How to feed little ducklings at home

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For aspiring poultry farmers, raising ducks at home can be challenging as it is important for these birds to be properly cared for. The maintenance of ducks has its own characteristics, and some of them are related to their diet. The most careful approach to this issue should be if they are going to raise small ducklings at home.

How to feed ducklings in the first days of life

Providing proper feeding of these birds in the first days of life and months, the poultry farmer can get a significant increase in the weight of the bird in 90 days. How and what to feed the ducklings correctly on the first day can be learned from the advice of experienced farmers.

We feed for the first time

In the early days of life, ducklings should be properly cared for. The most common problem is feeding newborn birds. The fact is that they cannot eat on their own. The farmer should feed the little ducklings with his own hands. All the rules and regulations of this difficult business for inexperienced farmers passed from generation to generation. Only hatched birds should be given milk from a pipette. Experienced poultry farmers also recommend giving finely chopped boiled yolk. This food will be the first food for the duckling.

The first day of a bird's life is the most difficult. And this is due precisely to the ability of the owner to look after her. Not knowing what to feed ducklings in the first days of life is a common problem among inexperienced farmers. Incorrectly selected food for newborn birds is the main reason for the death of livestock. Raising healthy ducklings without losing their numbers is the desire of every poultry farmer who seeks to obtain benefits - delicious meat.

How to feed a bird in a day from birth?

Keeping young ducklings at home requires help from their owner with feeding. Especially often newborn birds have to be fed with their own hands, because, unlike goslings, ducklings do not eat well in the first day after hatching. This problem is not difficult to solve. Daily birds should be fed like this:

• Finely chop the boiled yolk.
• Move the ducklings with your hands closer to each other.
• Put a pinch of food on the backs of the birds.
• Such feeding of ducklings includes their natural instincts. They begin to eat each other's eggs from their backs.

You need to start small. You shouldn't train the birds to bowl right away. For diurnal ducklings, the world around them is something new, unexplored. For their active growth, human help is required. From the first day of life, proper feeding becomes the main task of the farmer.

Features of feeding ducklings in the first week after birth

Every experienced poultry breeder knows what to feed little ducklings in the first days of life. Daily birds are fed only with eggs and milk, increasing their diet every day.Breeding ducks requires careful monitoring of the diet of birds, especially one day after birth. On the second day it will be easier to keep track of the bird. All the conditions for their growth have already been met, it remains only to accustom the ducklings to nutritious wholesome food. On the second day, you can add low-fat cottage cheese to the menu of small birds. It is necessary to include it in the diet in separate portions, alternating with a boiled egg. For 5-6 days, the duck can be fed with grass. Better to give:

• nettle;
• dandelion;
• swan;
• greens of legumes.

Grass can also be mixed with cottage cheese and eggs. We must not forget about water. She should always be with the bird, especially on the first day after hatching. And here you cannot do without human help. It is best to give it to ducklings through a pipette. Such manipulations will take 1-2 days until the baby learns to drink from the drinking bowl himself.

Adding new products

Keeping one-week old ducklings at home requires their owner to take action to expand the bird's diet. The digestive system of ducklings can already digest solid food, so they should be provided with it. From the seventh day, you can give the bird any grain. The still tender age of ducklings requires grinding such food. The best option would be a cereal mix. You can start with:

• barley;
• millet;
• wheat;
• oats;
• corn.

Before giving the grain to the birds, it should not only be ground, but also peeled from the shell. Novice farmers often make the mistake of not doing this, which causes ducks to die. You also need to know how much grain is the daily norm for a duckling. Experienced poultry farmers advise not to exceed 15 g.

Keeping ducklings at home requires compliance with several more rules, the implementation of which will affect the growth of birds:

• The diet of young animals after 10 days requires the abandonment of boiled eggs.
• Feeding birds includes foods rich in vitamins. It is recommended to make the mash with cottage cheese and grass.
• For the first week, the ducklings' diet should include grated carrots.
• Raising and keeping poultry also requires knowledge of the nutritional standards of young animals.

What is starter compound feed

Compound feed, which is called starter feed, is a mixture of food for ducklings, which has all the necessary nutrients for their development. Such products correspond to the OKPD number. Knowing the composition of the mixture, you can make the compound feed yourself. They should start feeding ducklings within a few days from birth. The ingredients of the combined food are suitable for the still fragile digestive system. Many ingredients are ground into flour. Newborn chicks should be provided with soft, moist food: mash of cottage cheese, eggs and grass. Weekly - from cereals, natural minerals, herbs and vegetables.

Nutritional norms

In order for the birds to grow faster and gain the desired weight, the farmer needs to select nutritious feed and combine them correctly. This cannot be done without knowledge of the recommended dietary standards for birds in the first week from birth. The daily diet of ducks should include:

• 15 g of crushed grains;
• 20 g of greens;
• 3 g of chopped boiled egg;
• 3 g low-fat cottage cheese;
• 5 g wheat bran;
• 2 g of soybean meal.

