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_ PART I. DUCKS
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 1/4 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.
It is advisable to partition off the first third of the house, that is, the portion in which the heater is located, with a solid partition. Then by having suitable valves in the pipes, the heat can be cut off from the rest of the house and only the smaller partitioned off end used as a separate and independent section of the brooder. This is especially useful when only a small number of ducklings are being hatched early in the spring when the weather is cold and it may be difficult to heat the whole building properly. It is also economical in fuel under such conditions.
If, on the other hand, the number of ducklings hatched during the cold weather is so large that all or nearly all of the house capacity is needed to care for them, it will usually pay to install an additional heater, the pipes from which can be run along the rear wall of the building, in order to keep up a proper house temperature when the weather is severe.
Pens. Having the hovers in the center of the house, makes it possible to have double sets of pens, one running from the center to the front wall and the other from the center to the rear wall. The pens are divided off by means of partitions made of one foot boards. These are high enough to confine the ducklings to their own pen and at the same time are easy to step over. In a house of this width, 20 feet, with 4 feet in the center taken up by the double hovers or walk, each pen is 8 feet long in the clear or 10 feet to the partition under the hover. The pens in the first third of the house are made 5 feet wide, in the next third 6 feet and in the last third 7 feet wide. When the ducklings are first brought from the incubator cellar they are placed in the pens nearest the heater as the temperature will run somewhat higher there than in the portions of the house more remote from the heater. These 5 x 10 foot pens will accommodate 125 baby ducklings although better results will be obtained by placing only 100 in a pen if sufficient room is available. Some duck growers use boards which can be slipped into slots made of cleats nailed to the pen partitions at different distances from the hover and which serve to confine the baby ducklings close to the hover for the first few days or until they learn to go under the hover to get warm.
As additional ducklings are hatched later and brought to the brooder house, the ducklings already there are moved along the necessary number of pens in order to accommodate the new-comers in the pens nearest the heater. For this purpose, a small door is made in each partition next the outside wall of the house through which the ducklings can be driven. A broom is a handy implement to use in driving the ducklings as they can be pushed along in front of it. It is best to drive the ducklings just after they have been fed as they are not so nervous and afraid at that time.
The increased width of the pens in the second and third portions of the house is for the purpose of taking care of the growth of the ducklings as they are moved along the house. Pens of the same width as those in which they were started become too crowded as the ducklings increase in size.
Equipment of the Pen. The equipment of the pens is quite simple. Water is piped through the house along both walls so that it is available to each pen. A spigot is provided in each pen and under this is placed the drinking dish, which consists of a round metal pan about a foot in diameter and 3 or 4 inches deep. A square pan should never be used as the ducklings are apt to get their bills caught in the corners. One quarter inch mesh wire netting is bent in a circle and placed in the drinking dish as a guard to keep the ducklings from getting into the pan. This guard should be made of such size that there is a space between the wire and the edge of the dish of about 1-1/2 inches all around. This guard should be about 8 inches high. The water pan itself is set upon a wire covered frame about 18 inches square under which is dug a pit 4 or 5 inches deep to drain away any water which the ducklings slop out of the pan. Such an arrangement keeps the pens from becoming sloppy and damp.
Each pen must also have a flat metal dish on which to place the feed for the little ducks. Metal pans are better than wooden feeding trays as they are easier to keep clean.
In each pen is provided a small hopper filled with fine sharp creek sand to which the ducklings have access at all times. Some duck growers prefer to mix the sand in the feed rather than to provide it in hoppers. After the ducklings are allowed to run in the yards, sand need not be furnished if the yards are sand as the ducklings will help themselves. If the land in the yards is not sand, however, it is necessary to continue to furnish this material.
Grading and Sorting the Ducklings. As the ducklings are moved from pen to pen through this house as well as the other houses, they are constantly graded for size and thriftiness, the smaller, less thrifty individuals being left with younger lots. Some ducklings do not grow as quickly as others, and these if left with ducklings larger than themselves will not get their share of the feed and will not do as well. In this connection it should be noted that when young ducks are not fairly clean it is a good indication that they are not doing as well as they should.
