_Feeding the Breeders._ Breeding ducks are fed twice a day, in the
morning and at night. It is usual practice to feed the breeders last in
the morning and first at night. The reason for feeding them last in the
morning is that they are usually fed in the yards rather than the house
and they should be kept in until they are through laying which will be
after daylight. A good breeding ration consists of the following, the
proportions being given by measure in bushels.
1 bushel bran.
1 bushel low-grade flour.
1 bushel corn meal.
1 bushel green feed.
1/2 bushel either raw or cooked vegetables.
1 bushel in 10 of beef scrap.
1/2 bushel in 10 of cooked fish.
This ration will keep the breeding ducks in good flesh but there will be
no difficulty in their getting too fat. It is also a good laying ration
and will promote good egg production. The vegetables used in this ration
usually consist of sugar beets, cow beets, potatoes, etc. However, if
potatoes are used the amount of flour in the ration should be reduced a
little so as not to make the ration too heavy. Beets, when used, are fed
raw cut up and mixed in the feed. Small potatoes, boiled and mixed in
the feed are more valuable as they have a greater food value than beets.
Some duck growers feed fish entirely, using no beef scrap. This is done
where a plentiful supply of fish can be secured by going out into the
bay after them. However, this is not very good practice for a sufficient
supply of fish may not always be available and the ducks are so fond of
the fish that they will not eat well the beef scrap used as a substitute
for the fish, until they have become used to it. Fish is prepared for
feeding by boiling it thoroughly in a feed cooker.
The available land on the plant is used to grow a supply of green feed.
Rye is used for this purpose early in the spring as soon as it is high
enough to mow. It is mowed the first time when it is like a lawn. At
this stage it does not have to be cut up. Oats are used in the same way.
During the summer fodder corn is used. This is the poorest crop for the
purpose but is as a rule the only one available at that time. Rape is
sowed in August and its use begun about the time of the first frost and
kept up until the hard freezes come or until it is buried under the
snow. Creek grass which is secured from the fresh water streams on Long
Island by going out in a flat bottom boat and raking it off the creek
bottom with a wooden rake, is very much relished by the ducks and is
used whenever it is available. However, the supply of this material is
not as plentiful as it was formerly and it is rather hard to get. When
it is available it can be used either in winter or summer.
Public-domain text, read in full here on John Shaqi.
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