Fig. 26.—Plan for supplying water by pipes.
Some raisers use a pan—a pie plate, for instance—and place a stone several inches smaller in diameter than the pan in the center, leaving a margin for water around the edge.
When large numbers of birds are kept, it is of course necessary that a system for watering be adopted for saving labor. A practical system in use is where the water is supplied by 1-inch pipes and having a cock in each pen directly over the water trough. [Fig. 26] shows a diagram drawing of this plan. The flow of the cocks is regulated by having the one in the first pen run very slowly and gradually increasing the flow of the water in each pen. Thus all the troughs will be full at the same time. The pipe should rest on top of the fencing about 2 feet high which divides the runs. This plan of watering can also be used in brooder houses to good advantage.
FEEDING.
The food of the duck is both vegetable and animal in nature. In the wild state it gathers its food from brooks and marshes, consisting of flag, grasses, small fishes, water insects, etc. When the birds are raised in confinement this diet must, in a measure, be imitated to get the most satisfactory results. The duck has no crop, the food passing directly from the throat to the gizzard, and as a consequence the food must be in a soft mushy state. Too much hard food, such as grain, does not agree with these birds and they can not thrive on it. While some raisers use a small allowance of grain others do not, and it has not been proved to be of any advantage to feed it. Soft food is their natural diet, together with grasses, vegetables, and animal food. The proper selection of the food is extremely important to secure the rapid growth of the duck, and the ingredients of the food must be such as will afford a well-balanced and substantial ration. As a whole, it may be said that the rations used by the largest duck raisers are essentially the same, differing only in the quantities used in the mixing. Investigations show the real values of the food to be the same for producing rapid growth and early development. The duckling grows twice as rapidly and is a much heavier eater than the chick, and to produce the best results its food must be such as will be easily assimilated. The various methods of feeding given in this bulletin are recommended for raising ducks successfully.
It costs from 6 to 12 cents a pound to raise a duck for market at ten weeks of age. The cost of feed is from 4½ to 5 cents a pound, and that of labor, etc., is from 4 to 8 cents a pound. It costs from $1.75 to $2.50 each to keep breeding ducks a year.
The three different methods of feeding ducks are as follows: (1) Feeding ducks for market (ten weeks old); (2) feeding young ducks to be kept as breeders; (3) feeding old ducks. The first method, for the sake of convenience and to explain more fully the composition of the rations, is subdivided into four parts, as follows.
(1) From time of hatching to five days old provide the following mixture: Cracker or bread crumbs and corn meal, equal parts by measure; hard boiled eggs, 15 per cent of the total bulk of crackers and meal; sand, 5 per cent of the total of crackers and meal. Mix with water or milk, and feed four times a day.
(2) From five to twenty days old, the following mixture: Wheat bran, two parts by measure; corn meal, one part; rolled oats, 50 per cent of this bulk; beef scraps, 5 per cent; sand, 5 per cent; green food, 10 per cent. Mix with water to a dry crumbly state and feed four times a day.
(3) From twenty to forty-two days old, the following mixture: Wheat bran, two parts by measure; corn meal, one part; beef scraps, 5 per cent of this bulk; sand, 5 per cent; green food, 10 per cent. Mix with water to a dry crumbly state and feed four times a day.