Features of breeding and keeping mulard meat duck
Every poultry breeder wants to acquire a livestock that will quickly gain weight and at the same time will not cause much trouble in keeping. Thanks to the tireless work of breeders, new species of poultry appear on the market every year. Recently, mulard ducks have attracted special attention. They not only gain weight quickly, but also produce unusually tasty meat. And their liver is valued even more than the liver of geese, which has always been considered a delicacy, so breeding mulard at home can even be considered a small business.
Mularda ducks
a brief description of
Before proceeding to a description of the breeding and maintenance of ducklings of this breed, let's say a few words about what general appearance the bird has and what advantages it has. Mularda ducks appeared as a result of crossing Indo-Ducks with Peking ducks. It is not surprising that the result is a poultry whose meat has excellent taste. This hybrid is good because it quickly gains weight of 3-4 kg. Breeding work was carried out in France, which is the homeland of the Mulard.
You do not need to know what mularda look like to find them in the poultry yard, photo or video. The bird attracts attention with its unusual appearance. First of all, this concerns the dimensions. It is difficult to find another representative of this size duck. Mularda ducks surpass all breeds in this parameter, including those that were used for breeding. The weight of an adult duck is 4 kg. At the same time, a mulard meat duck matures in just 3 months. It is difficult to find another bird that would gain weight so quickly.
In appearance, the body of the mulard is dense, the plumage is thick. The small head has dark almond-shaped eyes. The beak of mulard meat ducks is colored either fleshly or light yellow, slightly elongated. The head is set on a long neck, the short legs are colored yellow. The duck has wings on its body. They are so tightly pressed against the body that it is difficult to see them from afar. Feathers are painted in 2 colors: black and white. In this case, both black and white can prevail. It is by color that the Mulard duck can be distinguished from any other bird.
Breeding mulard
Breeding at home is quite problematic. This is due to the fact that mulardy do not give offspring, therefore, in order to get a hybrid, you will have to get Peking ducks and Indo-ducks and cross them. This task is quite troublesome and takes time. You can go an easier way and buy ducklings in the poultry market. Also, as an option, you can purchase a hatching egg and lay it in an incubator or toss it to a brood hen.
Breeding mulard in an incubator
If there is no hen, then breeding mulard ducks at home from eggs involves the use of an incubator.This device can be purchased at any specialized store or on the Internet, but before you go shopping, it is advisable to study the reviews of people who have experience with such equipment. In addition to reviews, it will not be superfluous to look at the photos of incubators.
When choosing an incubator, you should pay attention to its functional features. It is desirable that the device be automated, otherwise, during incubation, you will have to manually turn each egg, and this should be done often. In addition, it will be problematic to leave home for a long time throughout the month. With an automated incubator, the hassle is much less: it is enough to set a program and check from time to time if the settings are not lost. But automated incubators are quite expensive.
The peculiarities of using incubators are described in the instructions supplied with the equipment. The features of a specific incubator model are also indicated there. If, after studying the instructions, you still have questions, you can watch a video describing the correct use of the equipment, although often in the instructions everything is detailed and accessible.
As practice shows, the offspring that the brood brood is more viable, therefore it is advisable to use the incubator only in case of emergency.
Breeding mulard by crossing ducks
It is very important to choose the right period for crossing. As practice shows, the period from late April to mid-June is the most favorable. The offspring are born viable and resistant to diseases. Birds are used for crossing, the age of which has reached 7 months.
Do not expect that the drake will begin to cover it immediately after it is placed in the cage: the birds need to be given a little time to adapt. You can put several pairs in one cage at the same time, but males and females must belong to different breeds.
Eggs should be collected within 7 days. At the end of this period, eggs are laid in an incubator or the duck is placed on the nest. It is not recommended to lay more than 20 eggs under the hen. Each egg must be of the correct shape, without visible defects. In order to discard defective eggs at an early stage of incubation, they are shined through using special equipment called an ovoscope. Do this on the 10th day. Each egg must be translucent.
It is important to create favorable conditions for the hen. To prevent the eggs from overheating, the duck should be able to regularly bathe, so you need to place a container with water near the nest. Food is also placed near the cage. After about a month, ducklings are born. If each egg has been correctly selected, the hatchability will exceed 80%. When breeding ducklings from an incubator, it is extremely difficult to achieve such an indicator, even if each egg has been carefully selected.
