Ducks and Geese.

by Harry M. Lamon and Rob R. Sloc.u.m.

PREFACE

Of all lines of poultry keeping, duck raising is unique in that it lends itself to the greatest degree of specialization and intensification along lines which are purely commercial. On a comparatively small area thousands of ducklings can be reared and marketed yearly. The call for information concerning the methods used by these commercial duck raisers has been considerable, and since such information is not available in complete concise form the present book has been prepared partly to furnish just this information.

The methods used by successful Long Island duck raisers differ widely in some particulars and since in the s.p.a.ce at command, it has been impossible to describe all the methods used, the plan has been adopted of detailing in the main the methods of one successful grower. This it is believed will prove to be more helpful and less confusing than to attempt to give the method of several different men.

Much s.p.a.ce has been given to the operations of the commercial duck raisers but the fact is recognized that the great bulk of the ducks entering into the trade of the country is the product of small flocks kept on general farms. For this reason a chapter has been added dealing with duck raising on the farm, and attention is here called to the fact that most of the information given under commercial duck raising can be readily adapted to use in connection with the farm flock.

Detailed, complete information on goose raising is even more fragmentary than is the case with ducks. Yet there is a fine opportunity to rear a few geese at a profit on many farms, and the need and call for information is quite general. It is for this reason that a section of this book has been devoted to goose raising and in that section all the good reliable information available on the subject is given. The special attention of the women of the farm is directed to the opportunity which goose raising offers to make a good profit on a small side line with the minimum of initial investment and of labor.

The greatest care has been taken to make the information on both duck and goose raising as complete and clear as possible. However, the authors appreciate the unlimited value of good ill.u.s.trations in making clear methods and operations which are more difficult to grasp from a word description, and have therefore a.s.sembled a set of ill.u.s.trations for this book, the completeness and excellence of which have never before been approached in any book on the subject. The ill.u.s.trations alone are an education.

In preparing and presenting this book to the public, the authors take pleasure in acknowledging their deep indebtedness to the following persons for help and information furnished:

Roy E. Pardee John C. Kriner Charles McClave Stanley Mason Dr. Balliet William Minnich George W. Hackett Dawson Brothers

Particular acknowledgment is due Robert A. Tuttle for the manner in which he threw open his duck plant to the authors and for the most generous amount of time which he gave in furnishing information.

Special acknowledgment is likewise due Alfred R. Lee, Poultryman, U. S.

Department of Agriculture, for information secured from his Farmers'

Bulletins on duck raising and goose raising.

DUCKS

PART I

Chapter I

Present Extent of the Industry

Duck raising while representing an industry of considerable value to the United States when considered from a national standpoint, is one of the minor branches of the poultry industry. According to the 1920 census there were 2,817,624 ducks in the United States with a valuation of $3,373,966. As compared with this the census for 1910 shows a slightly greater number of ducks, 2,906,525, but their value was considerably less being only $1,567,164. In the ten years between the census of 1900 and that of 1910 there was a decrease in the number of ducks of nearly 40%.

According to the 1920 census the more important duck raising states arranged in their order of importance were Iowa, Illinois, Pennsylvania, New York, Missouri, Minnesota, Tennessee, Ohio, South Dakota, Indiana, Nebraska and Kentucky. The number reported for Iowa was 235,249 and for Kentucky 99,577. New England, the North Atlantic, the East North Central, the West North Central, the Mountain and the Pacific states showed an increase, while the South Atlantic, East South Central and West South Central states showed a decrease. In spite of the existence of quite a number of large commercial duck farms, the great bulk of ducks produced are those which come from the general farms where only small flocks are kept. Yet only a small proportion of farms have ducks on them. The comparatively small number of ducks is distributed over practically the entire United States, being more common in some sections than others, particularly along the Atlantic Coast and along the Pacific Coast, with fairly numerous flocks on the farms of the Middle West.

_Different Types of Duck Raising._ The conditions under which ducks are kept and the purpose for which they are kept fall under four heads: First, commercial duck raising for the production of duck meat; second, duck raising as a by-product of the general farm; third, duck raising for egg production; fourth, duck breeding for pleasure, exhibition or the sale of breeding stock.

