Domestic duck is a waterfowl, not a very large bird, the ancestor of which is wild mallard. Some modern breeds derive their pedigree from the musky duck living in America. For the first time, ducks were domesticated 3,000 years ago in Southeast Asia, about 2,500 years ago they were tamed in Greece and Ancient Rome. Domestication of birds in different parts of the world went independently. Now several dozens of breeds with different names are bred. Breeding these birds remains popular, as they are productive, and it is not difficult to care for them.
Domestic duck
Features of domestic ducks
Domestic ducks are rather large birds with an elongated neck and body, a small head, and short webbed feet. The four hind tail feathers are bent upwards, like the drakes of a wild mallard. Males practically do not differ from females, a drake can be slightly larger than a duck. Feathers in thoroughbred species are mostly white, but many colored poultry are also found.
How much does a domestic duck weigh? The average body weight of these birds is 3-4 kg, the meat production yield reaches 70%. During the season, a duck can lay from 60-70 eggs to 250-300 pieces. In general, poultry carry 100-150 eggs per year. You can get acquainted with the duck and its appearance in more detail by looking at the photos and videos.
Domestic varieties have lost the ability to fly, but have not lost their ability and desire to swim, because in many farms they continue to be kept near water bodies. There are breeds that can be kept in a cage or with a very limited range. Some industrial producers practice co-breeding of ducks and fish so that birds can swim in water.
Using ducks
In European countries, ducks are mainly used for meat production. Some breeds in France are used to make fatty foie gras, although it is of lower quality than the goose gives. In Asia, ducks are also grown for eggs, as they are often used in traditional local cuisine. In Indonesia, some countries in Southeast Asia use ducks to clean rice fields after harvest from pests and rice debris.
In addition to meat and eggs from ducks, you can get valuable fluff and feather. They retain heat very well and are used for making blankets, pillows, winter clothes.
Domestic ducks gain weight very quickly, because their breeding does not lose its relevance. For example, broilers can be sent for slaughter already at 50-52 days of life with a weight of 3-3.5 kg. Previously, these birds in the household took second place after chickens. Now they have lost ground to the Turkeys, although in many Asian countries they maintain their leadership.
Breeds of ducks
Most ducks that are bred on private farms are not thoroughbred, although in industrial and semi-industrial conditions they prefer to use breeding birds. Breeds of ducks with different names have three directions:
- meat;
- egg
- meat and egg (universal);
- decorative.
The most popular large meat variety of ducks in the world is Peking White. She is the ancestor of many varieties of broilers and other meat varieties. Musk ducks are also widely used in breeding. They don’t have such fatty meat as Peking meat, it tastes a bit like game. When the Peking and Musk ducks were crossed, a breed of mulard hybrids was bred. They are barren, as parents belong to different species. Other breeds whose ancestors were white Peking ducks:
- white broiler ducks of Cherry Valley;
- blue duck favorite;
- gray or color Bashkir;
- Moscow white.
There are local breeds that have been bred in Europe since ancient times. These include:
- Swedish blue
- gray Ukrainian;
- black white-breasted.
A special place is occupied by ducks Indian runners, which are related to egg breeds. In America, the black duck, the kayuga, which bears the same black eggs, is known. Decorative ducks became popular in Europe not so long ago, although they have been bred for centuries in China. The decorative direction includes a beautiful colored mandarin duck, white crested. Sometimes a decorative kayug is bred.
Conditions of detention
Breeding and keeping domesticated ducks is not a problem, therefore it is accessible even to beginners. In small private farms, preference is given to free range, preferably with the presence of a reservoir. On a pond or on a river, birds can independently feed themselves, which significantly reduces costs. If there is no natural place for swimming, you can equip a small pool in the courtyard.
Industrial content can be of two types: cellular and with a limited range. They even try to keep the brood stock even in industrial enterprises in a spacious room or in an open aviary in order to maintain fertility.
To keep ducks in cages, you need to choose the right breed. Not every species will be able to gain mass normally under such conditions. The main requirements that should be followed when breeding and growing are as follows:
- Temperature. At high temperatures, the quality of the pen is lost, with low or sharp changes the risk of colds increases. In winter, the temperature in the house should be maintained within 7-14 ° C, in the summer - no higher than 12 ° C.
- Humidity. With high or low humidity, birds poorly gain weight, lose fluff and feather. Optimum performance is 65-75%.
- Lighting. Additionally, lighting should be provided in winter, so that the ducks better recover and rush. The daylight hours should be 9-12 hours in winter, and 12-14 in spring (during egg laying).