Cleaning and Bedding the Pens. Careful attention must be given to keeping the pens and the ducklings themselves clean if they are to do well. Therefore the pens must be cleaned out as often as may be necessary to accomplish this purpose. The judgment of the brooder man must decide how often this is necessary but it will be at least once a week. When cleaning the pens the old bedding is thrown out from the front pens through the windows and from the back pens through the door provided in the rear wall for this purpose. Bedding the pens must be done more frequently, usually about every other day. Fresh bedding will help to absorb the droppings and will keep the pens from becoming sloppy or sticky. For bedding, straw, meadow hay, swale hay or any other suitable material available should be utilized.
Ventilation. Plenty of ventilation is required in the brooder house in order to take out the ammonia odor which arises from the droppings. Properly managed, the doors and windows provide sufficient means of ventilation but some duck growers prefer to have roof ventilators in addition.
Other Types of Brooder Houses. Many other types of brooder houses are used, some of them being shed roof construction and many of them being built narrower than this house, that is to say, 14, 16 or 18 feet wide with an alleyway along the front or rear side of the house from which the work is done. The hovers are placed at the back of the pens when the alley-way is in the front, otherwise, they are placed next to the alley-way. The disadvantages of these houses are that only single pens are provided and that valuable brooding space is used up by the alley-way. The advantages of the house described above lie in the fact that the hovers are in the center of the house with the pens on each side of this, thus doubling the capacity, and that by making use of a walk over the hover pipe no room is wasted in an alley-way. Having pens on each side also lessens the labor of taking care of the ducklings to some extent as the arrangement is more compact.
Length of Time in Brooder
In House No. 1. As a rule the ducklings are kept in the No. 1 house until they are from 2 to 3 weeks old, this of course depending somewhat upon the time of year and the weather and also upon the number of ducklings for which accommodations must be provided at any particular time. As the ducks are moved down through the house and eventually reach the last pens they are taken from this house and placed in brooder house No. 2.
Brooder House No. 2. This is a heated house like brooder house No. 1 but in which it is not necessary to maintain so high a temperature. Sufficient heating apparatus should be installed to make it possible to maintain the temperature at 60 degrees if this becomes necessary in the early spring.
The particular brooder house described is 14 feet wide and has a shed roof. It is provided with a window in the front of each pen. No openings are required along the back since this is not a double pen house. The space in such a house could undoubtedly be used to better advantage if it were constructed as wide as the No. 1 house and the hot water pipes and walk put through the middle of the house so as to provide double pens. In this house the hot water pipes are run along the rear of the pens, and while hovers are not really necessary, a walk is constructed over the pipes in order to save space and provide a convenient place from which to do the work, and this forms hovers.
Ordinarily after May 1 no heat is needed in the No. 2 house. The pens in this house are 12 feet wide and they are equipped with feeding and watering arrangements as in brooder house No. 1. As the ducklings are moved to this house from the No. 1 house from 150 to 200 are placed in each pen. They are moved through the house from pen to pen in the same manner as in the No. 1 house to make way for new arrivals. As a rule they stay in this house about two weeks depending somewhat on the weather and upon the number of ducklings being brooded. Yards are used in connection with this house which are the same width as the pens and 50 feet in length. As in the No. 1 house the pens in this house should be cleaned at least once a week and they should be bedded with straw or other bedding material every other day. As soon as the ducks have been moved through this No. 2 house they are put in brooder house No. 3.
Brooder House No. 3
This is a shed roof house 16 feet wide equipped with single pens. No heat is required in this house. Yards of the same width as the pens and 50 feet deep are used. Usually the ducks are fed outside the house from a wagon driven along a roadway just in front of the yards.
The pens are 16 feet wide and the same number of ducks is used in them as in the No. 2 house. As a rule the ducks stay in this house about 2 weeks and are then moved to the duck pens or shelters with the larger yards which may or may not have water. From this point on the ducks are termed yard ducks.
In all three of the brooder houses the young ducks are supplied with their drinking water from pipes through the houses. They are not given access to water until they are moved to the yards.
Yard Accommodations for Ducklings
As the ducklings get to be 8 weeks old they can stand ordinary weather conditions and it is not absolutely necessary to have houses for them. However, it is common and good practice to provide shelter where they can be housed at night and can take refuge from storms. A suitable house for this purpose consists of a building 16 x 24 feet divided into two parts with 200 ducklings to a side. This house is 5 feet high in front and 3-1/2 feet in back. It is set on posts with a baseboard around it to make it tight. It can be constructed of matched stuff or unmatched stuff covered with paper. The front is left open but curtains are placed on the front which can be used to close the openings so as to keep out the snow. These are used only in the winter. When the ducklings are first started in these sheds they are shut in when desired by means of wire panels fitted into the lower part of the open front. The ducklings are left in these yards and fed there until they are ready for market.
