THE CAGE
One very important point which I have omitted to mention is the necessity to kill down all rats, hedge-hogs, moles, and weasels in the vicinity of your breeding places. Rats are the ducks' worst enemies, and I have known one old doe rat which had no less than sixteen wild ducks' eggs in her larder when she was dug out and killed. All these eggs had a small hole in them, and were of course spoilt. We proved conclusively that she had no partner in her crimes, as we never lost another egg after her death. Rats are a perfect curse to young ducks, and they will carry them off even when they are half-grown, occasionally killing two or three ducklings in a single night without even taking the trouble to remove them. On another occasion I remember a rat killing a duck whilst sitting on her nest; the unfortunate bird had allowed herself to be killed apparently without moving.
Moles do a good deal of damage by burrowing under the nests, thus forming a cavity into which the eggs fall; they are then carried off by the mole. More than this, many a duck is either put off laying or induced to desert her nest when sitting owing to the restless movements of this little pest.
A last word as regards the numbers you should retain as a breeding stock. This largely depends on the size of the piece of water you own and the amount of food it can supply to your birds. If your stock is too large, your birds will do a lot of harm to the meadows adjoining the water, and you must bear in mind that the possession of the goodwill of the farmers round is the second secret of success. Ensure this, and you don't get eggs stolen, and, better still, you are informed of the whereabouts of any truant ducks that may be nesting away from home.
A present of a couple of fat wild ducks will cover a multitude of their sins.
LAYING AND SITTING