Wild Ducks Part 2

Wind and rain must be kept out and the sun admitted. The latter will bring on young birds quicker than anything. During very bad weather coops may have to be shifted two or three times a day if the wind keeps changing.

A matter of considerable importance is the nature of the soil on which the ducks are to be reared. Let it be light and well drained, and the ground undulating, so that it may be always possible to shelter the young birds from a harsh wind. A high bank, such as that alluded to in Chapter I., is often of the greatest a.s.sistance in sheltering them, particularly when they get a little older.

The ducklings must be put on some gra.s.s, as otherwise the hens will scratch for food, and generally damage one or two of their brood. The young hopefuls require scarcely anything to eat or drink for the first twenty-four hours, and do little else but brood underneath the hen, though little patches of brown and yellow with a bright eye here and there form a fascinating picture for any pa.s.ser-by.

The first food given should be a little fine wild duck meal, scalded in the usual way, and put on a _shallow_ plate outside the coop, and inside the small wire run attached to the coop. To start with, a little food may be scattered over the gra.s.s inside the coops to attract the little birds to their meal; they should, however, be taught to feed as soon as possible outside for the sake of cleanliness.

It is most important at this early stage that the food be not of too sloppy a nature, otherwise the birds soon get in a terrible state, and absolutely coated with their food. This always leads to their heads, eyes, and often their backs becoming sticky, and in the end spells a big death roll. Very little water, and that pond water, should be given during the early stages; the colder the weather the less they ought to have to drink, and it is often a good plan to take the chill off what little is given them. Don't forget to give the hens food and water twice a day.

A busy time is now before the keeper, or whoever is responsible for the feeding.

The earliest meal should be given at about 4 A.M. or as soon as it is light, and then regularly throughout the day, every four hours.

Be careful to feed more frequently during inclement weather, and move the coops prior to feeding.

The ducklings are now fairly started on their journey, and before following them I propose to describe the method to be adopted in the case of ducks sitting on their own eggs. Visit the sitting birds pretty regularly, so that they lose their shyness on seeing you, and when the birds have been sitting twenty-five days, go in the early morning and late in the evening to satisfy yourself that the eggs have not hatched.

An experienced eye can generally tell, by the unusually elevated appearance of the duck on her nest, when she has hatched, and sometimes by creeping quietly forward the little birds may be heard chirping, though they instantly cease on receiving a warning from their mother.

Should you have doubt as to the hatching having taken place, a blunted stick put under her breast will generally reveal the state of affairs, and if she knows you the old bird will not mind this.

Directly it is ascertained that the brood is dry enough, the old bird should be caught and the little ones put in a warm basket, and the lot transferred to a coop and run, after which they are treated in exactly the same manner as those under a hen.

I do not, however, think it wise to give the duck as many young ones to look after as are given to the hen; very often, however, there is no option in the matter.

Ducks are very cunning at hatching time, and unless the keeper is quick and observant, will frequently give him the slip, and get off with their brood to the water, where more than half of them will probably fall a prey to rats and pike.

I remember on one occasion being unable until late afternoon to go and look at a nest which was due to hatch in the morning. I found fourteen empty sh.e.l.ls and the family gone. It was a very cold day, and after a prolonged search the party were found snugly ensconced under a willow tree. They were speedily captured and brought home.

The young ducks are now three or four days old, and have got into the way of running out of the coop and into the run for their food and water. They have overcome their early shyness, and on the appearance of the keeper speedily show themselves. A little fine crissel and flint grit can now with advantage be added to the meal, and some sand, which acts as a digestive, placed in the water and on the gra.s.s. Never give them more than they can eat. Nothing is worse than stale food left about; it leads to diarrhoea, &c., and gives the youngsters a distaste for their food. The food can be placed in long shallow troughs or on the gra.s.s in one long line. I prefer the former plan, as less is left about to become stale and sour. Care should be taken to see that the troughs are thoroughly washed after each meal.

When about ten days old the ducklings require more room to roam about in, and unless you give it them they will begin to go back.

[Ill.u.s.tration: A SMALL RUN]

Place five or six coops, hens inside, in a line, and about a foot apart, and wire in a piece of ground about ten yards square round the coops; it is better to give them too much room than too little. It will generally be necessary to move on to fresh ground every four or five days during this stage, but much depends of course on the state of the weather. It is a good plan to leave the small wire runs inside the larger runs, as they give a certain amount of shelter in bad weather. It is delightful to see the little chaps appreciating their new liberty and dashing about in all directions in chase of flies, &c. Nothing seems to hurt them at this time, and I once remember seeing three of my young ducks devour a bee apiece after first crippling it. I have noticed a bird swallow a bee alive, and have also seen one stung, but no ill effects resulted.

