Raising ducks and ducklings at home

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Domestic ducks are unpretentious birds, from which you can get a lot of meat, and sometimes eggs, so many site owners try to breed these waterfowl in their backyard. But in order for the hatching to be successful, it is necessary to take into account a number of important points. You need to know how ducklings are raised at home, how housing is made for birds, how to feed ducks. It is also worth immediately deciding which breed will need to be bred on your site.

Breeding ducks at home

What breed of domestic ducks to choose

At the moment, there are many breeds of ducks that are suitable for a variety of conditions. And each poultry farmer needs to choose the bird that suits him the most. This is not an easy task, since each species has its own advantages and disadvantages, so when choosing a breed, it is worth deciding what is required of the birds in the first place. The owner must understand why he will breed this breed and in what conditions the breeding will take place.

Breeding ducks at home will not be difficult with the right variety. The first thing to understand is that there are three areas of production, which include all breeds of these birds. This is the meat, meat and egg production line. Egg eggs should be ignored right away: these ducks fly no better than chickens, but are inferior to them in weight. You should choose from the meat and meat-and-meat directions. It should be understood that there are many breeds of both types.

Meat production

Most poultry farmers prefer to settle on this type of domestic ducks. They are able to quickly gain weight and you can get a lot of delicious meat from them. And some breeds are distinguished by decent egg production. Of these varieties, it is worth noting the gray Ukrainian duck and the black white-breasted bird. Still good layers are obtained from representatives of the Moscow White breed. Among the purely meat varieties, there are also many worthy candidates for cultivation.

For those who are interested in raising ducks for meat, the Peking breed or Indo-duck is usually recommended. The Peking breed is good at gaining weight, and their meat is high in fat. These birds are distinguished by their unpretentiousness and early maturity. They are also used when breeding other breeds, which are also worth paying attention to. From Peking ducks, in particular, Bashkir birds and blue favorites were bred. Some poultry farmers prefer to breed these particular waterfowl.

Muscovy ducks deserve a special mention. They are not as fatty meat as the Peking variety, but they also gain weight very quickly.They have an average egg production, but the queens of this breed are distinguished by a developed instinct for breeding. Among the shortcomings, it is worth mentioning the fact that Indo-women do not tolerate low temperatures. For them, it is necessary to separately insulate the room. When crossed with other breeds, they give hybrids that are not capable of reproduction, but unpretentious, early maturing and with tasty meat.

Meat production

Ducks of this type are recommended for novice breeders who want to receive not only meat, but also eggs. When breeding at home, when the egg is needed only for their own consumption, these birds are ideal. They are able to gain weight quite briskly, but at the same time they bring a sufficient number of eggs. It is worth considering that the varieties of the meat type are more popular than those related to the meat type. All due to the fact that the meat type is more profitable for industrial breeding.

But for small farms, meat ducks are great. Among these breeds, it should be noted the mirror variety, the Saxon and Cayuga. The most common in Russia and Ukraine are mirror ducks. But many poultry farmers recommend breeding birds of the Cayuga species: they gain weight well, have good egg production and are able to live in cold regions. And they also have a well-developed maternal instinct, therefore, if you draw up a plan for breeding ducks in the north, you should pay attention to this particular variety.

Dwelling for domestic ducks

It doesn't matter what kind of variety it was decided to breed. First you need to build a suitable home for the birds. This is necessary for the cultivation of Moscow white or Peking ducks, and even for tamed wild mallard birds (or simply mallards). There are certain requirements for the construction and arrangement of a home for waterfowl. To succeed in breeding these pets, you need to provide them with decent conditions for keeping. Here's what to consider when building a duck house:

• Although ducks are waterfowl, they do not like dampness and excessive humidity, so the room should be dry and warm normally. Even a temporary shed for them must be protected from moisture. A leaking roof or damp floor is unacceptable.
• The house, with the exception of areas for hens and layers, must be well lit. Windows should not face north, preferably east or south. In this case, the windows must be tightly closed to avoid drafts.
• The room should be spacious enough, since ducks do not like cramped conditions: in such conditions, their health worsens and there is no way to resist infectious diseases. The minimum area that is permissible for these birds is one duck per 0.3 square meters. m. But it is better to provide at least 1-1.5 sq. m. m for each bird.
• If there is water nearby, then the exit from the room should be located nearby. Many domesticated varieties still love to swim and should not be denied this opportunity.
• There should be no drafts in the room so that the ducks do not catch cold. In particular, young animals do not tolerate such conditions well. And hens that cannot leave the nest should not get sick, so it is very important to make a house without unnecessary cracks. All unnecessary holes should be carefully caulked. In northern regions, the house should be built from bricks or other similar material.

