French duck: description and characteristics of the CT5 breed, cultivation and care

Cultivation and breeding of meat breeds of ducks is one of the profitable poultry industries. Among the duck varieties, French ducks, bred from Peking and musk ducks, stand out. Consider their origin, description and characteristics, pros and cons, features of breeding, growing, how to make a diet, what diseases you may encounter and how to avoid them.

Origin

Cross Peking duck Orbia ST5 (CT5) bred in France. This is a meat direction bird, the hybrid is used for industrial cultivation. The cross is obtained from 4 selected pure lines of Peking breed.Cross-country improvement was carried out after 2004, now the company supplies birds to 4 continents. Ducks have typical broiler characteristics, they are quickly fattened, for which they are valued by poultry farmers. Simultaneously with the Pekingese cross, the company introduced Muscovy duck hybrids - the ST6 C and ST6 LC crosses.

Appearance and characteristics of the breed

The French duck looks like a meat bird - with a strong constitution, massive, dense, with large muscle mass, especially on the breast. Representatives of the cross grow rapidly, in 42 days of cultivation they reach a weight of 3.5 kg, while spending 1.88 feed per 1 kg of weight gain. units The plumage of CT5 is pure white, which allows you to also receive income from the sale of the feather.

Heavy line of Pekin ducks are raised as broilers, both in industrial factories and in households.

Description of the breed claims that ducks can be kept as good laying hens - for 1 season from each duck you can get, on average, 296 eggs, weighing 88 g each. If you get ducklings on your farm, then their survival rate is 96%.

Pros and Cons of French Ducks

Pros and consintensive growth;fast fattening;precocity;endurance;good egg production;not fatty meat;white plumage.

Disadvantages of French Duck Crosses: You can't get ducklings at home from your own ducks as they are hybrids.

Maintenance and care requirements

Despite the undemanding nature of French hybrids, it is necessary to take a responsible attitude to the organization of their maintenance and care. Ducks raised for meat as broilers and as breeding ducks should live in a spacious building. Each duck should have at least 0.5 square meters. m. area.

If the birds are forced to live in cramped conditions, not only will they not show their potential, but they will also start to get sick.

Duckhouse for French ducks should be warm, light and dry. Dampness, stuffiness, cold or heat, drafts and air filled with ammonia are not allowed. The floor of the duck room must be covered with a layer of moisture-absorbing material - straw, peat, hay. It needs to be changed as soon as it gets dirty. Dirty litter is the cause of the spread of infections and digestive diseases, which causes the death of the bird.

Temperature in the poultry house and humidity - from 20 to 30 ˚С and 60-70%. Lighting in summer - natural, in winter - artificial, lasting 10-12 hours. If daylight hours are shorter, laying hens will rush worse. We must not forget about the daily airing of the house. The fresh air that ducks breathe keeps them he althy.

Like other duck breeds, French cross ducks need to be let out for a walk - on a pond or walking yard.Its area should be such that for each sq. m accounted for 1 bird. On the site you can put a container in which to pour water for bathing. Ducks must spend at least 8 hours a day on the run.

Motion has a positive effect on the physical and mental state of French ducks. They grow faster, get sick less, start laying sooner, productivity increases, meat quality improves.

Diet

Like any breed or cross between meat and broiler, Orvia French ducks have a fast metabolism. They eat a lot and often, absorb nutrients from the feed well, turning them into muscle mass, that is, into meat. It is possible to achieve good results in feeding ducks only if you approach this issue with all responsibility. Birds, especially those fed for meat, should be fed at least 3 times a day, or even more often.

The diet consists of grassy and grain foods.Ducks eat soft food, absorb nutrients better from wet mash or crumbly cereals than from dry grain. They, unlike chickens, do not digest whole grains well, they need to be given fine chopped and preferably boiled. Add herbal chopped, grated vegetables and root crops to mash or porridge, mix in chalk, s alt, premixes.

French ducks love to swim and don't mind visiting a pond. If there is water nearby, you can release birds to the pond. In their natural environment, they will find food, so there is little need to feed them.

Features of breeding and growing at home

You can get your French cross ducklings only if you buy a hatching egg and breed ducklings in an incubator.The second option is to purchase young animals in breeding farms. Ducks are hybrid, so they cannot be bred like thoroughbreds, getting generations of birds at home. With each new generation, hybrid qualities will disappear.

French duck eggs are incubated in the same way as other breeds. Further care for the chicks consists of placing them in a brooder and feeding them until they are one month old. If the ducklings are under the duck, then it with the offspring must be transplanted for the same time separately.

French ducks of French selection are fed for 1.5 months. By this age, as the manufacturers promise, they will weigh up to 3 kg. Then the growth rate will decrease, but the appetite will increase. Ducks will eat more, but gains will slow down. Therefore, only those birds that will lay eggs can be left for further maintenance.

Diseases and their prevention

Under the conditions of hygiene, proper feeding, hybrids rarely get sick.They are characterized by he alth, endurance, activity. But if you neglect the conditions of detention, keep the bird in the mud, do not walk it, feed it poorly or incorrectly, diseases will not slow down to appear. French cross ducks suffer from infectious diseases and pathologies of the digestive system, metabolic diseases. This leads to a deterioration in the performance of the livestock, a slowdown in weight gain and the loss of birds.

Prevention of infections and digestive diseases: regular house cleaning, timely feeding, water changes, daily walks. As well as disinfection of the premises and inventory.

French ducks - new hybrids of Peking and Muscovy ducks - bred for industrial use. But they can be kept in the household. The technology of keeping and feeding, care and breeding is standard, so the poultry breeder should not have any difficulties. Ducks can be bred for yourself or organize a small duck farm, crosses are suitable for organizing breeding for meat and making a profit.