I didn't know about this book until a customer told me about it.
I am happy he did as we are changing some of our management
practices because of it. Domestic Duck Production, Science and
Practice is a book written for commercial producers. Much of the
information concerns raising ducks for meat but the section on
breeder management applies whether you have Pekin breeders to
produce meat ducklings or Golden 300 Hybrids, White Layers or
Khaki Campbells for egg production. Even if you are only a
serious hobbyist, there will be information in this book that
will make you say “Really?” and you will realize there might be
a better way to care for your ducks. The main change we are
making because of this book is our use of light. Historically we
have grown our ducks on natural day length and then increased
the day length to 17 hours between 20 to 25 weeks of age to
bring them into egg production. The authors' recommendation is
to maintain the ducks on 17 hours of light their entire life and
bring them into producti