The choice of materials for construction depends solely on the owner himself. Stone, wood, clay and various combinations of these materials are perfect, you just need to consider all the basic building tips. There is another recommendation for beginners: do not build a large room at once. First you need to try yourself in breeding a small number of ducks, and then, having got used to it, it will be possible to increase both the livestock and the size of the new housing for birds.

Construction of a temporary dwelling place for ducks

In the event that the house for the birds is not yet ready, you can make a temporary residence for them. Immediately it is necessary to make a reservation: in winter, you cannot resort to such a method. If the house is not yet completed or it is not possible to settle waterfowl pets in it, it is worth making a covered corral from a net. Keeping ducks at home is usually not practiced, if we are not talking about ducklings, therefore, such temporary huts are created in which birds are settled. All that is required is a fine mesh metal mesh, pillars and roof material.

The pen itself is easy to make. Pillars are driven in along the perimeter, a mesh is fixed on them, and that's it, you can launch the bird inside. A roof is needed if it rains constantly or the pen is used to keep weekly ducklings. In all other cases, covering the roof is unprofitable and pointless. One has only to make a small canopy in the corner, under which the bird can rest in the most intense heat. Small ducklings can be kept in such cages so that they receive enough sunlight.

Feeding ducks

Of the grains, it is worth paying attention to corn and wheat. Corn is given whole or in crushed form, and wheat - in the form of very coarse flour. Fine grinding is unacceptable for both adult birds and chicks. In addition to corn and wheat, you can also pay attention to oats and barley. Legumes are commonly used to feed ducks for meat. Various cakes and bran are also added to the feed, which can also be useful, but their amount should not exceed 1/10 of the total mass of food.

Green juicy food must be included in the diet of domestic waterfowl. In particular, various aquatic plants can make up a large proportion of the total diet. They are issued in the amount of 500 g per 1 adult duck. Chicks are given them in minimal quantities, by two months increasing the portion to the volumes that adult birds receive. Various meadow grasses such as clover or alfalfa are also eaten. They are also harvested in the form of silage.

Other supplements to the duck diet

To raise healthy birds, fresh vegetables should also be added to their food. They must be crushed before use. For ducks, vegetables such as cabbage, carrots, pumpkin, and boiled potato tubers are beneficial. They are sometimes harvested together with green fodder in the form of silage, making a kind of nutrient mixture. For normal development, ducks also need protein feed. Bone meal and fish meal, boiled eggs and low-fat cottage cheese are suitable from such food. Many professionals write about the need for mineral supplements:

“Ducks need a small shell, chalk or bone meal. These are substances that contain, among other things, phosphorus and calcium. They are needed to produce eggs with strong shells, and they are also required by small ducklings for normal development. "

Receiving and incubating eggs

The most important issue when breeding ducks is hatching chicks. And it begins with the selection and incubation of eggs. First you need to figure out which duck you can work with and get offspring from it. The selected birds are observed for several months. Healthy, well-built and strong birds are left for breeding. The ratio of males and females is 1 drake for 5-8 ducks. When working with a duck, she needs to provide a long daylight hours: this directly affects the number of eggs obtained.

The birds left to the tribe must be provided with decent care, feeding and protection from diseases. Eggs for incubation are taken only from healthy birds. What kind of egg is needed for hatching, you can watch the video. In general, eggs should be intact, free from cracks or dents. The blue on the shell indicates that they have begun to deteriorate - this can also be understood by the unpleasant smell. In this case, do not take too large eggs. A duck is not a goose, and even in the largest breeds, the mass of one egg cannot exceed 0.1 kg.

Long-term storage negatively affects the state of the embryo, therefore, the egg can be stored for no more than 5-8 days. Ideally, it should be placed under the duck immediately. These birds can rush both during the winter and during the summer months. And this period is easy to recognize. The duck undergoes very characteristic metamorphoses. She begins to separate from the main mass of birds, is constantly engaged in arranging the nest. She also pulls out the fluff from her and lays it down in the place chosen for laying.

