Broiler ducks: top 10 breeds and their characteristics, growing at home

Cultivation of broiler ducks is becoming more and more popular due to the high productivity and profitability of this poultry industry. These birds, bred as a result of careful selection, quickly reach lethal maturity, do not need complex care. Representatives of most broiler breeds are prolific, their meat is tender and juicy, suitable for preparing restaurant dishes.

Features and description of broiler ducks

All currently existing breeds of broiler ducks are hybrids. Their progenitors are the Indo-duck and the Peking duck. Both parent breeds have disadvantages: Peking ducks have too fatty meat, noisy behavior and a tendency to overeat, Indian ducks have low adaptability to temperature conditions, and the meat tastes like wild, which not all gourmets like.Breeders managed to minimize the above disadvantages in hybrids.

The weight of broiler ducks grows rapidly, in a short time the duckling turns into an adult, looks large and well-fed. Many farmers manage to grow 2 or 3 offspring in a season.

Broiler ducklings are killed before 7 months of age, before the molting period. At this age, the feathers change from nestling to hard, which negatively affects the quality of meat products. And teenage broilers also have an increased appetite, their further maintenance becomes simply unprofitable.

Bird varieties

Many breeds of broiler ducks have been bred, differing in external features, egg and meat productivity, and resistance to external factors. A suitable breed should be chosen based on financial resources, care and maintenance opportunities.

Musk American

The main external sign of the breed is red skin around the eyelids and above the beak. The head of the male is decorated with red cone-shaped growths. Muscovy ducks are characterized not by quacking, but by loud hissing.

Adult broiler drake reaches a weight of 6 kg, female - 3.5-4 kg. The meat is lean, tastes like game, which is due to the secretion of musky fluid by the glands. Ducks rush from spring to the end of summer, one individual gives up to 120 eggs per season. The egg is white and weighs 70 g. To keep the musk broiler, you will have to build a barn with insulation.

Pros and consunpretentiousness in content;content without the presence of a reservoir is permissible;dietary meat.sensitivity to low temperatures.I like it I don't like it

White Beijing

Peking ducks have a massive build, a large head on a short neck. Beak flattened, orange. The limbs are short with wide membranes. Feather coating is dense.

With high-quality feeding with the predominant inclusion of proteins in 60-75 days, the female grows up to 3 kg. The male can reach 5 kg. Females begin to rush from 150-155 days of life. The egg weighs 90 g. During the season, the bird produces about 120 eggs.

Pros and consgood metabolism, allowing you to quickly gain weight;lack of capriciousness in content;lean meat;the possibility of growing without organizing a reservoir.the cost of nutrition associated with the organization of high-quality feeding throughout the day.I like it I don't like it

Agidel

The broiler breed was bred in Bashkortostan in the early 2000s on the basis of hybrids: Blagovar ducks, Indian runners and Super-M. In 60 days the bird reaches 3 kg.

Pros and conslean meat, suitable for stewing, frying, preparing broths;high content of nutrients in meat;undemanding to the content;the possibility of breeding both in cages and in a free way;strong immunity, immunity to infectious diseases;high egg production.lower slaughter weight compared to other breeds;decrease in productivity in the free content.I like it I don't like it1

Cherry Valley

The world's most popular broiler duck breed was bred by the British. The ancestor is a duck crossed with a white Beijing broiler. Visually, cherry valley ducks are similar to Beijing relatives, they have a wide chest, a large head, short legs with a thick skeleton, and white plumage.

Young growth reaches maturity by six months, a female productive in terms of egg production can be left up to 3 years. With a quality diet, 50 days are enough for a young individual to gain 3.5 kg. About 150 eggs are obtained from one duck per year, each of which weighs 80-90 g.

Pros and conshigh growth rate;survival of chicks - up to 90%;dietary meat, red, with excellent taste;the liver is suitable for the production of foie gras.exactingness to the quality of feeding;the need for a reservoir.I like1 Dislike

Mulard

French breed created in the 1960s based on Peking and Muscovy ducks. Slaughter weight by 2 months of age reaches 3.5-4 kg. Duck meat of this breed is not fatty even with high-calorie feeding.

Pros and consactive weight gain;lack of capriciousness in nutrition and care;tasty dietary meat with a low percentage of fat.sterility of female ducks;the possibility of breeding only in the incubator way with the purchase of eggs.I like it I don't like it1

Star-53

French meat breed is divided into 2 types: medium growth rate (by 55 days they eat 4 kg) and high (up to 4.5 kg, with 30% of the meat being the sternum). Ducks, regardless of type, produce up to 280 eggs per season.

Representatives of the broiler breed have a massive physique, an elongated torso, a voluminous, slightly protruding chest. The feathers are light yellow.

Ducks are usually reared by the free method, subdued lighting is maintained in the poultry house.

Pros and conshigh growth topics;meat of excellent quality - juicy, tender;low fat content of meat even with frequent and high-calorie feeding.susceptibility to conditions of detention;he alth deterioration due to drafts, temperatures below 20 ° C, temperature changes.I like it I don't like it

Favorite

Also, this breed of broiler ducks, randomly bred by specialists from Bashkortostan, is called Pharaoh. Characteristics of the breed: created as an intermediate selection of the Beijing variety, slaughter weight 2.5 kg in 2 months, if you want more productivity, ducks grow for another month, 3.5 kg comes out.