Raising chicks
Raising mulard ducks at home will not take more time or effort than raising any other bird. Before you start raising birds, you need to equip a shed for ducklings. First of all, we decide how many ducks we will keep. Equally important is what the house will be made of. The bird shed should be warm. To make the ducklings feel comfortable, 1 sq. m. there should not be more than 3 individuals. Accordingly, before building a barn, you need to understand how many livestock will be there.
In addition to a covered and warm barn, you need to equip an aviary. It should not be located on the asphalt, but on an area covered with grass. The walking area must be large enough. We allocate 1 square meter for each bird. m. It is impractical to equip a more spacious aviary. Curious mulardam will like a large walking yard, but birds that move a lot gain weight more slowly. It is advisable to equip an area covered with a canopy in the aviary.There birds will be able to hide not only from bad weather, but also from the scorching sun. Mulrad ducklings are released for a walk on the third day, provided that the weather is warm and sunny.
Correct cultivation of mulard assumes compliance with a number of norms, the most important of which is the temperature regime. During the first week, the temperature in the barn should be 29 ° C. After 7 days, the temperature is lowered to 18 ° C.
The diet
Particular attention should be paid to feeding the chicks. If the diet is not properly formulated, then the mulards will not gain weight properly. In the first 7 days of life, ducklings are fed hard-boiled eggs. A few days after birth, cereals are added to the diet. Pre-chopped eggs are scattered on the backs of birds. Instinctively, thinking that food is moving, the ducklings will begin to peck it off each other's backs. Subsequently, this skill will help you catch food in the water. During the first week, pre-chopped grains can be added to the egg. On the 6-7th day, boiled potatoes are introduced into the diet. All new feeds should be introduced gradually.
The feeding change occurs on the 10th and 14th day. First, boiled potatoes are introduced into the diet, then duckweed. Algae and duckweed strengthen the birds' immunity. They can be taken from nearby waters or purchased from specialized stores. The sellers will advise on how to feed the mulard so that they grow up healthy.
After the 14th day, meat and bone meal, meal, low-fat cottage cheese, milk, grain waste, pre-boiled and grated carrots are added to the diet. You can also pamper feathered boiled beets, but it is a heavy product for birds - if ducklings have bellies drooping, then beets are completely excluded.
Do not forget about mineral supplements. Pre-crushed egg shells, gravel, chalk, baker's yeast, and shell are added to the food. Also, birds should have access to lush grass. It is advisable to have a separate feeder for mineral supplements.
It should be ensured that there is always clean water near the bird for drinking, otherwise the mulards will gain weight more slowly.
Compound feed
Feeding mulard will be complete only if compound feed is introduced into the diet. There is food on sale that can be used to feed various types of mulard ducks. Depending on the age of the ducklings, they use "start", "height" or "end". From the name it is clear when which compound feed should be used. From the first days of life and up to 2 weeks of age, the birds are given a "start". From the 15th to the 49th day, the livestock is fed with compound feed "growth". The rest of the time is given to the mulardam "ending".
If “start” and “growth” differ, albeit slightly in composition, then “finish” and “growth” differ only in the quantitative indicators of the ingredients that are included in the feed. There is no need to purchase cheap food that will not be good for the birds, no matter what the seller says. It is advisable to first study people's reviews of compound feed for ducks.
The "start" contains vegetable and animal fats, grain crops (corn, wheat, sorghum, soybeans), bran, rapeseed and sunflower meal, peas and beans, fish and meat and bone meal. In the composition of "growth" and "end", in addition to those components that are contained in the "start", there is barley, distilled soluble components, oats, molasses, cassava, bran, alfalfa flour.
Cooking compound feed with your own hands
By and large, compound feed, which is a dry mixture, can be prepared independently. But if the situation with ducks is simpler and for them almost any food will be good, then with ducklings it is more difficult, therefore it is advisable for them to purchase special compound feed from the 1st to the 15th day.
There are tables that indicate the percentage of each component present in the compound feed.Do not forget that the diet of ducks should contain juicy feed and mineral supplements. Only with proper feeding is the mulard meat tender and juicy.
You can add vegetables (pumpkin, carrots, root vegetables, cabbage) to the mixed feed prepared by your own hands. In principle, any food made with quality ingredients, provided that it contains all the necessary nutrients, is good. For fast weight gain, it is imperative to add compound feed to the diet from the first days of life.
If the ducklings do not absorb all the food, then it is advisable not to leave the leftovers in the bowls. This is especially true for wet mash. If birds eat a stale mash, then in most cases it causes an upset stomach, which has a bad effect on overall health, appetite and, accordingly, weight gain.