How to find out that the conditions for keeping ducks and caring for them are unsatisfactory without appliances? If the temperature is too low, the birds pile up in a pile, cling to each other. When the ducks are hot, they protrude their wings, often breathe with open beaks, drink a lot of water and strive to climb into the drinkers. If the house has high humidity, you will see that the feather loss is much higher than before. When there is low humidity where ducks live, their thirst intensifies.
Room requirements
It is not difficult to build a house for ducks, you can completely use the description of the chicken coop project. If you plan to keep 10-15 heads in the household, they will be able to live with other birds. Maintaining and breeding a larger population requires a separate room. One duck requires 0.5 m² of area. Most often, the house is done a little more so that the herd can be increased.
A duck house can be built from any material, but wood is best. From the inside it should be covered with plaster, plywood, cardboard, and also insulated. This will ensure dryness in the barn, protect the birds from cold in winter. Be sure to provide ventilation in the house. For 1 m² of area there should be 100 cm² of windows. In industrial farms, supply and exhaust ventilation is installed.
The floor in the house is raised 15-20 cm above the ground, it is best to make it from boards. Be sure to lay a litter about 30 cm thick on the floor. Keeping on bare boards is unacceptable, as ducks can catch arthritis, colds, and bird mortality will increase dramatically. Make a litter of peat, straw, sedge, dry reeds or other improvised material. We must not forget about lighting. The light bulb is not too bright, at 60-100 W, depending on the area.
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A manhole for ducks is made from the southwest or southeast side. It should be 40 cm wide and 30 cm high. A small canopy can be equipped above the hole from the outside to protect the ducks from rain and drafts. If the ducks cannot walk freely in the yard, they make an aviary. One individual should have at least 3 m² of its area. Be sure to put a large container of water in the aviary, in which ducks can swim. When it is possible to release ducks on a meadow and a pond, there is no need to equip an aviary.
Inventory
The duck house is equipped with feeders, drinking bowls and nests for eggs. The feeders are made of wood, the thickness of the board should be at least 2 cm. For wet mixers, you can make a metal feeder or beat wooden with tin. For one bird, an average of 10 cm² of feed capacity needs to be calculated. On top of the feeder they beat a bar that will prevent the ducks from climbing inside and stomping food. Separately equip a feeder for mineral additives, it can be divided into several compartments.
Drinkers are made of metal, it is easier to keep water clean. One duck per day should consume at least 600 ml of fluid. The volume of drinking bowls for the herd is calculated based on this need. The walls of the drinkers should be about 20 cm so that the birds do not climb inside. In the summer, feeders and drinking bowls are exposed in the aviary or yard. How to make feeders and drinking bowls, you can see in the photo and video.
Nests are installed in dark remote places of the house so that other birds have less contact with the duck and it is not afraid. It is best to place them near the walls, providing free access. The dimensions of the nest are 40 × 50 × 50 cm. A small sill 5-10 cm high is equipped at the front wall so that the eggs do not roll out and the litter does not spill out. Inside, lay straw, dry leaves, sedge, or the same material that is used for bedding in the house. One nest is equipped for three birds.
Ducks rush at night or in the morning, because eggs are worth collecting after the birds go for a walk in the aviary or in the yard. Ducks are very shy, because the masonry should be checked as carefully as possible. A frightened bird reduces or completely loses egg production.
Duck feeding
Domestic ducks are waterfowl. In nature, they mainly ate grass, duckweed, ate snails, and juicy stalks of algae, which is why their ration should have approximately the same ratio of grain and greens with root crops. Be sure to give products that are of animal origin. The most commonly used meat, meat and bone or fish meal. The diet of domestic duck include:
- cereals (corn, wheat, barley, oats);
- legumes (peas, beans, lupins, lentils);
- agricultural waste (cake and oilseed meal, beet cake, brewer's yeast);
- succulent feed (grass, duckweed, plant tops, vegetables, silage);
- mineral additives (chalk, shells, fine gravel).
The feed ratio in the menu depends on various factors. If it is planned to maintain and fatten for meat, a larger amount of grain is added to the diet. The broodstock that is involved in raising ducklings cannot be overfed, even if it is a meat breed. Obese ducks rush poorly, and drakes poorly fertilize eggs.
In summer, the ducks, which are on free pasture, get the main food themselves. When swimming in ponds, they eat algae, duckweed, mollusks, snails. In this case, you can give ducks 2 times a day. Before slaughter, they switch to three meals a day. In winter, the basis of the diet is cereals and silage. At industrial enterprises use compound feed. Be sure to add herbal flour, vegetables, vitamins to the winter diet. There are ducks in the winter 3-4 times a day.
