Page:Ducks- and how to make them pay (IA cu31924003102971).pdf/48

34 eggs on the bare ground and have every one hatch out without losing a single duckling. At the same time there is a possibility of their getting suffocated, so it is far better to have the nest properly made. I have known from two to five suffocated in the nest through having nothing loose at the bottom. Ducks in their wild state always provide something for the bottom of their nest. A fair-sized hen can cover 11 duck eggs, and a good large one 13. The eggs have a very clear shell, whether they are white or blue. This enables them to be tested at an early date to see whether they are fertile or not. An experienced hand can tell whether they are good or not at the second or third day, but those who have not had experience in testing them should leave them seven or eight days at least before they test them. It is simply a waste of time to allow a hen or duck to sit on the eggs for a month and not test them to see whether they are fertile or not, which many people do, because if they are not fertile they can be taken away at the seventh or eighth day without running any risk, and others can be put in their place. Should the owner not have a sitting of ducks' eggs ready, they can put hens' eggs under instead, especially where there are a large number of ducks' eggs set at one time, and every egg is dated, so that the eggs can be removed from one hen to another. For instance, suppose four hens are sitting at one time, and the eggs are all tested on the seventh or eighth day, all the unfertile ones should be removed and saved to boil up for the ducklings. Those which are fertile should be removed from under the hens till the latter have a full