Shade. Shade is important for the ducklings as soon as the sun gets hot. Exposure to the sun without shade will cause quite a heavy loss in ducklings. If natural shade is not furnished by trees, some artificial means must be adopted to supply the shade. This may take the form of shelters or low frames covered with boards, brush or burlap.
Feeding. The first feed and water is given as soon as the ducks are placed in the No. 1 brooder house or when 24 to 36 hours old. They are fed 3 times a day, in the morning about 6 a. m., at noon, and at night about 4:30 or 5 o'clock. The time of feeding should be regular, and fairly early in the morning but not any earlier in the afternoon than one can help so that the time between the evening and the morning feed will not be too long. Some growers prefer to feed 4 or 5 times daily for the first week or two. The birds are fed as much as they will clean up at each feeding and if any feed is left it should be gathered up so that it will not sour and cause digestive troubles.
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 -1/2 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 Wt
August 14 4-3/4 lbs. 0.176 4-3/4 lbs. 0.176
August 21 10 " 0.37 9-1/2 " 0.352
August 28 16-1/2 " 0.687 17-1/2 " 0.729
September 5 25 " 1.041 27 " 1.125
September 13 44-1/2 " 1.854 48-1/2 " 2.02
September 19 50 " 2.083 56-1/2 " 2.354
September 27 64 " 2.666 67 " 2.62
October 4 78-1/2 " 3.27 82-1/2 " 3.437
October 11 99-1/2 " 4.145 103-1/2 " 4.312
October 18 115-1/2 " 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 x 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.
Water for Young Ducks. Drinking water is provided to the ducklings while in the brooder houses by means of a piped supply. The drinking pans are filled at each feeding time but at no other time. Water is not left before them continuously while they are in the brooder houses as they would be working in it all the time and this would keep them dirty and make the house sloppy. After they are put out on the yards they may or may not be provided with water in which they can swim. Most duck growers on Long Island allow them to have access to water. While it is undoubtedly true that swimming in the water induces them to take more exercise and thus tends to reduce somewhat the rapidity of fattening, at the same time it lessens the labor very materially as they do not need to be provided with a supply of drinking water other than the water in which they swim. Ducklings can be grown very successfully with only a limited amount of water, that is, only enough to drink and in which to wash themselves.
Age and Weight When Ready for Market. Ducklings are usually marketed when they are 10 to 12 weeks old. A partial moult on the neck and breast occurs about this time giving them a somewhat rough look. This indicates that they are in proper condition to kill. If killing is not done within a week after this moult starts they will begin to lose flesh and it will be some time before they will fatten again. Ducks when ready to ship will average from 5 to 6 pounds. A majority will weigh nearer 5 than 6 pounds. A pen of fattened ducks is driven up to the killing house and into a pen where each one is caught up and examined to see if it is in good condition. If the duck has a good smooth breast so that the breastbone is not felt when handled and is well fleshed on the back it is ready to kill. If it is not in this condition it is thrown out and these thin ducks are returned to the yards for further fattening or are utilized for shipping alive. Thin ducks are generally used for live shipments as they will not shrink as much as well fattened ducks.
Cripples. There will always be found in the flocks more or less crippled ducks and those with crooked backs, twisted wings, etc. As a rule ducks with twisted wings fatten well and are in good condition and can be killed about as soon as any of the others. The crippled ducks are sorted out into a lot by themselves where they are held until they can be put into condition to market. It is doubtful whether it pays the duck growers to bother with these ducks since they are rather difficult to condition and it would probably pay better to kill them. However, it is quite common practice to carry them until they can be marketed.
Cleaning the Yards. The yards must be cleaned whenever they need it. It is a matter of judgment to decide when this is necessary but they must be cleaned whenever they get sticky or sloppy. The weather will have a considerable influence upon the frequency of cleaning which may be necessary once in two weeks, or in the yards of brooder houses Nos. 2 and 3 may run as often as once a week. In dry weather the yards are cleaned by sweeping up the droppings and carting them away. In wet weather the ducks in running about over the yard pack down the droppings until they form a sort of putty-like layer which has to be scraped off with a hoe.
