Ducks are the homeowner's friends.

They will:

* Eat Japanese beetles, grasshoppers, snails, slugs and mosquitoes.

* Clean unwanted plants from ponds and lakes.

* Eat up all table and gardening leftovers.

* Produce an abundance of valuable nitrogen-rich manure.

* And most important, provide you with low-cost meat and eggs.

Ducks are the easiest domestic birds to raise. They'll forage for much of their food, and they don't need to be pampered with expensive housing. You don't need a pond for them either, although these friendly birds certainly look beautiful swimming on one.

Dave Holderread has written Raising the Home Duck Flock for persons who want to raise ducks but don't know how to get started. Here is the answer. He explains how many ducks you should have for various conditions, which breeds may be best for you, where and how to buy them.

Dave doesn't leave you on your own after you've bought those ducks. His helpful material begins with incubation of eggs, covers how to rear ducklings and manage the adults, explains possible health problems and how to control them, and tells how to butcher the ducks — with recipes for both the meat and the eggs, and practical suggestions on the use of the feathers and down.

Dave has raised ducks since his boyhood days, and he's taught hundreds in this country and Puerto Rico through vocational poultry programs. He knows his ducks, and he knows how to teach his subject.

Author Dave Holderread wrote Raising the Home Duck Flock for people who are interested in raising a flock but arent sure where to begin! He is a reliable source who has raised ducks since his childhood days, and he has taught many individuals through vocational poultry programs in the United States and Puerto Rico. Dave lives in Oregon.

Foreword

Acknowledgments

Introduction

Chapter 1 Why Ducks?

Chapter 2 Some Points to Consider

Chapter 3 External Features

Chapter 4 Behavior

Chapter 5 Selecting a Breed

Chapter 6 Acquiring Stock

Chapter 7 Incubation

Chapter 8 Rearing Ducklings

Chapter 9 Managing Adult Ducks

Chapter 10 Butchering

Chapter11 Health and Physical Problems

Appendices

Appendix A Formulating Duck Rations

Appendix B Symptoms of Vitamin and Mineral Deficiencies

Appendix C Predators

Appendix D Storing Eating Eggs

Appendix E Duck Recipes