Fig. 19.—Plans of a double brooder house.
Fig. 20.—Plan of a double brooder house, showing arrangement of beating pipes.
Ducklings are kept in the cold brooder house until they are six or seven weeks old, when they are transferred to large quarters known as growing houses. It is here that they are pushed for the market until they are 10 weeks old, when they are salable. There is no heat in the growing houses, which are used only as a means of shelter during the early spring months. When the weather is well advanced, the ducks seldom take to the houses at night; they prefer the outside and spend their nights on the ground. The growing houses should be abundantly ventilated, as too close an atmosphere will do more harm in a single night than if they had not been housed at all.
Fig. 21.—House for growing Ducks.