Diseases
The description of the breed will be incomplete, if not to say about the diseases to which the mulards can be exposed. With proper feeding and care, chicks grow strong and healthy. This is confirmed by the reviews of people who are actively engaged in breeding mulard. But there are also exceptions.
First of all, it is worth noting that this hybrid is more resistant to infectious diseases than other birds. Mulard duck is susceptible to diseases such as:
- Aspergillosis disease;
- cloacite;
- avitaminosis.
Aspergillosis disease
Ducks of the Mulard breed get sick with this disease if the rules for feeding the birds are violated. All feed must be fresh and clean. The causative agents of the disease are found in the mold that covers the food that mulard ducklings eat. The symptoms of this disease are nausea, general weakness, heavy breathing and lack of appetite.
For the treatment of Aspergillosis disease, vitriol solution is used, which is given instead of water, and medicines, which are sold in specialized pharmacies. But self-medication is not worth it. Before giving medications to birds, it is better to contact a veterinarian who will diagnose. These symptoms are not unique to Aspergillosis. And with the wrong diagnosis, treatment can only worsen the condition of the ducklings.
Cloacite
Another disease caused by inappropriate feeding. The mulard meat breed needs vitamins of group A and D. In their absence, birds are weak. Ducks peck food reluctantly, their feathers begin to fall out, ducks go bald.
Often, to treat the disease, it is enough to change the diet, include vitamin complexes. If feathers began to fall out of ducks, then they need to be treated at home with the help of special ointments.
Avitaminosis
Like cloacite, vitamin deficiency is caused by a lack of certain vitamins and minerals. A symptom of vitamin deficiency is baldness. Ducks pluck themselves and pluck their feathers. Treatment involves dietary changes.
So that there are no problems with ducks and the livestock does not suffer from infectious diseases, cleanliness must be observed in the poultry house. Once every few years, sheds must be disinfected. With infectious diseases, as a rule, birds first limp and then fall to their feet. Ducklings are hit most quickly. Birds at the age of one month and older are more resistant to various kinds of infections. Infection should be treated by a specialist.
Points to be aware of
The average weight of an adult duck is 4 kg. But if you feed mulards correctly, you can grow birds weighing 6-7 kg. At the same time, it is very important to slaughter poultry on time. The optimal time for slaughter is 60 days. If, for some reason, the plans are to continue raising the livestock, then the fattening continues for another 3.5-4 weeks. Such a framework is due to the fact that somewhere on the 70th day, molt begins, during which the ducks lose weight.Also, carcasses that were slaughtered during the molting period are much more difficult to pluck, and the meat is not so tasty, so it makes sense to hold the birds for another month. With proper nutrition, the birds will gain a couple more kilograms during this period.
Before slaughtering a mulard duck, it should not be fed for 5-6 hours. Water consumption should also be limited. To make sure the ducks do not moult, it is advisable to observe the birds before cutting.
Taking care of mulard is easy. It is enough to make sure that they have clean water and mineral supplements in special feeders throughout the day. Also, caring for birds involves water procedures. If there is no reservoir nearby, then you can make a mini-lake on the exercise yard. Ducks and ducklings can swim there throughout the day.
Nursing involves more than just catering. For ducks and ducklings you need to constantly look, pay attention to their appearance. If a duck does not eat and behaves passively, it should be isolated and examined for diseases. If none are found, then the ward can be sent back to the room with all the ducks and ducklings.
Whom to start, it is up to the farmer to decide. But it is worth noting that it is more profitable to grow mularda than other birds, since they consume less food if there is a sufficient amount of grass.
Conclusion
Mulardy is a hybrid of Peking duck and Indo-duck that you can breed yourself. Growing mulard at home is possible even for beginners. But to get this hybrid, you will have to constantly cross between Peking ducks and Indo-ducks. Accordingly, you will need to acquire birds of both breeds. If you make every effort, then diluting a hybrid, which sometimes grows up to 5-7 kg, will become a feasible task. But before you breed birds, you should equip a barn for keeping them. It is also important to make sure that there is a separate place in the house for the offspring that has just been born.
Based on the characteristics of the hybrid obtained by crossing the Peking duck and the Indo-duck, it has practically no drawbacks. Reviews of people who already have experience in keeping mulards confirm this fact. And the dishes prepared from the tender meat of this bird surpass even the Peking duck in taste.