The first feed consists of the following:—One measure corn meal, one measure bran, one measure ground crackers, stale bread or shredded wheat waste, one measure in 10 of beef scrap or fish, one measure in 6 of creek grass or other very fine green stuff. Green rye or oats should never be used for this purpose after it becomes jointed. If the feed is mixed up with cold water about ½ measure of low-grade wheat flour should be used to cause it to stick together. If hot water is used in the mixing this is not needed.
Sand must be fed either by mixing it in to the extent of about 3% of the ration or the sand can be fed separately in hoppers as previously described. This same mixture may be fed in the No. 1, No. 2, and No. 3 brooder houses, or in other words, until ducklings go to the yards, or ration No. 2 given below may be substituted either at the start or after a week or ten days. After the ducklings go to the yards the following fattening ration is used: 200 pounds corn meal, 100 pounds low-grade flour, 100 pounds bran, 1 part in 10 of beef scrap and 2 tubs or bushels of green stuff. Some duck growers prefer to feed 300 pounds of corn meal instead of 200 pounds. This ration like the other is fed 3 times a day. Of course, there are many different rations in use with good results, every grower having more or less personal preferences in this matter. A proper proportion of animal feed, consisting of beef scrap or fish is very important as the ducklings will not grow and make normal gains if this is omitted or reduced in amount.
Much has been written about the feeding of celery seed to fattening ducklings for the purpose of improving the flavor of the flesh and formerly ducklings were advertised and sold as "celery-fed". As a matter of fact, the amount of celery seed fed was small and it is questionable how much influence it had on the flavor of the birds. At the present time, celery seed is not used in fattening the ducklings on most of the large duck farms of Long Island.
A comparison of gains made by ducklings on two different rations is shown in the following table. Ration No. 1 consists of the fattening ration given above. Ration No. 2 consists of 100 pounds bran, 100 pounds corn meal, 50 pounds rolled oats, 50 pounds gluten feed, 10% beef scrap. The ducks used were three days old at the first weighing and there were 27 in each lot. After the second weighing the number in each lot was reduced to 24 ducks.
| Feed No. 1 | Feed No. 2 | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Total Weight | Average Weight | Total Weight | Average Weight | |||
| August 14 | 4¾ | lbs. | 0.176 | 4¾ | lbs. | 0.176 |
| August 21 | 10 | " | 0.37 | 9½ | " | 0.352 |
| August 28 | 16½ | " | 0.687 | 17½ | " | 0.729 |
| September 5 | 25 | " | 1.041 | 27 | " | 1.125 |
| September 13 | 44½ | " | 1.854 | 48½ | " | 2.02 |
| September 19 | 50 | " | 2.083 | 56½ | " | 2.354 |
| September 27 | 64 | " | 2.666 | 67 | " | 2.62 |
| October 4 | 78½ | " | 3.27 | 82½ | " | 3.437 |
| October 11 | 99½ | " | 4.145 | 103½ | " | 4.312 |
| October 18 | 115½ | " | 4.812 | 119 | " | 4.958 |
| October 25 | 126 | " | 5.25 | 135 | " | 5.62 |
Lights for Ducklings. Often when the ducks are about one-third grown or about 4 weeks old they will stampede at night at any unusual noise or any other disturbance. In doing this, especially when they are in fairly large lots, they surge back and forth in the pens, running over one another with the result that their backs are torn and scratched while not infrequently more serious injuries result and may cause cripples. To keep them quiet it is common to use lights at night. Formerly lanterns were used but now on most duck plants electric lights are available for this purpose. For a house 140 feet long, six 15-watt lights scattered at equal intervals will be sufficient, and these can be used in like proportion for houses of other lengths. The lights are left on all night. Even when the ducks are half grown and may be out on the yards it is still necessary to use lights on stormy nights so that they will stay in and keep quiet and not get drowned in the rain. With a 16 × 24 foot house such as described previously, a single 25 watt light is sufficient. Ducklings are especially likely to be stampeded during thunderstorms and if a storm is coming up it is well to turn on the lights and to shut the ducklings in their shelters when they are first placed in the yards. One should not carry a lantern when moving among the ducklings at night as this will cause moving shadows which are very likely to frighten and stampede the birds.
Pounds of Feed to Produce a Pound of Market Duck. It is stated by long established duck growers that from 5 to 7 pounds of feed is required, this including the feed given to the breeding ducks for the season, to produce a pound of market duck.