Critical Period with Young Ducks. The critical period with young ducks is the first week of their existence. With good management after they have passed this point not many are lost. The loss in young ducks from the time they are hatched until they are ready for market will range all the way from 5 to 30%. When the loss does not average more than 10% for the season this is considered good. Undoubtedly many duck raisers lose a greater percent than 10.
Disease Prevention
Trouble from disease in young ducks is not severe although there is a greater loss from this source than in the case of mature ducks. The aim of the grower should be to use such methods of management and feeding as will keep the ducklings in good health and reduce the losses to a minimum. To accomplish this care must be taken to see that the brooding temperatures are correct, that the feed used contains what the ducklings need, that they are not overfed and that the house and yards are clean and dry and the feed and water dishes are clean. Remember that green feed and animal feed are essential ingredients in the ration.
Gapes or Pneumonia. One of the principal troubles is a disease which is called "pneumonia" by some duck raisers and by others "gapes". It is not the same disease which is called gapes in chickens. In fact, it is a form of cold which approaches pneumonia. The little ducks stretch their necks up and breathe hard and usually die within a comparatively short time. This disease may affect either the baby ducks or ducks which are old enough to kill. All that can be done is to make sure that the housing and brooding conditions are such as to correct the trouble which causes the colds.
Fits. In addition, the little ducks for the first 3 or 4 days may be more or less subject to a disease which is called "fits" by some duck growers. With this disease they simply keel over and soon die. It is probably a digestive difficulty of some sort. The feeding of plenty of green stuff or the turning of the ducks out on grass will usually stop this trouble.
Diarrhoea. This is a fairly common trouble. It may be due to improper feeding, or to too high or low temperature in the brooder. The obvious treatment is to remedy the cause or causes of the trouble.
Lameness. Not infrequently growers, particularly beginners, experience difficulty from a fairly large proportion of their ducklings becoming lame. This may grow worse until a considerable number of the birds will die. This trouble may be due to a lack of animal matter and mineral matter in the ration or may be due to digestive troubles caused by poor rations, by over feeding, by failing to gather up feed not eaten by the ducklings and leaving it to sour, or by lack of cleanliness of the feed and water dishes. Where the pens are allowed to become damp and sloppy this may also cause some lameness.
Sore Eyes. Occasionally duck growers complain that their ducklings suffer from sore eyes. This may be due to a cold causing a discharge from the eyes or may be due to the use of too sloppy feed which adheres to the eyes and causes an irritation. Affected birds should be placed in a separate pen from the others and the eyes should be bathed with an antiseptic solution.
Feather Eating or "Quilling". This is a bad habit which is apt to cause more or less trouble when the ducklings are about two-thirds grown. It is much more likely to occur when the birds are kept in cramped quarters. It is usually started by one or a few individuals but when the feathers are injured so that they begin to bleed, which they will very quickly do, the vice will spread among the whole flock and serious damage will occur. It is therefore necessary to be on the lookout for this trouble, and as soon as detected, the birds responsible should be removed. If the culprits are placed with older birds which are already feathered, they will not trouble by trying to eat the feathers. It is the blood in the growing feathers which attracts them. If the habit has become general, it is more difficult to check. About the best thing that can be done, is to turn them out in a roomy yard, one with a growing green crop, if available, where they will be so busy as to stop the feather eating of their own accord.
Rats.--Rats are very destructive if they get into the brooder house. A single rat has been known to kill and drag off as many as 200 ducklings in one night. If a rat gets into the brooder house it is therefore of the utmost importance that it be hunted down and killed without delay. Otherwise serious losses will result.
Cooperative Feed Association
A very large proportion of the feed used on a duck plant is that which is fed to the market ducks. By purchasing feed in considerable quantities the duck grower is able to cut down the cost to some extent. A number of the duck raisers on Long Island have developed this idea further by forming a cooperative feed organization. Stock in this concern is held both by the duck growers and by outsiders but is controlled by the duck growers. The feed association maintains a feed warehouse, purchases feeds in quantity and does business both with the duck growers and with other persons in the market for feed. The existence of a cooperative feed purchasing association of this sort not only cuts down to some extent the cost of feed but likewise makes it possible for the duck growers to have greater assurance of securing the supply which is so necessary to them during the growing season. _
Read next: Part 1. Ducks: Chapter 7. Commercial Duck Farming--Marketing
Read previous: Part 1. Ducks: Chapter 5. Commercial Duck Farming--Incubation
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