What to feed ducks: the best diet for rapid growth at home for beginners

Successful breeding of ducks is impossible without a competent feeding ration. High-quality, high-calorie, balanced nutrition increases egg and meat productivity. Choosing what to feed ducks and ducks, the farmer focuses on the number of livestock, desired productivity and financial capabilities. On large farms, they choose intensive fattening with mixed fodder; on private farmsteads, it is customary to feed ducks with natural grain and grass fodder.

What do ducks eat?

The diet of ducks should be varied and balanced, the only way to achieve high livestock productivity. Birds eat:

1. Grain feed is the basis of the duck diet. Whole and crushed grains, sowing are sources of carbohydrates, vitamins, mineral elements that provide energy for the development of the body. Birds willingly eat wheat, corn, barley, oatmeal, boiled rice. Whole grains should not be given to ducklings, it will burden the digestive tract, due to which the young will die. Feeding ducklings up to 2 weeks of age is supposed to be turf or coarsely ground flour (barley, without shells).
2. Juicy food. Herbs, algae, vegetables - birds love to feast on them in summer.
3. Animal food. It is necessary for ducks as a source of proteins and mineral elements that provide skeletal strength and body growth. Small fish, fish and bone meal are used to feed ducks.
4. Mineral supplements. Strengthen the skeleton, prevent calcium deficiency. Especially necessary for laying hens, whose body spends a lot of minerals on the formation of eggshells.

The table shows a list of foods that are recommended to feed ducks. Combining and replacing them, they make up the optimal diet for egg-laying and meat birds. Benefits

Acceptable portion cereal foodcorn main easily digestible source of carbohydrates in the diet of ducks40-50% of total feed wheatsupplier of proteins (14%), tocopherol and B-group vitamins one third of the daily ration barleysource of carbohydratesoatsprotein supplier (15%)peasmajor protein supplier used in ground form10% of cereal feed succulent feed duckweed, Elodea main vitamin and mineral source for ducks15 g per day for a duckling, up to 500 g for an adult mandatory vitamin supplement 15-20% of rac ionavegetablescabbage leaves, pumpkin, carrot - sources of carotenoids and vitamins 10-15% of the daily portion 15-20 % adult birds in small quantities (ducklings under 3 weeks old should not be given) fishmeal contains proteins (50%), B-group vitamins, calcium and phosphorus5% of total feedbonemeal comparable to fish meal, but contains less protein (30%)fish filletreplacing fishmeal 20g per individualcottage cheese and wheyprotein and calcium suppliers main sources of calcium helps the bird grind solid food particles in the stomach

	root vegetables	potatoes, crushed sugar beets - boiled
	silage	juicy vitamin food from legumes herbs and vegetables
	animal food
	small amount
mineral supplements		chalk, shell rock
2 -3% of the main feed		coarse sand
10-15 g per week
s alt	mineral spring used if diet of ducks of non-s alted vegetables and concentrates	0.2% of the total feed mass

The diet of ducks changes as they grow older. Memo for novice farmers on how to properly feed ducklings from birth to adulthood using the example of CT5 and STAR-53 broilers:

1. Feeding ducklings up to 5 days - boiled yolk (10 g), wet mash and chopped grass (5 g each).
2. From the 5th day, millet (3 g), wheat and corn grist (5 g), bone-fish mixture in equal proportions (4 g), skimmed milk (2 g) are added.
3. For two weeks - wheat and corn turd (70 g), grain mixture (15 g), millet (10 g), low-fat cottage cheese (20 g), fish meal (8 g), sunflower meal, bone and herbal flour (5 g each), yeast (3 g), shell rock and chalk (2 g), s alt (0.5 g).
4. For menstruation - turd (100 g), bran and greens (60 g each), grain mixture (20 g), fish meal (10 g), bone meal (7 g), chalk and shell rock (2 g ).
5. For two-month-olds - the diet is the same as for monthly ducklings, but a serving of corn grist is taken 70 g, wheat - 30 g, grain mixture - 60 g.

Forbidden bird food

Despite the omnivorous nature of ducks, certain foods should not be given to them:

• old bread, moldy food are sources of aspergillosis (fresh soaked bread is allowed in small amounts);
• fine flour (in the mouth, when interacting with saliva, it turns into a sticky mass, clogs the nasal passages);
• milk (causes diarrhea in ducks);
• poisonous herbs - henbane, celandine, hemlock and others;
• maple leaves.