Pros and consactive weight gain;precocity;endurance;juicy, flavorful meat.slightly fatty meat, therefore a high caloric content of the feed is undesirable;lower slaughter weight compared to other breeds.I like it I don't like it1

Pace

Young broiler hybrid with dense white plumage is derived from X-11 ducks bred from cherry valley. The slaughter weight of drakes by 50-55 days reaches 3 kg, females - 2.5 kg, after reaching this age, 3 times more feed is spent for each kilogram of weight of ducks left alive. Egg laying begins already at the age of six months, up to 150 eggs are obtained from an individual per year.

Pros and consprecocity;tasty, pleasantly smelling meat of medium fat content (up to 20%);trouble-free reproduction, fertilization of up to 90% of eggs;cold resistance.breeding profitability only up to 55 days of age.I like it I don't like it

Medeo

Russian broiler breed was created on the basis of Cherry Valley, does not lag behind it in terms of productivity. For 2 months, the weight of ducks reaches 3.5 kg. The female produces about 150 eggs per year. Each egg weighs 80-90g. Chick survival rate is 70%.

Pros and consexcellent taste of meat;moderation in nutrition, saving feed;high egg production;adaptation to the conditions of detention.the requirement of quality care and a balanced diet.I like it I don't like it

Orvia

The French broiler breed comes from a Star-53 hybrid. After 55 days, the bird reaches 4 kg with moderate feeding. One female produces up to 250 eggs per year.

Pros and consthe possibility of cell cultivation without walking;fast growth rates;precocity;feed savings;juicy, tender meat with a low percentage of fat.ducks do not have a maternal instinct;the need to raise chicks in an incubator.I like1 DislikeFinal ranking tablecherry valleyoneOrviaoneMusk AmericanWhite BeijingStar-53PaceMedeoAgidel-oneMulard-oneFavorite-one

Good and bad sides

Broiler farming is a cost-effective poultry farming that is growing in popularity year after year.

Pros and consin a short time eat up a significant mass;suitable for sending for slaughter after 60-90 days;give tender, juicy, aromatic meat with a low percentage of fat;do not require complex care and large cash injections;do not need a reservoir;suitable for cage keeping.problematic breeding due to poorly developed maternal instinct or sterility;susceptibility to a large list of diseases;gluttony, the requirement of a large amount of feed.

A place for maintenance and care

Duck room should be dry, spacious, ventilated, disinfected. Light day should last 10 hours. The optimum temperature is 22-24 °C, air humidity is 65-70%. Overheating and hypothermia lead to a weakening of the immune system. Growing at home means plenty of space for each bird. When relocated, broilers do not gain weight well. 1 m² fits 15 month old ducklings and 6-8 adults.

Litter is made from straw, hay, sawdust. 12 kg is required per individual for the growing period. The litter is changed as it becomes soiled to prevent infection of duck feet.

It is desirable to grow broiler ducks with the possibility of walking. Construct a fenced walking area. To take care of the birds, feeders and drinkers are installed on the site, an artificial reservoir is built, which must be cleaned regularly.

What do broilers eat

Private poultry farmers prefer to feed broiler birds with grain and vegetable food, large farmers prefer feed. Feeding is usually continued up to 2-3 months, by this age the young individual weighs enough for slaughter.

In the first week, ducklings are given a boiled egg, cottage cheese, millet porridge, chopped greens. Gradually introduce beans and grains into the diet. At 3 weeks, broiler ducklings eat barley, wheat, corn, greens. In the first days of life, broilers grow on protein food (20% of the diet), closer to slaughter, the amount decreases to 10%.

Proper diet for broiler ducks:

• grain, bran - 45%;
• greens - 40%;
• beans - 10%;
• shell rock, chalk - 2%;
• garden supplements (zucchini, pumpkin) - 2%;
• fish oil - 1%.

Birds grazing near the pond willingly eat duckweed.

When grown on mixed fodder up to 3 weeks, start, then finish nutrition is used. Recommended Daily Portions:

• 1st week - 95g;
• 2nd - 105;
• 3rd - 155;
• 4th - 205;
• 5th - 215;
• 6th - 250;
• 7th - 255;
• 8th - 260.

Nuances of breeding

Only purebred ducks are bred. When breeding individuals of the 2nd generation, ducklings appear with blurred pedigree qualities.For breeding create a group of 4 females and 1 drake. If the maternal instinct is not atrophied in ducks, then a secluded place with a nest is prepared for incubation. You can take a wooden box. It is enough to lay the egg on the ground. The female herself drags straw and blades of grass into the nest, sits on the eggs until all the ducklings peck.

If the female refuses motherhood, you will have to use the incubator. Eggs are rejected by the transillumination method, disinfected, placed in an incubator, kept at a temperature of 37.8 ° C, humidity 60-70%.

What diseases are they prone to?

Broilers are susceptible to infection and adverse external factors, they often get sick:

• conjunctivitis and ulceration of mucous membranes due to hypovitaminosis of retinol;
• convulsions, bradycardia due to tocopherol hypovitaminosis;
• colds, viral infections;
• intestinal infections;
• level disease due to mineral deficiency (birds begin to eat inedible objects);
• cuticculitis - deficiency of retinol and vitamin B group, accompanied by diarrhea and malnutrition.

Prevention of these diseases is to maintain cleanliness and order in the house, proper and balanced feeding, good ventilation, regular disinfection.

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