Page:Ducks- and how to make them pay (IA cu31924003102971).pdf/77

Rh orange legs. Pekins should have bright yellow beaks, and their appearance is altogether different from Aylesburies. They are a much shorter duck, and stand up very erect; more the shape of a goose. Their breast and head are Their plumage is of a yellow straight up, and also their tail. cast, as is also their flesh, while the Aylesburies are quite straight in the back, and they also carry their tails straight out. The breast, which usually goes by the name of "keel," should almost touch the ground in a good-bred Aylesbury the second year. When a good Aylesbury and good Pekin are put together side by side, there is no comparison between them, as will be seen in the drawing in this little work. Young Aylesbury ducklings are quick growers, fatten easily, and give but little trouble. To any one who thought of going in for a pen of pure ducks, either for their eggs or to produce table birds, Aylesburies are the ducks for them. They vary in their laying qualities. I have known them not to lay more than 50 eggs in the twelve months, and I have had them lay 150 eggs in that time. Of course it is an exception for them to lay that number, but they will do so occasionally. Some people like having ducks' eggs for breakfast in preference to hens' eggs. In the first place they are much larger, and some people think they are far more nutritious. A pastrycook would prefer three ducks' eggs to five hens' eggs. A duck's egg seldom weighs less than two ounces and a half, and they will often turn the scale at three ounces. I consider a pen of good laying ducks are quite as profitable to keep as a pen of good laying hens; in fact, they can be kept where hens