It is a good plan now to give the birds a little boiled rabbit, chopped up fine; it makes a change from the crissel, and ducklings must have some animal food as a subst.i.tute for the slugs, worms, and many etceteras that they pick up in their natural state. The chopped rabbit should be mixed with the meal.

One word of advice before going farther. Previous to placing a number of coops containing the old ducks close together, ascertain carefully whether there are any vicious ones amongst them--some are very savage, and will immediately peck to death any unwary little one which enters a coop not its proper home. It is best in these cases to isolate the old bird and her brood altogether, if you have plenty of room, or, failing that, to place her by herself in one corner of the run.

If bad weather comes on, a pinch of "Cardiac" (a kind of tonic sold by Messrs. Spratt) may be added to the food, but I only advocate its use occasionally. The chief point I am anxious to impress on my readers is, don't let your birds get cold and wet; if you do, ground is lost which can never be recovered. A capital plan is to cover some portion of the run with sacking or a waterproof sheet to form a shelter against excessive heat or a sudden hail-storm. The most delicate time, in my opinion, is just when they are getting their shoulder feathers, and if you get them safely through this period the worst is over.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WARE WIRE!]

When they are about a fortnight old begin to give them some wheat in their drinking water; that known to farmers as "seconds" is best. I am a strong advocate of steeping the wheat before feeding, as I think it renders it more digestible, though this is not so necessary if one uses "seconds." The ducks having got to eat wheat nicely, introduce a little barley, and by the time they are seven weeks old you can afford to do without meal entirely, and it will be time to take the birds down to the water which is to be their home. The greatest obstacle to success in rearing during the early stages of a young wild duck's life is the extraordinary knack they have of getting their heads and backs dirty.

This is a most serious matter, and causes great mortality unless attended to. It is generally caused by the food adhering to their heads and cheeks; being of a sticky nature, it will often, if neglected, cause inflammation to the eyes and eventually blindness. If once their heads get dirty, their backs soon follow suit, as the act of "preening" soon transfers the dirt from the head to the back.

This curse to young ducks is most prevalent in wet weather, and it is therefore most necessary to constantly change the ground so as to keep the birds as clean as possible; if once the old bird gets dirty, it is good-bye to the general good health of her brood.

The only remedy, if matters become serious, is to get some tepid water and soap, and carefully wash the affected places with a soft sponge, taking care to free the down or feathers which have adhered to the skin.

A hot sunny day is the best for the purpose, as the young birds then have every chance of getting dry. If the old bird is dirty, try to allow her a good wash in a tub or small tank; she must, however, be watched, otherwise she may leave her young ones in the lurch. If your ducks are pinioned it is easy to manage this bath, and to prevent the birds straying afterwards from their young. When the ducklings are seven weeks old choose a nice warm day, and take them down to the water: I say a warm day, as owing to their delight at getting to their natural element, they are very liable to overdo their bathing at first, and, should the day be cold, the casualty list will be a big one next morning.

[Ill.u.s.tration: WIRED IN ON THE WATER]

At this time it is best to wire off a piece of land and water, making the whole into one large run, and taking care that there is some shelter on land for the young birds. It is a good plan to bring down the old birds, coops and all, to their temporary home, keeping the mothers shut up in the coops for the present. Their presence gives confidence to the ducklings, and their sharp warning "quacks" tell them when danger is about, and also emphasise the fact that there do exist such things as gulls, carrion crows, cats, dogs, &c., and that in future the young hopefuls must look out for themselves. Willow trees planted at the water's edge and kept about five to six feet high form admirable protection from bad weather and winged vermin, and also give welcome shelter from the heat of the sun, whilst they undoubtedly add to the amount of insect life in the run.

If you wish to study economy in feeding, an excellent plan is to mix barley meal with your duck meal; commence in the proportion of four parts duck meal to one of barley meal, and increase the proportion of the latter until the mixture is half and half. Too much barley meal is, I feel sure, a bad thing, and causes indigestion, and if expense is no object it is best to stick to the wild duck meal until the ducks are weaned to corn; if, however, you do decide to feed on barley meal, it is a good plan to mix a little bran with it, in the proportion of one part bran to four of barley meal.

You should get the ducks on to corn as soon as possible, and teach them to eat it in shallow water; they don't eat it so fast if this plan is adopted, are less liable to get indigestion, and in searching for the food are constantly drinking water at the same time as the food, as well as a certain amount of grit, sand, &c. Ducks must have water with their food, and the sooner they are trained to take corn and water together, the better will their meals be digested; moreover, if fed in this way birds certainly require less, and there is consequently a gratifying reduction in the grain bill at the end of the year.

To return to the run at the water's edge, let it be a.s.sumed that the birds have been ten days to a fortnight in their new home, have become thoroughly accustomed to it, and naturally look upon it as the place where food is to be obtained at stated times.

