ducks. This is particularly true
during the Jewish holidays in March and in September and October when
the demand for live ducks and the price paid for them is excellent. As a
rule it pays better to ship alive the ducks which are inclined to be a
little thin rather than to ship those which are in top market condition.
This is due to the fact that fat ducks will shrink very considerably
when cooped and shipped alive, this shrinkage running from one-half to
three-quarters of a pound per head where they are cooped not to exceed
12 to 15 hours. The ducks which are in the fattest condition will shrink
the most. At the season of the year when live ducks are in best demand
it often pays to ship alive the ducklings which are sorted out as not
being in the best condition rather than to hold them for further
fattening.
_Saving the Feathers._ The feathers from the ducks form quite an
important source of revenue to the duck farmers. As stated before the
value of the feathers will a little more than pay for the cost of
picking and since this is a considerable item of expense the grower
cannot afford to neglect the feathers. The soft body feathers are kept
separate from the coarser feathers, the latter being thrown on the floor
as they are plucked. These coarser feathers are later swept up and are
commonly spoken of as sweepings. Feathers from dry-picked ducks are
superior in quality and bring a better price but most of the duck
feathers now marketed from commercial duck farms are scalded feathers.
The feathers after each day's killing are gathered up and spread out in
a loft where they can be placed in a layer not over 3 or 4 inches deep.
This should be an airy place so as to give the feathers a good place to
dry out. On the second day they are scraped up in a pile and then spread
out again, thus turning them over and changing their position. They are
then left until they are dry enough to sack which should be in a little
over a week. Unless the feathers are thoroughly dried out they will heat
when sacked and this will seriously hurt their market quality. When dry
they are packed either in the large special feather sacks made for this
purpose or in smaller sacks, about as big as two bran sacks, which will
hold from 60 to 80 pounds of feathers. The feathers are shipped to
regular feather dealers or manufacturers.
[Illustration: FIG. 49. A valuable by-product of duck plants. The
feathers from a duck will pay for the cost of picking. (_Photograph from
the Bureau of Ani