_Opportunities for Duck Raising._ Undoubtedly the greatest opportunity for profitable duck growing lies under the first of these heads, namely, commercial duck raising. Where the conditions of climate, soil and land are favorable and where the location is good with respect to market there exists an excellent opportunity for one skilled in duck growing to engage in that business in an intensive manner for the purpose of putting on the market spring or green ducklings. Where these are in demand they bring a good price and since the output per farm is large they pay a good return even with a small margin of profit per pound.

The second greatest opportunity undoubtedly consists of duck raising as a by-product of the general farm. Where conditions are suitable, that is to say, where there is a considerable amount of pasture land easily accessible, and particularly where there is a stream or pond to which the ducks can have access, a small flock of ducks, say 10 or 12 females, can be kept to excellent advantage on the farm. The cost of maintaining them will not be great and they will not only provide a most acceptable variety in the form of duck meat and duck eggs for the farmers' table but they will also produce a surplus which can be sold at a profit. It must be remembered, however, that where only a small flock is kept it is generally impracticable for the farmer to give his ducks the attention necessary to cater to the market for green ducklings. As a result he usually keeps them until fall and sells them on the market at a considerably lower price than is obtained by the commercial duck grower.

There also exists an opportunity which has not been developed to any great extent to keep some one of the egg producing breeds of ducks such as the Indian Runner for the primary purpose of egg production. A few ventures of this sort seem to have been successful but it must be remembered that the market for duck eggs is not nearly so broad as that for hens' eggs and that in some quarters there exists considerable prejudice against duck eggs for table consumption. Before engaging in duck raising primarily for the production of market eggs it would therefore be necessary to investigate and consider carefully the market conditions in the neighborhood so as to know whether the eggs could be marketed to advantage. While the Runner ducks are prolific layers there is no advantage in keeping them in preference to fowls as egg producers.

The eggs are larger in size but it takes more feed to produce them, while they cannot as a rule be disposed of at much if any higher price than can be secured for hens' eggs. For baking purposes duck eggs can be readily sold on account of their larger size.

There is always an opportunity to produce fine stock of any kind, whether it be ducks, chickens, turkeys or geese. Ducks are not exhibited to the same extent as are chickens and the compet.i.tion in the shows is not as a rule so keen. Nevertheless many persons are interested in producing and exhibiting good stock and there exists a very definite market for birds of quality.

There is also a probability that a good business could be worked up by one who would pay special attention to producing a strain of ducks of early maturity, large size and good vigor in order to supply breeding drakes to many of the commercial duck farms. These farms usually secure drakes for breeding from sources outside their own flocks each year but the usual practice is to exchange drakes with some other commercial grower. While very good birds are to be found on these duck farms there is no greater opportunity to engage in any systematic breeding, the selection of the breeding stock being of rather a hurried nature during certain seasons of the year when the ducks are being marketed. Moreover, the long continued custom of exchanging drakes with the neighboring farmers has in most cases led to the blood being so largely confined within one circle that no great percentage of new blood is obtained by these exchanges. Of course, the opportunity along breeding lines for this purpose is limited to the Pekin duck as this is the breed which is kept upon all the large commercial duck farms in the United States.

_Prices for Breeding Stock._ Duck breeders who make a specialty of selling breeding stock or eggs for hatching find a steady and quite a wide demand for their stock. The eggs are usually sold in sittings of 11 and bring a price of from $3 to $5 per sitting depending on the quality of the stock. The prices received for the birds themselves depend of course upon their quality and may run anywhere from about $5 to $25 per bird.

_Ducks for Ornamental Purposes._ On estates or in parks where natural or artificial ponds are included in the grounds, waterfowl are often kept for ornamental purposes. Any breeds may be used, and often the gay colored Wood Duck and Mandarin, or some one of the small breeds such as the Calls, Black East Indian or the Mallards are kept for this purpose.

It is said that these small ducks will absolutely destroy the mosquito larvae in any such ponds or lakes.

CHAPTER II

Breeds and Varieties--How to Mate to Produce Exhibition Specimens--Preparing Ducks for the Show--Catching and Handling

_Breeds of Ducks._ There are 11 standard breeds of ducks. All of these breeds with the exception of the Call, Muscovy and Runner consist of a single variety. The Call is divided into two varieties, the Gray and the White; the Muscovy consists of two varieties, the Colored and the White; and the Runner consists of three varieties, the Fawn and White, the White and the Penciled.

