young. No special means are taken to break them of broodiness other than not to allow them eggs to sit on.
_Kinds of Incubators Used._ Both the smaller kerosene lamp heated incubators and the large or mammoth hot water heated incubators are used for hatching duck eggs. At the present time the mammoth hot water machines are those which are in princ.i.p.al use due largely to the lessened labor required to operate them.
_Incubator Cellar._ It is necessary to provide some room in which the incubators can be installed and operated. This may take the form of a cellar, or the incubators may be operated in rooms above the ground.
Many of the incubator cellars on duck farms are only partially under ground and not a few of them are built entirely out of ground. The particular size and shape of the cellar or incubator room will, of course, depend upon the number of incubators to be installed and upon their make and shape. Usually these buildings are constructed with rather thick walls so that the temperature of the room will fluctuate less with changes in outside temperature. Provision is also necessary by means of windows or other ventilating devices to provide for good ventilation in the room. The cellars are usually constructed with cement floors as moisture is used freely and wooden floors would rot out quickly.
_Incubator Capacity Required._ The aim on commercial duck farms is to hatch all of the eggs produced which are suitable for the purpose.
Practically no eggs are sold except the cracked eggs or those which would not give good results in the incubator such as too large or too small eggs. Occasionally, of course, there will be sales of duck eggs in comparatively large lots for incubation purposes where someone is starting a duck farm. Occasionally also duck farmers buy from each other a few eggs for incubation in order to secure new blood. On the whole, however, practically all of the eggs laid are incubated and it is necessary to have an incubator capacity sufficient to take care of the eggs as they are produced during the flush season.
Since the egg production at this time will run around about 80% and since the period of incubation is 28 days and a couple more days must be allowed to take the ducklings out of the machines and to clean up the machines, it is necessary to figure on 30 days between hatches. To take care of the flush production at this time there would be required an incubator capacity of from 20 to 25 eggs per head of breeding ducks. The latter figure is a safer estimate than the former. Of course, eggs sufficient to fill the entire incubator capacity are not put in the machines at any one time but different lots are put in as soon as a sufficient number is obtained to make it worth while. There will be, therefore, eggs in various stages of incubation in different sections of the machines at the same time. While Pekin duck eggs will run about heavier in weight than hens" eggs they do not take up a proportionately greater amount of s.p.a.ce in the incubator. An incubator tray will accommodate about 5/6 as many Pekin duck eggs as it will hens" eggs.
_Age of Hatching Eggs._ Duck eggs should be set as often as enough are secured to fill one or more trays in the incubator or enough to produce a sufficient number of ducklings to utilize brooding s.p.a.ce to advantage.
Since duck eggs deteriorate more rapidly than hens" eggs they cannot be kept so long before they are set. It is best not to save them for longer than one week. During the season of flush production it is not, of course, necessary to save them that long since enough eggs will be secured to set each day if desired. The usual practice at this time is to set twice a week. During the early part of the season when the production of eggs is low and the temperature cool the eggs are often saved for as long a period as two weeks without noticeably bad results.
_Care of Hatching Eggs._ Eggs for hatching should be kept in a cool place. Any place suitable for keeping hens" eggs for hatching is a suitable place for duck eggs. The temperature should be from 50 to 70 Fahrenheit. Where the eggs are not kept longer than one week, it is not necessary to turn them, especially if they are kept on end. If kept longer than this it is safer to turn them once a day or once in two days, handling them carefully so as not to crack any or to injure their hatching qualities.
_Selecting the Eggs for Hatching._ Medium sized eggs are preferred for this purpose. Therefore, the extremely large eggs and the very small ones are thrown out. Rough sh.e.l.led eggs or eggs with crooked or deformed sh.e.l.ls are likewise thrown out since they are not likely to hatch well.
Eggs that are badly soiled so that they cannot be tested easily are washed but the clean eggs are not. All the eggs intended for incubation purposes are sounded by striking them gently against one another in order to detect and remove the cracked eggs. No selection is made on the basis of color. The eggs may be white, creamy white or a blue, or bluish green in color. At the present time a considerably less proportion of the eggs show a blue tint than formerly. As the egg laying season advances the eggs laid by the ducks tend to get a little larger.
_Temperature._ Up to the time of testing, that is, about the fifth day, the incubator is run at a temperature of from 101 to 102 degrees. After the fifth day the temperature is kept as near 103 as possible. The most sensitive period for a duck egg is during the first 3 or 4 days of incubation. If they are allowed to get too warm during this time the germ may be killed while if the temperature is too low, development will be r.e.t.a.r.ded.
_Position of the Thermometer._ In figuring on the proper temperature at which to run the incubator, the thermometer should be so placed that the bulb is on a level with the top of the eggs, preferably touching a fertile egg. If the thermometer bulb rests on an infertile egg the temperature recorded will be lower than the actual temperature of fertile eggs in the later stages of incubation, due to the animal heat of the developing embryos, with the result that the machine would be operated at too high a temperature.
_Testing._ It is common practice to make only one complete test. This is done on the evening of the fifth day. Testing may be done by means of an ordinary candling device such as is used with hens" eggs, each egg being examined separately. To save time a piece of apparatus may be used which is simple in construction and which simplifies the process of candling considerably. This may be termed a testing table. It consists of a table the same width as an incubator tray and longer than the tray. In the table there is an opening the size of a row of eggs and beneath this are placed several electric light bulbs with reflectors back of them so as to throw the light up through the eggs. By sliding the tray along the table each row of eggs is brought over the lights and their condition can be quickly noted. At this test all the infertile eggs are taken out as well as any eggs in which the germs have died. The infertile eggs after a careful retest are then packed in cases and sent to market where they are usually sold to bakers as tested eggs. While no second test is made of the eggs left in the machines the experienced incubator operator is constantly on the watch for and is constantly removing any eggs which die at a later time. To the experienced eye the color of the egg indicates that it has died as it takes on a sort of pinkish or darkish tint. Duck eggs after they die will spoil very quickly and must be removed promptly as the odor which they throw off is very strong and will prove harmful to the other eggs. The inexperienced operator can readily locate dead eggs by smelling over the tray.
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 21. Interior of house for breeding ducks. Notice the heavy bedding and the feeding track. (_Photograph from the Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture._)]
[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 22. Incubator cellar on large duck plant. Trays of eggs set out to turn and cool. (_Photograph from the Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture._)]
_Turning the Eggs._ The eggs are neither turned, cooled nor otherwise disturbed after they are put in the incubator until after they are tested on the fifth day. From this time on they are turned twice a day, morning and night, until they begin to pip.