Studies in Duck Nutrition

BECAUSE of the large surpluses of potatoes which occur on Long Island and other areas from time to time and the high cost of duck feed, it was considered desirable to determine the value of potatoes in duck rations. Special attention was given to the use of dried potatoes or potato meal. Numerous reports deal with the feeding of potatoes to chickens. However, the information on duck feeding is limited. Wright and Dudley (1944, 1945) reported on feeding potatoes to ducks in England during World War II when the regular feeds were limited and when it was necessary to use large amounts of home grown feeds. Their experiments indicated that the body weight, health and general appearance of the birds were satisfactory when semi-dried town waste and steamed potatoes were fed to female ducklings from 2 weeks to laying, the potatoes being introduced gradually and eventually replacing half of the . . .