_Proper Age to Market._ It is important that the ducklings be marketed as soon as they have reached the proper age and stage of development. When the ducklings are about 10 to 12 weeks old they begin to shed their first growth of feathers. This is apparent first on the neck and breast, giving them somewhat of a rough appearance. The ducklings must be marketed within one week after they begin this moult. If they are allowed to go longer than this they will begin to get thin and as it will take them 6 weeks or more to grow a new crop of feathers it will be a considerable period before they get back in market condition again and any additional weight which they may attain will not be sufficient to pay for the feed eaten during this period. _Weights at the Time of Marketing._ Well grown ducklings should average in weight from 5 to 6 pounds at 10 to 12 weeks of age when they are ready to be marketed. A majority of the ducks will weigh closer to 5 pounds than they will to 6. The vast majority of ducklings are marketed at this age as it does not pay to keep them past the time they reach prime market condition. On commercial duck farms practically the only ducks which are marketed at an older age than this are the breeders which are turned off at the end of the laying season and the ducklings which by reason of their being crippled or less thrifty are not in suitable market condition at this time and are held longer until they are in good condition. The ducklings are marketed from early spring until late fall. The time at which ducklings are first available for market in any quantity depends upon the earliness with which the breeders begin to lay and the end of the season depends upon how late the breeders continue to lay at a profitable rate. _The Last Feed for Market Ducks._ It is important in order to have the dressed ducklings appear to the best advantage and also in order to insure their keeping qualities as much as possible that they should have no feed in their crops when they are killed. This means that if they are to be killed in the morning, which is the usual practice, they should be fed for the last time the previous night. If, however, they are not to be killed until afternoon they can be fed lightly in the morning. _Sorting Market Ducklings._ When a pen of ducklings which are being fattened are deemed ready to be killed they are driven up to the killing house and a few of them at a time driven into a small pen where it is easy to catch and examine them. Each duck as it is caught is examined to make sure that it is in proper market condition. The examination consists of feeling of the duck's body to see that it has a good smooth breast so that the breast bone cannot be readily felt. If it is in that condition it is ready to kill. Ducks which do not show this condition are thrown out and returned to the yards where they are fed for a longer period unless it is desired to ship them alive.