CHAPTER VI
Commercial Duck Farming—Brooding and Rearing the Young Stock
Young ducks are easier to brood than chicks. They seem to learn more quickly where the source of heat is and they are less likely to cause trouble from crowding. They are also less subject to disease.
Removing the Newly Hatched Ducklings to the Brooder House. The ducklings should be left in the incubator until they are thoroughly dried off. Usually they will be dried so that they can be moved on the afternoon of the 28th day of incubation. If, however, they are not ready early in the afternoon it is best to leave them in the machine until the next morning. In moving the ducklings, place them in boxes, baskets or other suitable carriers and cover them with burlap or cloth to avoid any danger of the ducklings becoming chilled.
Brooder Houses Repaired. There are many different types and styles of brooder houses which are used with success. For this reason only one type of each class of brooder house needed is described in detail. These particular houses have been in successful use for a considerable period of time and are given because they embody all the necessary requisites for such houses and at the same time utilize the space to good advantage and are economical in construction.
In general there are required three different brooder houses. The first of these requires sufficient heating capacity so that the temperature of the house itself can be maintained at 65 to 70 degrees even in the cold weather of winter or early spring. In addition, hovers are required in this house under which a temperature can be maintained from 80 to 90 degrees. For convenience this house will be spoken of as brooder house No. 1. A second brooder house which can be called brooder house No. 2 will be required which is equipped with heating apparatus so that the temperature can be run up to 60 degrees when required. The third brooder house known as brooder house No. 3 is a cold brooder house or one without artificial heat. It furnishes shelter for the young ducks where they can be driven in at night and during the day in cold weather. As the ducklings pass out of the brooder house No. 3 they are housed in sheds or shelters with yards which usually extend into the water but which may not do so in all cases.
Brooder House No. 1
The length of this house determines its capacity, the required amount of which will depend upon the output of any particular plant. There should be brooder capacity in this house sufficient to care for approximately ¼ of the total output for the year at one time.
Construction of House. A suitable house which has been in practical use for some time consists of one 20 feet wide and running east and west with windows in the south or front side. If the location were right such a house could be run north and south to good advantage and should then have windows on each side so as to let in the sunlight from both directions. The front wall of this house is 7 feet high, the back wall 4 feet. The ridge of the house is about 2 feet in front of the center, the front slope of the roof having an eight inch pitch while the back slope has a 6 inch pitch. The roof rafters are 2 x 4's placed every two feet. The studs and plates are likewise 2 x 4. The walls are made of matched material. The roof is constructed of 1 x 2 inch strips placed every 4 inches and these covered with shingles. Tie beams every 8 feet extend from front to rear plates. This particular brooder house is not ceiled but a good tight ceiling 8 feet above the walk or runway would make it easier to keep the house clean and would also render it somewhat easier in cold weather to maintain the temperature desired. The house is built on a concrete wall or foundation and a dirt floor is used but the dirt must be filled in well above the level of the ground outside so that there is no danger of water coming into the house or the floors becoming damp or sloppy. Windows are placed in the front wall, one to each pen. In every other pen there is a small door in the back of the house to facilitate cleaning out the pens. A window can be substituted for this door to good advantage as it makes the house lighter.
Heating Apparatus. Heat is furnished by means of a coal burning stove which heats water and causes it to circulate through pipes run the length of the house. The heater must always be placed in the windward end of the building as otherwise it is hard to get the heat down to the other end as the wind tends to drive it back. The hot water pipes are carried down the center of the house and the return pipes are located in the same place. A low partition is run lengthwise of the house dividing the pipes and thus forming double pens, half extending from the center to the front and half from the center to the rear of the house. The pipes and the partition between them is covered over with boards making a 4 foot walk or runway directly over the pipes, which comes into most convenient use as a place to convey, by means of a wheelbarrow, feed or other material needed in the house, and as a convenient place from which to care for the ducklings in the pens on each side. This board covering over the pipes also serves to hold the heat and thus forms hovers.