Duck breeding
Broodstock formation
To breed ducks at home was successful, you need to properly form a broodstock. Ducklings begin to be selected from birth. First they pay attention to the strongest and most mobile, then they monitor the weight gain, and those who are best recovering are selected for the maternal herd. The last selection is carried out in 150 days, weight in kg, appearance, activity and mobility are estimated.
It is best for the maternal herd to take ducklings that were born in July or August. If multiple selection is practiced, you can take the January, May and September chicks. There should be 8 females per 1 drake, although in the wild one drake lives with one duck. The maternal herd is separated from other ducks that are intended for meat.
Keeping and caring for the parent flock is an important part of the successful breeding of ducklings. Birds must live in a separate aviary or house. It is important to maintain cleanliness in the nests, the litter is changed daily. On the eve of oviposition, daylight hours are gradually increased so that ultimately it lasts 16 hours. The average productivity of ducks from the mother herd is 2-3 years. A good drake can live up to 8 years.
Egg incubation
Domestic duck is an excellent mother hen, this applies to almost all breeds. The Beijing type can hatch eggs of even other species, for example, geese. Worse, maternal instincts are developed in hybrid broilers, and muleards are generally barren.
When the female begins to hatch, you need to take eggs from her, carefully lay and store at 13 ° C. The eggs are flipped daily to prevent the embryo from sticking to the shell.
If the duck has stopped walking, it plucks the fluff from its chest to insulate the nest, and sits there for a long time, which means it is ready to hatch. You can put a test egg under it. The female should sit on it for at least 10 hours a day. Incubation lasts 26-28 days, at this time the brood hen needs to provide normal care, peace, access to water, normal feeding.
When there is no brood, an artificial incubation can be performed. Use a standard incubator for this, as for chicken eggs. In the first days, the temperature should be 38 ° C, then it is gradually reduced to 37 ° C. After the 20th day, periodic cooling is practiced (2-3 times a day for 10-15 minutes). The incubator should have good ventilation, moderate humidity within 60%. Duck embryos require more oxygen than chicken. You can periodically irrigate the shell with water at room temperature, because in nature the duck periodically goes to the pond to find food, then again with wet feathers sits on the masonry.
Growing young
Domestic duck is mainly poultry, because most ducklings are raised for meat. It is very important for young animals to provide good care, normal temperature and feeding in the early days. In the early days, the room temperature is maintained at 28-30 ° C, then it is gradually reduced. Lighting should be around the clock in the first week, then it is reduced daily by an hour.
The egg yolk will feed the chicks in the first 18 hours, but already during this period they should learn to eat regular feed. First they are given protein-rich foods. In the first 20 days, the protein content in the feed should be about 20%, then it gradually decreases to 11-15%. Little ducklings are fed a boiled egg, cottage cheese. From the second or third day they can be given porridge, cottage cheese. It is important in the early days to show ducklings how to eat. To do this, pour food on their backs, carefully put them in their beaks.
At the end of the first week, chopped greens are added to the food. From 10 days, ducklings can be released into the street so that they learn how to get their own food. Chicks are able to swim from birth, so it’s nice to provide them access to water. If they grow with a duck, she will begin to bring them to the reservoir already during the first day.
It is very important in the early days to conduct the selection of chicks, if the plans include the creation of broodstock. Ducklings are evaluated according to the following criteria:
- uniform pigmented and fluffy plumage;
- soft tummy, umbilical cord without bruising;
- eyes are convex, shiny;
- the wings are pressed snugly against the body;
- weight not less than 50 g.
In the future, you need to monitor the behavior of the chicks, the rate of increase in mass. Ducklings are carefully inspected for defects. Birds that are intended for rearing for meat are kept separately. Already from 20 days begins their enhanced fattening. You can release ducks to the pond, then the weight will arrive more slowly, but the feed consumption will be less.If ducks live indoors or on a limited range, they are fed 3-4 times a day with a predominance of cereals and legumes.
Ducks are slaughtered in 60-70 days, before molting begins. If you miss this moment, you will have to wait about 120 days, which will entail excessive feed consumption. Broilers can be sent for slaughter and butcher at the age of 50-52 days. By that time, the bird weighs an average of 3.5 kg (the average live weight of ordinary birds at this age is only 2-2.5 kg, or even less). Many people prefer to take these breeds for cultivation, since their productivity is higher.