POULTRY FARMING

Taranaki Daily News, 11 May 1935, Page 24 (Supplement)

POULTRY FARMING

LAYING BREEDS OF DUCKS i — HARDY AND PROFITABLE. The well-bred egg duck is without doubt one of the most profitable of all varieties of poultry. Times nowadays are very hard and it is vitally necessary to use the greatest discrimination in order to attain prosperity. During and after the war prices were so good that even comparatively poor stock yielded good profits, but things have changed, and poutry-keeping is not now a short cut for Eldorado. That is why the egg duck is so important an asset to the industry, for it offers a steady and reliable margin of profit. The only thing that has thus far held it back is the fact that ducks require more skill and more care in their management than do fowls, but. the requisite knowledge is easily acquired, while it is in the power of all to be careful and painstaking. I realise that an ounce of proof is worth a ton of assertion, and although all who have experience of really well-bred, highly fecund ducks of the laying breeds are agreed as to the excellence of their performance, people are apt to take their accounts with a large grain of salt. This is natural. Everyone sees with exceptional clarity the merits of his own stock, to the disadvantage of everyone else’s, and each breed is always “boomed”‘by its admirers as better than any other.

As a matter of fact, if you believe the claims of all the supporters of various breeds you will find that there are several varieties which are all the best in the world for egg production, and an absolute infinity that? are without a serious rival for all-round excellence. I always like, for this reason, to substantiate my statements with as much outside evidence as I can. BETTER LAYER THAN THE FOWL. There is no doubt .that the duck is capable of higher egg production than the fowl, and this fact is substantiated by the records at the laying tests. High records are attained fairly frequently with ducks and serve to show that immense potentialities they have if only breeders will work on commonsense lines and remember that the duck’s natural stamina, great though it is, must not be frittered away through forced production or in-breeding. The duck is the hardiest variety of poultry, and my own experience is that, apart from an occasional loss through sunstroke, it is really an easy matter to rear every duckling hatched. There are a few faint indications that danger exists of the duck going the same way as some of the egg strains of fc&Js, but I do not think the danger a real one. The natural strength of constitution of the duck and its inherent fecundity are both so great that neither needs to be bolstered up at the expense of the other. In the same way it is unnecessary to resort to in-breeding to produce exceptional individuals; they are always there. The duck egg also is large, and has plenty of room for the duckling to develop, but there is undoubtedly, I fear, a considerable tendency that must be counteracted before it can work mischief. However, individual records are supported by high flock, averages, which are really of far greater importance. I find that my flock of ducks gives a noticeably higher average yield than my fowls, although the fowls do very well indeed. This is, I think, the experience of most breeders. MORE LAYING TESTS WANTED. I think it a pity that there are not more tests for ducks. There are some points that I do not like about their management, but they are certainly S good advertisement. They are actually becoming fewer; both Auckland and Taranaki tests have fewer entries in their duck sections. \ It is not generally realised that ducks will not give of their best in exposed positions. On a day of bitter cold and high wind a fowl, however adversely it may be affected, has at least its scratching shed in which to exercise itself, but the duck has to remain exposed to ‘all .the fury of the elements. ' It is advisable to keep ducks in sheltered places if possible; they are invaluable in orchards, as they not only pay with their eggs, but also keep down insect pests and manure the trees. They also do very well in marshy places, and pick up a great deal of their own living from the swamps. Swimming water, however, is not necessary for Runners and Khaki Campbells, although I prefer to have it for Buff Orpingtons. . In fact, egg production is higher in the winter from birds on dry land, but water is advisable in summer, as it keeps them from feeling the heat too acutely. Of course one must never overlook the question of disposal of surplus males, and in this respect it is rather a difficult matter to compare ducks with fowls. The October or November hatched Runner, Khaki or Orpington is almost as much a drug on the market as a Leghorn cockerel, and I therefore advise hatching early, when there is a keen demand and a chance of turning over a good profit if drakes are reasonably plump. A drake costs a good deal less than a cockerel to rear to killing age as it is ready for the table at ten weeks and puts on flesh readily. DUCK-EGGS. Again, it is not sufficient to produce the eggs—it is necessary to sell them at a profit. One hears complaints that it is difficult to sell duck eggs in some parts of the country, and this is very likely the case, but I think that most of the difficulty arises from the duckkeeper’s own fault. Dirty eggs are not appetising, and never will sell readily. 1 personally breed for large eggs and white eggs, and sell them without any difficulty. The requisite factors for high prices are reasonable size, white colour (although green eggs will usually sell pretty well if they are large and clean), good laying conditions for the ducks and thorough washing of dirty eggs. The duck comes into lay at a coijsiderquires artificial heat for only a fortnight ably earlier age than the fowl, reor three weeks after hatching, lays a saleable egg from the start, is inestimably hardier than the average chick, and is content with much cheaper and less elaborate housing than the hen. If the position is sheltered from winds and frost (in an orchard, for instance) ducks will lay excellently without any housing at all, so long as they are protected from dogs. Also, and this is very or five years nearly as well'as in their important, good ducks will lay for four firdt year, thus saving the cost of replacement. I think I have shown that the laying duck is a thoroughly good investment, and one that many more people ought to take up. The duck is a wonderful source of profit so long as it has good management. If it has a good range, however, it will largely look after itself, so that mistakes of management will not matter so much.