POULTRY NOTES

Timaru Herald, Volume CXLII, Issue 20587, 28 November 1936, Page 15 (Supplement)

POULTRY NOTES

(By Alex Peat) REARING DUCKLINGS With ordinary care and attention there is little difficulty in rearing ducklings. The losses from disease are much lower than with chickens. It is therefore surprising that more farmers do not keep a flock of ducks. The adult birds are extraordinary and although more expensive to feed are cheaper to house and usually leave a good margin of profit. Provided care and attention are given to the feeding and care of laying ducks and the storage of eggs before marketing there' should be little difficulty in disposing of the eggs profitably. The most suitable breeds for egg laying purposes are the Khaki Camp-i bell, the White Runner or the Buff Orpington. The ducks lay at from five to six months old. It is now possible., to purchase day old ducklings which are already sexed. The determination of the sex of a duckling at a day old is quite simple and is done by an examination of the vent. The male organ of the drakelets can be seen easily. In the case of Runners this is an advantage because the drakes do not fatten readily and only those required for stock purposes need be kept. Khaki Campbell or Orpington drakes do well and can be fattened to a weight of 4Mb at ten weeks and then sold for table purposes. If marketed in good condition the returns should help to lessen the cost of rearing the ducks. No special breeding appliances need be obtained as ducklings can be brooded under the chicken hovers or stoves in the brooder house. There

are usually some empty pens and they should be thoroughly cleaned before receiving the ducklings. Care should be taken to see that the ducklings are not chilled before being put in the brooder. A brooder temperature of 85 degrees is warm enough at the beginning and this should be gradually reduced as ducklings require brooding only for 10 or 14 days. To Prevent Straying

During the first day or two the ducks have a bad habit of straying away from the heat and are often unable to And their way back. To prevent them becoming chilled it is a good plan to place a strip of wire-netting round the hover about 1 foot from the edge. This can be removed after the third day so that the ducklings have the run of the whole house. It Is important not to overcrowd the duckling under the hover. They’ grow much more quickly than chickens and require much more room so that a chicken brooder will only take half its capacity when being used for duckings. Fifty to sixty ducklings will have plenty of room under 100 chick size hover or stove. When small adaptable hovers are used it is better to remove the curtain as the ducklings require plenty of fresh air the floor of the brooder house must be kept covered with clean dry litter. The best way to keep litter dry without too much work is to cover the floor with peat moss and over that place a layer of straw. The cushion of straw can then easily be replaced every other day. When the ducklings are a week old they can be allowed outside. Attention must be given to the run and the grass must be short with no tufts, otherwise the small ducklings w’ill have difficulty in finding their way back to the house and warmth. Ten to fourteen days is long enough to give them artificial heat and when they attain this age they can be removed to the rearing ground. If the nights are cold however, a storm lantern should be placed in the house for the first few nights. Housing Details During rearing the ducklings must not be overcrowded in either house or run. Thirty ducklings will have plenty of room in a house 6ft x 4ft until they are five or six weeks old. After this they should have 11 square feet of floor space per bird if shut in at nights. If it is at all possible however, it is better not to shut them in. The range should be as sheltered as possible as ducklings require shelter from the rain, wind, and sun. If no natural shelter is available, then some sort of shelter must be provided. Ducklings dislike heat more than cold and many are lost from sunstroke. Exposure to cold wind may result in losses from a complaint called “frothy eye.” As they grow the range should be increased and they should be encouraged to forage for themselves. Now for a few words on the question of feeding. For the first fortnight give the ducklings five feeds daily of a good wet" mash. Two common mistakes are to make the mash very wet and sloppy or to give too much feed at one meal. Actually the meal should be mixed just moist and crumbly and the birds should be given no more than they will readily pick up in 10 or 15 minutes. Any surplus should be moved immediately. The most successful duck rearers keep the ducklings only about 99 per cent, satisfied, thus making them all the more keen on their feed. It is better therefore to let the same attendant look after the ducklings as he will then be more able to judge their appettites. From a fortnight to six weeks four meals a day should be given gradually increasing the amount fed at each meal. After that two or three meals a day depending on the extent of range will be sufficientDucklings are excellent foragers and if the range is good the amount of hand-feeding can be reduced considerably. It is unnecessary to keep changing the mash and the following mixture will give good results if led from hatching until the end of the first four months—2o parts bran. 40 parts maize 15 parts wearing 12 parts ground oats, 10 parts meat meal. » part salt. If parts ground limestone ■ all parts by weight). Plenty of clean water should be available. It must be provided in vessels deep enough to allow the ducklings to bathe their heads and eyes, but not deep enough to allow them to swim in as they will quickly foul it.