The nettles are scalded with boiling water before use to neutralize the burning villi that can irritate the stomach of ducks.

Do not feed the birds with zucchini and cucumbers in large quantities - these vegetables increase the leaching of calcium from the body. You can’t feed ducks potato and fruit peels, watermelon and pumpkin peels - the bird’s digestive tract simply cannot cope with the digestion of rough food.

How many times a day should I feed?

Newborn ducklings are supposed to be fed for the first time a day after pecking. Before that, they only drink a weak manganese solution. For the first week of life, ducklings eat every 2-3 hours, that is, 6-7 times a day. After 3-4 days from birth, the chicks can be released with their mother to feed on the pond, then the owner only needs to feed them 3-4 times a day.

Feeding norms for grown ducklings: when kept at home - 4 times a day, with free range - 2 times, in the morning and in the evening.

Composition of compound feed for ducks

Ready-made compound feed for the rapid growth of ducks is sold in a livestock store, but it is better to cook it yourself, saving money. The preparation is simple, while the farmer will be sure of the quality of the feed. To make compound feed, they take grain mixture and greens. A simple and versatile product option includes the following components:

• cornmeal;
• wheat bran;
• clover;
• alfalfa;
• nettle leaves;
• willow leaves.

Mixed feed is a perishable product, so they prepare such an amount that the birds eat per day. Take a 10 liter bucket. Green components are crushed, poured with boiling water, left for half an hour. Then bran and wheat flour are added to make a mass of dense consistency.It is thoroughly stirred until smooth.

Subtleties of feeding depending on the season

It is more difficult to feed ducks in winter, because there is no natural vitamin food - herbs, vegetables. The winter diet is based on cereals, grain mixtures, wet mash. Bone and fish meal, hay, carrots, boiled potatoes are used as a useful addition.

The basis of the diet in summer is greens. It is good if free range is used, and there is a natural reservoir near the poultry house, in which the birds get a significant part of the food (algae, underwater vegetation, insects, mollusks). In this case, the owner needs to feed the ducks 2 times a day. If the birds are kept in a paddock, then they should be fed with wet mash twice a day, twice more with dry grain feed.

Fatting adult ducks for meat before slaughter

Ducks are fattened for meat for 2-3 months. 15 days before slaughter, food with a high protein content is included in the diet: boiled potatoes, legumes, cottage cheese. Fish products are excluded so as not to spoil the taste of duck meat.

Meat individuals are placed in a non-complex cage that restricts movement so that the bird's body spends less calories.

The basis of the diet is nourishing mash, made up of boiled potatoes, boiled corn, wheat, barley grains, seasoned with meat brew or sour milk whey. It is necessary to feed the mash 3 times a day. It is important that broilers eat every last crumb. An approximate daily ration of fattened ducks (g per individual) is shown in the table: Age, days 30

31-50 51-60boiled yolk 3low fat cottage cheese3710skimmed milk boiled meat trimmings chopped greens boiled potatoes 406080 crushed grain 2306080 5 2 0.5 3yeast0,2 0, 5111.5chalk, shell rock1 23 0.2 sand1 122

5	10	20
5	10	15	20	25
20	30	60	70	80
	20
			100		bran
15	25	35	40		grain waste
15	25	30	40		meal, cake
5	8	15	20		bonemeal
1	1.5	2
	5	6		s alt
0.5	1	1

Feeding during lay

The diet for the laying hen is selected taking into account its egg production, the daily portions of the products are indicated in the table:

Monthly egg production, piecesup to 3up to 10to 15to 18to 22 grain mix4560758085corn flour100herbal flour40boiled potatoes605040grass and root vegetables90100110meal, cake2.59.51213.515meat trimmings 1.56.57.59.5 bonemeal chalk, shell rock 68,591011s alt 11.51.51.51,5

Product
				10.5
1	1, 5	1.5	1.5	2

Egg-laying birds are given higher portions of foods rich in calcium and other minerals. Feed ducks 4 times a day. It is recommended to add a yeast solution to the feed (20 g per 1 liter of water). The laying hen should drink about 1 liter of water per day, however, it is not advisable to give wet food during the incubation period.

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