Ducklings, when first hatched, are generally fed upon oatmeal mixed with chopped nettles; and, when they are a little stronger, they are given bran soaked in water, and boiled potatoes. It is also a good plan to throw a handful of oats or barley into the water given to them to drink, for them to dabble for, that they may get accustomed to the water by degrees. The mother should, however, be kept under a coop till the young ducklings are ten days old, to prevent her from taking them into the water till they are strong enough to bear it.
When ducks are to be fattened they must be kept under a coop, and fed with boiled potatoes mixed with oatmeal and bruised oats. Acorns ground or bruised are a favourite food with them, and very fattening. Malt-dust is likewise recommended; but barley is said to give them a bad flavour. The Muscovy ducks should not be kept in the poultry-yard, as they are so much larger and stronger than the common kind that they are apt to fight with them and deprive them of their food; and they are more suitable to the park and pleasure-ground.
There may be a dove-cot for _pigeons_ in the poultry-yard with the other fowls. When the pigeon-house is large, it is generally built round like a tower from the ground upwards; but where this is inconvenient, a small wooden dove-cot may be fixed against the walk. In your case I would decidedly advise you to have a pigeon-house in your poultry-yard; and, if it is built like a tower, there should be holes in the upper part for the birds to enter by, with a shelf under each row of holes, and a little penthouse projecting from the roof to keep out the wet. The interior of the pigeon-house must have cells for nests, which are made by putting up shelves twenty inches wide and one foot apart, and dividing the spaces between them by upright partitions, three feet from each other. Across the back of each nest there should be a board three inches wide, sliding up and down in a groove, to prevent the young ones from falling out, and yet to allow of the nest being cleaned. When the house has been stocked with pigeons, a little hay or soft straw is put into each cell for the pigeon to form its nest. Some persons divide each cell into two nests, as, when the young are about a fortnight old, the female, without waiting till they are fledged, often begins to lay again; and, when there is only one nest, it is not an uncommon thing to see a female pigeon sitting on a fresh set of eggs, while the young of the former hatching are still under her care. When a pigeon-house is to be stocked, a number of young birds are obtained either in May or August, when they are in the state called squeakers, that is to say, not fully grown, but able to feed themselves.