Growing a broiler duck at home is not a particularly difficult procedure. But it’s still worth observing some recommendations when breeding this bird. In order to get a good meat yield and fully utilize the potential of the selected breed, the bird should first of all be well fed. It is also necessary to provide ducks with suitable housing conditions.
Duck shed
In household plots, the house is usually built frame-panel. The construction of such structures is very inexpensive, and the ducks feel quite comfortable in them. If it is supposed to keep a bird not only in the summer, but also in the cold season, the shed must be insulated. For wall insulation, cheap mineral wool is usually used.
Broiler duck - a fairly unpretentious bird. Therefore, sometimes the livestock during summer breeding is even kept simply under a plastic wrap. In this case, ordinary inexpensive garden greenhouse constructions are used as a house.
The density of the birds in any barn should not exceed 16 ducklings (up to 3 weeks old) or 8 heads of adults per square meter. Otherwise, the ducks will start to fight among themselves. And this is fraught with stress and illness.
The floors in the barn are wooden. Broiler duck (photos of the most common breeds can be seen in this article) - the bird is quite hardy and resistant to low temperatures . However, it can easily catch a cold on a cold concrete floor. The same goes for drafts.
After laying, wooden floors must be disinfected by sprinkling slaked lime. Then, straw or hay is laid on the floor with a sufficiently thick layer.
Walking for a bird
For ducks, even for a sedentary broiler breed, it is definitely worth arranging a walk. For this, a small area is enclosed in front of the shed. In the walls of the house there are manholes. On a fenced area set low wooden or plastic feeders. Open drinking bowls on a paddock or in a barn is not recommended. Broiler duck - a fairly clean bird. But at the sight of water, it is unlikely to resist the temptation to swim, and therefore, dilute dirt in the paddock. Owners of the house should spend money and buy nipple or drip drinkers.
Pond
Natural feed is a very useful supplement for any waterfowl, including one such as a broiler duck. At home, growing young meat will cost a little less if there is at least a small pond on the site. But, of course, you should not rely entirely on natural feed when breeding broiler ducks. Feeding such a bird should be given maximum attention.
Broiler Ducks: Growing
Any domestic waterfowl is usually bred for meat. The eggs of ducks and geese are not very tasty. In addition, the pores in their shells are very large. Because of this, infection easily penetrates. Therefore, the eggs of these birds are used mainly for breeding ducklings. Chicks of good meat breeds are very expensive, and therefore, in most cases, the owners of suburban areas prefer to incubate the young on their own.
Of course, only pure breeds can be bred at home. Chicks of meat hybrids that are particularly productive will have to be bought again each time.
Broiler ducks, the cultivation of which is a simple procedure, in homestead households, as well as in enterprises, are usually fed no more than two months before slaughter. The fact is that at the age of 60 days juvenile molting begins in the bird. The so-called “hemp” forms on her skin, spoiling the presentation of the carcass. In addition, feeding ducks for more than two months is also simply unprofitable. The fact is that the appetite of a grown bird increases greatly. The mass of individuals older than two months is gaining very slowly.
Slaughtering young animals at the age of two months is also rational because in this case it will be possible to grow two or three in an ordinary barn, and up to six batches of ducklings per year in a heated barn.
The best broiler breeds
All domestic ducks bred in homestead farms are divided into three groups in terms of productivity: egg, meat and meat and egg. The last two varieties, as already mentioned, are grown most often in small farms. Of the meat breeds, Beijing, Moscow white and musky ducks are the most popular.
All of these broilers gain weight fast enough. However, meat hybrids are even more productive. Very popular with owners of suburban areas, for example, cross cherry Valley. This broiler duck was bred on the basis of the Beijing breed. For 40 days, provided that they are properly fed, young cherry-trees can gain weight up to 3.5 kg.
In some farms, another interesting hybrid is bred - the French broiler duck. Like the cherry Valley, this cross was bred on the basis of the Peking duck. Young animals of this breed are killed at the age of 50. By this time, it usually reaches a weight of approximately 3.7 kg.
Very popular with owners of suburban areas and another hybrid - broiler duck mularda. As a result of crossing the Beijing and Musk breeds, a cross with very tasty meat was obtained, quickly gaining weight.
Home breeding
Meat chicks are usually hatched artificially - in incubators. Before laying, produce a strict selection of eggs. First of all, they examine their shell. If it is damaged, the eggs are rejected. Incubation is carried out at a temperature of 37-38 ° C and a humidity of 50-55%. Starting from the 15th day, periodic airing is carried out. In this case, the eggs are sprayed with water. Ducklings are usually hatched on the 27th day. Before hatching, the humidity in the incubator is increased to 80%. This can significantly increase the percentage of hatchability.
Chicks selected from eggs are left in the incubator until the fluff dries. The air temperature in the manger in the first week should be 28-30 o C, in the second it can be reduced to 20-22 o C, in the third - to 16-18 o C.
Feeding
Particular attention should be paid to developing a diet for breeding a bird such as a broiler duck. Young growth should receive a sufficient amount of proteins, minerals and vitamins. Freshly hatched chicks are fed a boiled chicken or duck egg. It is usually mixed with finely divided corn or any other cereal. You can also put curds in the feeders. On the third day, the ducklings diet includes cut greens: nettle, alfalfa, peas.
At the age of three weeks, boiled potatoes, finely grated root vegetables, and fresh food waste are introduced into the chicks menu. The food in the feeders of ducklings should be kept constantly.
An adult broiler duck at home eats quite a lot. Mature individuals are fed three times a day. In the morning and in the afternoon, the birds are given wet mixes, and in the evening, concentrate. If ducks are additionally released into the pond, morning feeding is canceled. Otherwise, birds will not eat natural water feed. In this case, in the morning they are driven out to the pond, and the mash is given in small quantities at about 11 o’clock. In the evening, as usual, feed the concentrate.
Second way
The feeding technique described above is called combined. Sometimes when growing ducks, another method is used - dry. In this case, ducks up to three weeks of age are fed only with compound feeds. Then partially transferred to a mixed diet. Broiler duck (photos are presented to your attention), fed this way, gaining weight much faster. Moreover, with this technology, labor costs of livestock are reduced. After all, the owners of the house when using compound feeds do not need to spend time and effort on the preparation of the mash. However, of course, poultry farming is more expensive in this case.
Broiler ducks, breeding and keeping of which are not particularly complicated procedures, are very productive and unpretentious birds. Having developed the right diet for the livestock, you can not only provide yourself and your family with delicious meat of a unique composition, but also make money by selling carcasses.