Читать книгу Natural and Artificial Duck Culture - James Rankin - Страница 16

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One-half or ten feet of the twenty-foot pens should be utilized for feeding purposes. The lower board of this slat partition should not be more than three inches wide and should rest upon the ground so the birds can readily feed over it. As this ten-foot partition is but two feet high, the attendant can readily step over it to pick up a stray egg occasionally. Six feet of this partition should be portable and secured with a groove or button so it can be easily removed to allow the entrance of a barrow in cleaning out the pens; this should be done when the birds are out, never when they are in.

The remaining ten feet of the pen should be used for nest boxes, which can be fifteen inches square and one foot high. A board four inches wide may be fastened in front to prevent the nest material from being drawn out. This latter may be composed of finely cut hay or chaff. This must be perfectly dry, as the duck while laying will work it all over and cover her eggs carefully, which as they are pure white, become easily soiled and stained; this will necessitate washing unless things are kept dry and clean. This is a vital point with us, as it never did seem as if a filthy egg would hatch as well as a clean one. I abominate a machine filled with filthy eggs; it actually hurts my feelings to handle them. These nests should be covered closely and the partition above them be correspondingly high, as the birds will often mount upon the boxes. The back of the nest boxes next the walk should be closed with a board hinged below so that the attendant can let it down readily and secure the eggs from the walk.