It is now time to enlarge them altogether, but before doing so liberate a few of the least vicious of the old ducks. These birds very soon take charge of a certain number of young ones, and directly the wire is pulled up will teach them where to look for food. It is a very pretty sight to see an old bird swimming at the head of twenty or thirty young ducklings, who form a compact ma.s.s behind her, and always accompany her in foraging expeditions. She it is who warns them that it is nearly feeding time; it is her eye which has detected a well-known figure hovering overhead, and her voice which warns them to make for the nearest shelter.

By this time I am sure that my readers will be getting impatient because I have said so little as to the cost of food. A golden rule is to give your ducklings all they will eat during the first seven or eight weeks, and after that make them hunt for their natural food, giving them just sufficient to keep them fairly fat and prevent them from straying. It is quite possible to get them fat enough for the larder by increasing the supply of maize during the last fortnight or so before your shoot takes place.

I am of opinion that, provided a man feeds and looks after his ducks himself, is in possession of a supply of coops and runs, and is fortunate enough to have a suitable piece of water of his own, as well as a bit of ground to rear them on, that he can make his accounts balance at the end of the year. In other words, he will be able to give his friends some very enjoyable shooting, and supply himself with a hobby of which he will never be tired, at no expense to himself. In support of my statement I propose to give a few figures. The breeding stock has of course to be purchased, and for the sake of simplicity let us put it at twenty ducks and fifteen drakes, making an initial cost of about 7. In an experience of some years, however, I have found that my stock at the end of the season numbers practically the same as at the commencement, and I found it always possible to fill up any casualties by catching and pinioning wild birds which join my own. On these grounds I consider that my stock at the end of the season is of the same value as at the beginning, and that one side of my account balances the other.

The stock fed on maize will cost about 12s. 6d. a month, and, supposing that the first birds are hatched out about the middle of April, and practically all, except a very few retained for breeding purposes and some immature birds, are killed the first week in September, this calculation brings the price of feeding the breeding stock for seven and a half months to 4, 13s. 9d.

Now for the food of the young birds. I a.s.sume that from the above-mentioned stock about 250 ducklings will be reared, and, taking an average of several years, their food from the date of hatching (mid April) to early September works out roughly at 16. This includes wild duck meal, wheat, barley, and barley meal, a little maize, and the many etceteras, such as crissel, grit, and cardiac.

To this should be added a little extra for the feeding of the immature birds, which are not quite ready for killing. Put this at 15s.

In addition there is still the expense of sitting hens: if twenty hens are purchased at 3s. each and afterwards sold at 2s., this item will work out as an expenditure of 1. They have of course to be fed, but their food--maize is the best--has been taken from the food purchased for the ducks, so that no further amount has to be charged under this heading.

The debit side of the account will now work out as follows:--

Food for ducklings 16 0 0 Food for old birds 4 13 9 Extra food alluded to above 0 15 0 Expenses for sitting hens 1 0 0 --------- 22 8 9

As against these figures there are 250 young ducks for sale: deduct from this number fifteen for casualties of various kinds, such as dead birds unpicked at the shoot, odd birds that may stray and be killed, &c., and this gives 235. If the birds are properly fed a game-dealer will be glad to give 2s. each for them, especially if the shoot is timed to fit some popular function, such as Doncaster Races; so that the credit side of the account shows a sum of 23, 10s. for the sale of 235 birds, giving a small surplus of rather over 1, which can be used to meet incidental expenses, such as purchase of wire, &c. Each young bird will cost about 1s. 3-1/2d. to rear, and will sell for 2s., leaving 8-1/2d. a bird profit with which to meet the other expenses. Many of my readers may think the margin of fifteen birds set apart as casualties far too small, but I can a.s.sure them that, so far with me, it has never reached that number, and need not do so provided the birds are kept at home by proper feeding, and the right people propitiated.

Naturally one does not sell all one's ducks, or anything like it. Some are given to the friends who come to the shoot, and many are given to the farmers round, but in considering accounts, I think I am justified in including the value of birds given away as one of the a.s.sets. In any case I have made an honest attempt to help those who wish to look before they leap. Ducks are very fond of maize; it certainly brings them on quicker than anything else, and I have had young drakes of the year in full plumage on August 1, when maize has been the only corn used. It is, however, too fattening, I think, and a bit apt to make the birds lazy. I do not believe that birds fed solely on maize fly so well or are as good for the table as those whose diet is composed of a mixture of wheat, barley, and maize. The birds must be encouraged to seek their natural food, as only by this means will the wild duck's flavour be retained.

The birds must be fed at regular hours, as this is the only guarantee that they will be at home when wanted.

I hope that in this chapter I have succeeded in showing how wild ducks can be fed in the best and also most economical manner, and I shall endeavour in the concluding one to give my readers some hints as to how the birds can be made to show reasonably good sport.

SHOOTING

[Ill.u.s.tration: _W.L. Colls, Ph. Sc._

"_Quite tall enough._"]