Incubation of eggs by a hen

Many poultry breeders use the brooding hen. This method, when done correctly, is more effective than artificial incubation. From the first day after planting, the laying is under the supervision of a duck. You just need to make sure that the bird does not forget about food and drink. She must also return to the nest in time. It is advisable that the nests are separated from each other, then no one will disturb the hen. Soft, lightweight materials work well for nest bedding.

There are also certain problems when breeding chicks using this method. Sometimes it happens that the duck does not leave the clutch, and then she needs to be reminded about food. It also happens in another way: after eating, it does not return to incubation, and it must be manually returned to the nest.

Some breeds are not good brood hens. For example, Peking ducks. The main problem with these white birds is that they do not seek to breed. Indo-women, whom many like to keep in the country, differ favorably from them.

Breeding duck eggs in an incubator

When hatching in an incubator, pre-selected eggs are used, which are usually stored at a temperature of 10-12 ° C. Storage should not last longer than one week. When eggs are just placed in the incubator, the temperature is maintained at 37-38 ° C. It must be remembered that a duck egg takes a long time to warm up, and when about 2/3 of the time required for hatching the chicks has passed, the temperature must be lowered to 30-31 ° C.

The time required for the full development of the embryo depends on the particular duck breed and takes 4 to 5 weeks. And regardless of what kind of breed should be bred, the process of embryo development should be monitored. For this, ovoscopy is performed. This process allows you to observe the incubation progress. Making an ovoscope at home is not difficult. A box is taken in which a hole is cut out slightly smaller than the size of the egg, and a backlight from an ordinary lamp is fixed from below.

The egg is placed in the hole and illuminated from below. On the 6-7th day of incubation, you can see that the circulatory system has begun to form in the egg. After 15-17 days, you can see that the embryo has already formed and is gradually moving. If development has stopped for any reason, then the insides of the egg are motionless.

Many poultry farmers do not recommend ovoscopy for beginners. It still does not allow it to influence the development of eggs, and if carried out incorrectly, it can harm the embryos.

Raising ducklings at home

Duckling care determines how successful a bird breeding business will be. Indeed, the profit depends on how well the owner can take care of each duckling. From the first day of life, young animals should be provided with decent living conditions. Small ducklings are best kept in a brooder, a special crate for newly hatched chicks. It is necessary to follow literally every duckling. At this age, babies are threatened by many diseases, and therefore it is necessary to properly care for and properly feed them.

A brooder is made of wood, and it must be made with dense, carefully fitted walls. The scheme is simple: all that is needed is the absence of drafts. The floor is made of a fine mesh, into which the paws of the chicks will not fall through, because it is very difficult to care for a duck with a dislocation or fracture.The net is needed in order to facilitate cleaning in the cage. For babies who need to be kept from the first day of life, holes in the mesh are made no more than 1 cm in size.

The room must be maintained at the desired temperature and light level. An artificial 22-hour day is established for small day-old chicks. The temperature is monitored using a conventional thermometer. It should be at 22-23 ° C. You should gradually lower the temperature and reduce the artificial day. By the age of one month, a duckling needs 14 hours of light and a temperature of 20 ° C. Infrared lamps can be used for light and heating.

Feeding ducklings in the first month of life

Raising young animals is impossible without proper nutrition, in which all the needs of the chicks are met. Regardless of whether they will be raised with or without a duck, the babies must be properly fed. Here, both the number of daily feedings and the composition of the diet are important. Young animals after hatching and until the end of 1-2 weeks of the first month of life are fed 5-7 times during the day. With an older duckling, the number of feedings is reduced to 3 times per day. Along with the growth of chicks, the volumes of portions also increase, and from the first day of life.

It should also be clarified what kind of food is suitable for young animals. There are many problems with the duckling in this matter. If you start feeding him the wrong food, then he may not survive. It doesn't matter if the kids are kept together with the duck or in a separate room. The diet for them remains the same. It must include crumbled green grass. It is only important that it is not poisonous: for example, nettle treated with boiling water is suitable. It is mixed with hard-boiled eggs, which must be crumbled after cooking.

You can also start feeding the little ones with boiled compound feed, mixed, for example, with milk. But all this should be given along with grass and eggs: they contain substances useful for young animals. After feeding, ducklings often strive to crawl into the feeder with their paws, so the design of the drinker and feeder should be such that the chicks cannot spoil their own food. What kind of design is recommended by professionals, you can watch the video.

Conclusion

Ducks are not the most difficult poultry to breed. They are unpretentious, gain weight quickly and are distinguished by tasty and healthy meat. They are perfect for many novice poultry breeders.