ngs are allowed to run in the yards, sand need not be
furnished if the yards are sand as the ducklings will help
themselves. If the land in the yards is not sand, however, it is
necessary to continue to furnish this material.
[Illustration: FIG. 24. Watering arrangement in the brooder pens for
young ducklings. (_Photograph from the Bureau of Animal Industry, U. S.
Department of Agriculture._)]
[Illustration: FIG. 25. Another type of No. 1 brooder house. Here the
hovers are along the back of the house and the work is done from an
alleyway along the front. The box with handles on top of the hover is
used in carrying the newly hatched ducklings from the incubator cellar
to the brooder house. (_Photograph from the Bureau of Animal Industry,
U. S. Department of Agriculture._)]
_Grading and Sorting the Ducklings._ As the ducklings are moved from pen
to pen through this house as well as the other houses, they are
constantly graded for size and thriftiness, the smaller, less thrifty
individuals being left with younger lots. Some ducklings do not grow as
quickly as others, and these if left with ducklings larger than
themselves will not get their share of the feed and will not do as well.
In this connection it should be noted that when young ducks are not
fairly clean it is a good indication that they are not doing as well as
they should.
_Cleaning and Bedding the Pens._ Careful attention must be given to
keeping the pens and the ducklings themselves clean if they are to do
well. Therefore the pens must be cleaned out as often as may be
necessary to accomplish this purpose. The judgment of the brooder man
must decide how often this is necessary but it will be at least once a
week. When cleaning the pens the old bedding is thrown out from the
front pens through the windows and from the back pens through the door
provided in the rear wall for this purpose. Bedding the pens must be
done more frequently, usually about every other day. Fresh bedding will
help to absorb the droppings and will keep the pens from becoming sloppy
or sticky. For bedding, straw, meadow hay, swale hay or any other
suitable material available should be utilized.
_Ventilation._ Plenty of ventilation is required in the brooder house in
order to take out the ammonia odor which arises from the droppings.
Properly managed, the doors and windows provide sufficient means of
ventilation but some duck growers prefer to have roof ventilators in
addition.
_Other Types of Brooder Houses._ Many other