s curled
feathers on top of the tail which are often referred to as sex feathers.
In addition, the voice of the duck is harsher and coarser than that of
the drake.
_Marketing the Ducks._ Most of the ducks produced on farms are marketed
alive. This is because the farmer has no special market and he does not
find that it pays him to dress and ship the ducks with the chance that
they might spoil. In fact, most of the farm raised ducks are not turned
off as green ducks at 10 to 12 weeks as is done on the commercial duck
plants but are held until fall and then sold as spring ducks. They will
weigh somewhat more at that time but as a rule the price received per
pound will be lower than that obtained for green ducks during the spring
and summer. Where there is a special demand for ducklings which the
farmer can supply it will pay him to dress and deliver the ducks. If it
is desired to dress the ducks, the directions given under Chapter VII
can be modified to suit the farmer's needs. The soft body feathers
should be saved in accordance with the directions given on page 106, as
they can be used at home in making pillows or can be sold.
Such eggs as are produced in surplus may either be utilized on the home
table or sent to market. As a rule duck eggs are not in great demand
except at certain seasons such as at Easter and during the Jewish
holidays in the spring and fall when they bring somewhat higher prices
than hens' eggs. The larger size of duck eggs, however, makes them
favored by bakers and they can usually be sold at any time in a city of
any size at prices as good as those received for hens' eggs.
Eggs for market can be packed in the ordinary 30-dozen hen egg cases by
using special fillers which hold 25 eggs instead of 36 as in the case of
hens' eggs. See page 119. A farmer with a small flock of ducks will
usually not have eggs enough to fill a case frequently and for this
reason he usually finds it more convenient to market the few eggs he has
by taking them into town in a basket.
_Disease and Insect Pests._ Ducks are very little troubled by insect
pests, nor are they greatly troubled by diseases. The usual difficulties
encountered along this line are those discussed under this head in
Chapter VI. Losses are often experienced as the result of predatory
animals. Rats will cause a great amount of havoc among the young ducks
if they are able to get at them. A single night's work on the part of
one rat may practically clean out a small flock of ducklings. I