Page:Ducks- and how to make them pay (IA cu31924003102971).pdf/46

32 the eggs should be properly set to ensure a good hatch. Now there are various modes of setting duck eggs. The majority of young ducklings are hatched under hens. Many years ago it was quite novel to see the hen bring up young ducklings, but that time has gone by. The hen used to be running round the pond in quite a way, seeing the ducklings swim, but as a rule they are taken away at once now. It is a waste of time entirely to allow her to run with the young ducklings. It is also a waste of time to let ducks sit on their own eggs, because any common hen will do just as well as a good bred-duck. Where one only has a few—say a drake and three ducks-and they lay their first batch of eggs and become broody, they should not be allowed to sit; if so, it is a great waste of time. If they are shut off from the nest for a few days they will soon recommence laying. Duck eggs, as a rule, are worth more than hens' eggs, unless the latter are very choice. The only time ducks should be set is after the middle of June, or in July; then they will shed their feathers while they are bringing the young ones up. In that case there is no loss of time, as they would have retired from laying eggs while they were shedding their feathers. There are many ducks' eggs hatched by incubators. Some breeders say that they do not hatch out well by this process, but my experience has been just the reverse. I always find that ducks' eggs hatch out better than hens' eggs in Hearson's incubators. I have tried them both together in the same drawer, and, as a rule find the ducklings hatch out quite as strong as they do under hens or ducks. Ducks' eggs require a great deal of moisture the last few