Duckweed for ducks: what is useful and from what age can be given, how to feed properly

Everyone has seen on the surface of a pond or river a green plant with very small leaves - duckweed, but not everyone knows that it is she - the main food for ducklings. It is difficult to overestimate the benefits of duckweed for ducks - the plant contains all the trace elements necessary for proper growth and development - calcium, silicon, iodine and phosphorus. In central Russia, you can find three types - small, large and three-row.

How useful is duckweed for ducks?

Contains a lot of protein, so you can save on artificial feed by adding an aquatic plant to the diet of young ducklings. It can be used both independently and as part of a combined feed.The food is not picky about storage conditions, it waits out the winter well, so even in the cold season you can provide birds with quality food.

With the help of the plant, high gains in live weight are achieved. In terms of nutritional value, duckweed is comparable to representatives of grain crops, but it costs much less and grows twice as fast.

100 grams of feed contains up to 1-2 grams of pure protein. The composition includes rare elements - iodine and iron, which are not enough in ordinary plants. With the help of duckweed, a farmer can save up to 30-40% of the total cost of feeding on concentrated feed.

At what age can I give?

Ducklings receive the first portion of an aquatic plant on the 4th-5th day of life. Green pods are placed in a drinking bowl. Young birds are pre-fed, because hungry ducklings can swallow too much green food, which will cause clogging of the goiter. Adult ducks feed up to any age on their own, but not more than 0.5 kg per day.

If the animals are free-range in a pond, it is advisable to supplement the diet with concentrated feed daily, otherwise the birds will not be ready for wintering and will not gain the desired body weight. Remember that duckweed is a groundbait, not a staple food, so ducks cannot be expected to do well without other concentrated foods.

This applies to ornamental or imported breeds such as the Peking duck, which is sensitive to feeding and nutrient balance.

How to feed properly?

You can not give bait in unlimited quantities. The first portions of ducklings are received on the 4th-5th day of life, at the rate of 10-15 grams for each newborn. Gradually, the portions increase, and the maximum volume is no more than 500 grams per day per duckling. With this feeding, a rapid increase in body weight is achieved.

Unfortunately, you cannot feed ducks only with duckweed. The plant lacks vitamin C, which is necessary for the proper development of the duck.

If you do not add it to the diet, the birds will rush poorly, gain weight, and a serious lack of the mineral will cause an endemic disease - beriberi or hypovitaminosis.

Duckweed can be obtained for free at any suitable reservoir. Most breeders collect the plant with special wide nets, and give it to ducks, both dried and fresh. Also, farmers grow food on the site, in a specially dug pond, and prepare "hay" for the winter. To do this, the plants are laid out in a clean and dry, calm place, for example, under trees. Greens can not be stored for a long time under the sun, it loses its beneficial properties.Rotten and moldy feed is forbidden to be fed to ducks. Poisons of duckweed are toxic and will lead to a massive loss of livestock.

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