Duck breeders, of course, whether raising the birds for fancy or for profit, keep one of the standard breads or varieties. Frequently, also, the farm flocks consist of standardbred ducks but on many farms, probably a great majority, the flock consists of the common or so-called "puddle" duck. In certain parts of the South there is a duck known as the "mule duck" which is a cross between the Muscovy and the common duck. This is a duck of good market quality but will not breed from which characteristic it gets its name. Most of the common or "puddle"

ducks which are found on farms are of rather small size, are indifferent as layers, and do not make a desirable type of market duck. They have arisen simply from the crossing of standard breeds with resultant carelessness and indifference in breeding. Because of the care with which they have been selected and bred for definite purposes, the standard breeds are decidedly superior to the common "puddle" ducks and should by all means be kept in preference since they will yield better results and greater profits.

In addition to the standard breeds and varieties flocks of Mallards are also kept to a limited extent. The Mallard is a common small wild duck which has lent itself readily to domestication and which thrives with proper care under confined conditions. In weight, the drakes will run from 2 pounds to 3 pounds or even a little larger. The ducks average about 2 pounds with a variation of from 1 pound 12 ounces to 2 pounds 8 ounces. By selecting the large eggs for hatching and by liberal feeding, it is easy to increase the size of Mallards to such an extent that they resemble small Rouens rather than wild Mallards. The plumage of the Mallard is very similar to that of the Rouen but of a lighter shade.

Another small wild duck known as the Wood or Carolina duck, which is a native of North America, has been domesticated and on account of the great beauty of its plumage is usually to be found wherever ornamental waterfowl are kept. The Mandarin duck is a small duck of about the same size as the Wood duck, is of beautiful plumage and like the Wood duck is generally kept for ornamental purposes. This duck is said to be a native of China.

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 1. Upper--Pair of Mule Ducks. Lower--Pair of Blue Swedish Ducks. (_Photographs from the Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S.

Department of Agriculture._)]

[Ill.u.s.tration: FIG. 2. Upper--Mallard Duck. Lower--Mallard Drake. The Mallard is a wild duck which is quite easily domesticated and which has a plumage color very similar to the Rouen. It is small in size.

(_Photographs from the Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S. Department of Agriculture._)]

Cla.s.sification of Breeds

So far as the standard breeds and varieties are concerned they may be divided into three cla.s.ses according to the purpose for which they are kept and for which they are best suited. First is the meat cla.s.s which consists of the Pekin, Aylesbury, Muscovy, Rouen, Buff, Cayuga and Blue Swedish. These breeds could well be termed general purpose ducks for they are quite good layers in addition to producing excellent table carca.s.ses and are therefore well suited for general farm use. They are, however, kept more particularly for meat production.

The second cla.s.s is known as the egg cla.s.s and consists of the three varieties of the Runner Duck, formerly known as the Indian Runner. The Runner Duck is much smaller in size than the birds of the meat cla.s.s, is longer in leg and more active, and is not so well suited for the production of table ducks but is a very prolific layer. With proper feeding and management the Runner ducks will compare favorably with hens as egg producers.

The third cla.s.s is known as the ornamental cla.s.s and is composed of the ducks which are kept and bred princ.i.p.ally for ornamental purposes. This cla.s.s consists of the Call duck with its two varieties, the Black East India duck and the Crested White duck. Both the Call and East India ducks are small in size being really the bantams of the duck family.

While they make good table birds, their small size handicaps them as commercial meat fowl. The Crested White duck is of larger size, possesses a crest and is bred mainly as an ornamental fowl.

_Marking the Ducks._ The duck raiser who is breeding his ducks for exhibition quality has need for knowledge of the breeding of the birds he may contemplate using in his matings. In order that this information may be available, the young ducks as they are hatched can be marked by toe punching them on the webs of their feet in the same manner that baby chicks are toe punched. A different set or combination of marks is used for each mating so that the breeding of the different ducks can be distinguished. Mature ducks can, if desired, be leg banded in order to furnish a distinguishing mark.

Nomenclature