We must not forget about vitamins and minerals:

• grated carrots - 5 g;
• chalk - 1 g;
• meat and bone meal - 0.5 g;
• feed yeast - 0.5 g

This starter feed includes everything you need for birds from day two to two weeks of age.

How to cook mash

It is important for any little duckling to get plenty of nutrients in the form of dry and wet food. Feeding birds requires a person to constantly pour grain into the feeder (dry food) and feed twice a day with a mash (wet). According to experienced poultry farmers, raising ducks with such a diet is effective in order to obtain meat from them.But it can be difficult for inexperienced farmers to control the supply of food and its volume, because it is determined depending on the increase in live weight of the poultry.

Wet feeding is an essential part of a healthy diet for ducklings. Two-week-old birds with an incorrectly calculated diet can develop weakness in the legs. This is due to a lack of calcium, which must be fed to the duckling's body. Phosphorus and protein are also important. Lack of the latter often leads to disturbances in the plumage of birds. Many farmers use artificial amino acids in powder form. It, along with grass, cottage cheese and other products, is seasoned with milk whey or water and served to birds.

Special vitamins will also help to raise ducklings for meat. Their lack can lead to a decrease in the level of immunity and some diseases that are dangerous to their health, so it is better to take care of adding vitamins to the daily menu of ducklings. The following products are suitable:

• meat and bone meal;
• potatoes;
• beet;
• swede;
• pumpkin.

What else is important

Compound feed for ducklings is the main food for several months. Many poultry farmers forget about the need to cook it just before serving, and this is a big mistake: nutrients can be destroyed due to long-term storage. Old compound feed, which is fed to birds, can do more harm than good. Already on the first day, the mash begins to rot. Such food can even lead to the death of ducklings.

Features of the diet of monthly ducklings

The fattening of monthly ducklings plays one of the most important roles in making a profit from farming. Meat, eggs, feathers and down are valuable commodities for those who are engaged in poultry farming, therefore, starting from the month from birth, the amount of food consumed by birds should be maximized.

You should take care of the grass and greenery growing in the ponds. If a pond is not provided on the farm, from the first weeks the ducks are taught to eat the greens growing in the garden. Standing firmly on their feet, they themselves will throw themselves with a hunt on the plants available in the garden, but nevertheless, for a still not matured organism, the grass should be added to the mash. It is also possible to feed ducklings, starting from a month, with mash, which include root crops and grain.

But one product is still difficult to replace. Ducks develop faster and gain weight from duckweed, which is found in open water. They use it from a month from birth, when they begin to feel confident on the water. Ducklings consider this food to be their delicacy, so they eat it in large quantities.

Features of the diet of ducklings in the absence of a reservoir

Ducklings grow and develop in the conditions that a person himself creates for them. The main problem of bird breeding is the lack of a reservoir. For waterfowl ducklings, it is important to have unhindered access to water, because it is an integral part of their natural habitat. But not all farmers can have a pond on their site. What to do for people who are unable to provide the necessary conditions for birds? There is no need to give up breeding. Weight gain can be obtained by other methods:

• Ducklings need to drink a lot, so their drinkers should always be filled with clean fresh water. The more liquid they consume, the faster metabolic processes occur in their body. In the absence of drinking, ducks die quickly.
• Aquatic plants should be finely chopped into food. The farmer can buy them or fish them in freshwater reservoirs.
• If the farmer has not yet acquired ducklings, he should study the bird breeds in more detail. Many ducks easily tolerate the absence of a reservoir near their main habitat.

If there is a body of water nearby

Certain breeds of ducklings can swim from one month of age. The livestock owner should monitor this important period in the life of the bird. Duckweed and other types of algae are eaten by livestock, which must also be recorded by the farmer.During this period, the amount of feed should be reduced and the coastal area should be equipped with a special aviary. Access to water must be unlimited.

All food products remain unchanged, but the answer to the question of how much to give them is different - the weight decreases. The diet is dominated by dry mixes, which include:

• 9 g corn;
• 49 g of wheat;
• 17 g barley;
• 7 g sunflower meal;
• 4 g herbal flour;
• 1 g of chalk and shell.

Helpful information

During walks, ducklings can attack vegetables growing in the garden. They are always ready to feast on zucchini, pumpkin and other fruits. You should protect your own garden with any available means. Fences made of boards or other materials will become a barrier for insolent birds. Wing trimming can also help protect your garden. There is a lot of controversy about whether to use this procedure at an early age. But one fact remains indisputable: ducks that do not have their wings clipped are destined to leave the farm. Having strengthened, they leave their habitats to reunite with nature.

There are also some eating habits that depend on the season.

In winter, ducklings need more vitamins and minerals from plant foods. To this end, farmers recommend adding 20 g of dried fruit to the mash once a week. But do not take this product too often: consuming large quantities of it can be hazardous to the health of birds. Mushrooms are considered a source of vegetable protein in winter. It is also not necessary to abuse this product. It is recommended to add them to the mash no more than once a week.