Page:Ducks- and how to make them pay (IA cu31924003102971).pdf/47

Rh days of incubation; if they do not have this the inner skin becomes very dry. The best way to moisten them is to dip them in warm water, and then put them straight back in the incubator or nest again. When a hen or duck sits on the damp ground the eggs do not require damping at all, as the warmth from the hen or duck gradually draws the moisture out of the ground or soil. When they are set in this way they usually hatch out well, and are but little trouble. It is well to make the nests with damp soil, beaten down hard, with a little fine hay at the bottom, rubbed up very short, as the shells of ducks' eggs are usually very thin; therefore the nests should be made so that the eggs do not bind together when the hen or duck goes in on them. If the nests are made fully large enough, with the short hay at the bottom, the eggs turn over so much easier, and do not crack so quickly. The hen or duck usually turns them over twice during the twenty-four hours, sometimes more. It is very essential therefore that the nest is made so that the eggs can roll easily. Some people set ducks' eggs on the solid ground, without anything at the bottom of the nest, but this is wrong. If there is nothing but the earth on the bottom of the nest, when the eggs chip and the beak of the duckling comes through the shell on to the hard ground, out of eleven eggs there may be two or three turn so that the beak is on the ground, and when this is the case the duckling will often get suffocated. But should there be a little hay, or something loose or porous at the bottom of the nest, they are able to breathe, and do not get suffocated at all. It is possible to set the