Duck breeding: at home for beginners without loss

Breeding and keeping ducks is a profitable business. These birds are bred for meat and eggs. In addition, farmers use duck feathers and down, as well as manure to fertilize their home gardens. Beginners are attracted by the lack of difficulty in care and the small territory that a flock of ducks require. However, in order to get the maximum profit from birds, you need to know the basic nuances of rearing.

Rules for choosing a breed for breeding

Before you start organizing a farm, you need to choose a breed of poultry, and for this, the farmer first needs to understand what he wants to get from ducks.If meat is a priority, then it is recommended to raise meat-oriented birds, if eggs, you need to pay attention to egg breeds.

Today farmers consider popular breeds of domestic ducks:

• Bashkir duck;
• Peking duck;
• mulardov;
• indoutok;
• gray Ukrainian duck;
• khaki campbell;
• cayugu;
• Saxon duck;
• Indian runner.

In Russia, they prefer to breed meat or meat-egg ducks. Ducks of egg breeds are not very profitable, since their egg production is inferior to the productivity of chickens.

Beginners are advised to start with traditional duck breeds that do not require much care.The Beijing breed will be a good choice, since it is characterized by precocity, unpretentious feed, will endure the absence of a reservoir, and feels good in conditions of heat and cold. That is, this breed of ducks will forgive the beginner some errors in the content. However, putting a female in a nest and waiting for high egg production is not worth it: the Peking duck is an unscrupulous mother hen.

Breeding ducklings with a mother hen

You can grow ducklings in several ways, one of which is with the help of a mother hen. For these purposes, choose a turkey, chicken or duck. The number of eggs depends on the season. The maximum quantity in summer is 15 units, in spring - up to 12 units.

The owner should, first of all, organize a nest for a duck.This will require straw, the presence of feathers, but the bird will take care of this element itself. Eggs should not roll out of the nest, so it is better to make it with small sides. Location - a darkened area of the poultry house. If possible, nest areas should be blocked off with light material to prevent other birds from disturbing the brood hen.

The first brood of chicks should appear 27-28 days after the start of incubation. As soon as the ducklings are born, the farmer needs to transplant them into a separate box. If the weather is cool, then an additional source of heat and light will be required. The optimum temperature for babies is 30 °C. Sometimes the ducklings are returned to the mother hen, but in this case it is important to make sure that the duck will accept all the chicks.

Raising birds in an incubator at home for beginners

Experienced farmers choose to grow ducklings in an incubator, because in this case you can not be tied to the season.In addition, the device allows you to get offspring without loss. Modern incubators are equipped with a variety of options, for example, automatic turning of eggs after a certain period of time, maintaining humidity and a special temperature regime, as well as opening the lid for short-term ventilation and removal of accumulated gases inside the device.

The farmer makes every effort and knowledge to select eggs. It is important to choose eggs without damage, pollution. Check the condition of the yolk and the air chamber, which should be placed at the bottom. With the help of an ovoscope, it is necessary to determine the fertility. On the 10th day of being in the incubator, it is necessary to check the eggs for the presence of embryos.

You will need 55-60% humidity and 37.8 to 38.2°C to produce chicks, depending on the day of laying. Sudden temperature changes are unacceptable. After the chicks appear, you need to transplant them into a box or wooden box, providing them with additional heat and light.It is also important to keep the inside of the box dry.

Feeding from the first days of life

Beginners in poultry farming should be aware that the he alth of the bird and subsequent productivity depend on proper feeding. The first week after the birth of the chicks is the most difficult. They should be fed up to 8 times a day. The first meal should be in the early morning, the last one before nightfall.

The diet of daily ducklings should include cottage cheese, curdled milk, chopped boiled eggs, porridge. Drinkers with clean water for birds should be placed next to the feeders.

After 5-7 days after the birth of ducklings, a small amount of ground corn or wheat turd can be added to their diet. Further, dairy products should be replaced by fresh chopped herbs. Owners try to give duckweed to chicks in unlimited quantities, because babies grow quickly from it.

For proper maintenance and breeding, subsequent productivity, the diet is of great importance. First of all, the he alth of the bird depends on it.

Care for the next generation

Caring for newborns involves ensuring the right comfortable microclimate in the house and the place where the little chicks live. In detail, it is important to provide babies with light and an additional source of light until they get stronger. The first day after birth, they should be under a special lamp. In summer, you need to take care of good ventilation, regular airing of the room. Comfortable temperature for birds is 20 °C, humidity is minimal.

The house and chick box should be cleaned daily and disinfected once a week. Every day you need to change the bedding, it must be dry. You need to take care of the young and create special conditions for them until the age of six weeks, after which they can be considered adult birds.

When the chicks get stronger, you should take care of walking in the fresh air, because daily exercise is the key to good he alth. You need to organize walking in a cozy place, in the grass with small shrubs. Feeders and drinkers can also be placed there. However, the farmer should protect the chicks from predators. In windy and wet weather, ducks do not need to be released for a walk.

What problems might you encounter

A beginner farmer will definitely face a number of problems when raising ducks. It is better to take care of them in advance. First of all, this is a room. It must meet certain requirements. It is important to provide the birds with daily walking and access to the reservoir, since the duck is a waterfowl. You need the right diet. In addition to the main products, vitamin and mineral supplements, as well as fresh herbs are important for birds.

Chicks will require special care, especially at first.For them, the temperature regime, a certain humidity, are important. Hygiene and disinfection - a kind of disease prevention. This is the foundation of good content. Before you start breeding and raising ducks, you should evaluate your strength, plan the time, otherwise it will not bring the desired result.

Recommended