ailing to gather up feed not eaten by the
ducklings and leaving it to sour, or by lack of cleanliness of the feed
and water dishes. Where the pens are allowed to become damp and sloppy
this may also cause some lameness.
_Sore Eyes._ Occasionally duck growers complain that their ducklings
suffer from sore eyes. This may be due to a cold causing a discharge
from the eyes or may be due to the use of too sloppy feed which adheres
to the eyes and causes an irritation. Affected birds should be placed in
a separate pen from the others and the eyes should be bathed with an
antiseptic solution.
_Feather Eating or "Quilling"._ This is a bad habit which is apt to
cause more or less trouble when the ducklings are about two-thirds
grown. It is much more likely to occur when the birds are kept in
cramped quarters. It is usually started by one or a few individuals but
when the feathers are injured so that they begin to bleed, which they
will very quickly do, the vice will spread among the whole flock and
serious damage will occur. It is therefore necessary to be on the
lookout for this trouble, and as soon as detected, the birds responsible
should be removed. If the culprits are placed with older birds which are
already feathered, they will not trouble by trying to eat the feathers.
It is the blood in the growing feathers which attracts them. If the
habit has become general, it is more difficult to check. About the best
thing that can be done, is to turn them out in a roomy yard, one with a
growing green crop, if available, where they will be so busy as to stop
the feather eating of their own accord.
_Rats._--Rats are very destructive if they get into the brooder house. A
single rat has been known to kill and drag off as many as 200 ducklings
in one night. If a rat gets into the brooder house it is therefore of
the utmost importance that it be hunted down and killed without delay.
Otherwise serious losses will result.

Cooperative Feed Association
A very large proportion of the feed used on a duck plant is that which
is fed to the market ducks. By purchasing feed in considerable
quantities the duck grower is able to cut down the cost to some extent.
A number of the duck raisers on Long Island have developed this idea
further by forming a cooperative feed organization. Stock in this
concern is held both by the duck growers and by outsiders but is
controlled by the duck growers. The feed association maintains a feed
warehouse, purchases feeds in quantity and does busi