Musk duck (indochka, lat. Cairina moschata) is an independent species of wood ducks, the population of which is especially common in South America and Mexico. To turkeys, contrary to popular belief, it does not apply. Domesticated by the ancient Aztecs, today it is distributed in almost all countries, in particular in Russia. It has great recognition among amateur poultry farmers. Today we’ll talk about what musky ducks are like. Breeding, rearing, keeping these poultry will also be discussed in detail in the framework of our article.
Short description
The musky duck is very original and significantly different in appearance from its fellow tribesmen. With a rather short neck, it has a wide chest, its wings are long and powerful, adjacent, its legs are short, with pointed claws.
The musky duck is calm, quite hardy, relatively unpretentious, little susceptible to most bird diseases, can do without a pond. Keeps itself separate in bird yards, does not make noise, does not like companies, but does not enter into fights.
The weight of the male (drake), according to the standard, is close to 6 kg, the female (duck) - to 3.5 kg. Egg production - 100-110 eggs, each weighing about 75 grams.
Taste qualities
Ideal low-fat diet red meat. The fat content, in contrast, for example, from the Peking duck, is low (up to 25%). High muscle mass. Muscle tissue is about 41%. The weight of the most edible part (brisket) reaches 800 g. The indoutka reminds the taste of game with excellent taste. Unlike waterfowl, it does not have a characteristic specific taste. In France, these ducks have long replaced most of the other breeds.
Musk duck eggs are edible, and quite tasty. They are large, with a large yolk and dense protein.
Hybrids
The musky duck crosses without problems with simple domestic ducks. Hybrids (mullards) are early ripening, slaughter weight is about 4 kg. Offspring do not give (barren). The color of the bird is mostly dark. In Europe, they are often fed forcibly, resulting in a very fatty liver (foie gras), which is very much appreciated by gourmets.
Colors Indoor
The musky duck can be white, brown, black, blue. Wild color is widespread, including “mirror”. However, there are exceptions. In Europe, for example, other colors not recognized by the standard are increasingly found. It is noteworthy that they are stable and transmitted to descendants. Perhaps very soon such colors will find recognition and will be reflected in official standards.
It is worth saying a few words about the solid color. We have a common opinion that mixed colors indicate the presence of crossbreeds. However, such options are provided for by European standards. In other words, not only plain musky ducks can be purebred. At breeding enterprises abroad, “distillation” of new lines is carried out, where the colors are just mixed. It is noteworthy that these ducks are especially productive and weigh more than brown representatives. Mixed colors are increasingly appearing at European amateur shows. Alas, our work with the Indian woman is extensive (at the level of large institutions) and has not been seriously carried out, so we only received what was once brought from Europe. Mostly they were brown birds, partially white and black. This explains the prevalence of this color in our latitudes. Although, due to simple scoring and with the appropriate ratio, the cultivation of musky ducks can give more positive results. It is possible to obtain, for example, white individuals weighing 4.7 kg by the age of three months. Of course, this will require an "infusion of good blood."
Musk ducks (breeds)
White. The color corresponds to the name. The plumage has no signs of yellowness. The beak should be light pink, at the tip - lighter. Metatarsus is yellow. Eyes are only gray-blue.
Black and white. Eyes are usually light brown (occasionally light blue), metatarsus yellow (black spots are acceptable). The main color of the plumage is black, with a characteristic sheen (on the back with a green tint, the rest with purple). White feathers form a pattern in the region of the head, neck, chest and a “mirror” with the wings folded.
Brown wild. The main color is chocolate. Feather, integumentary and tail feathers are darker with a greenish sheen. Young animals have few white feathers in their wings, while adults have a large part. The fluff is brown, light. The beak is red, the tip is dark, pigmented at the base. Eyes and metatarsals are brown. Light spots are acceptable. The people call this breed nothing more than “red musky ducks”.
Brownish white. The main color is chocolate brown (with a green tint). White feathers form a pattern in the region of the head, neck, chest. The feather feather of the second order is brown, the first is white (“mirror”). The beak is red (the tip is darker), slight pigmentation is acceptable. Eyes and metatarsals are brown.
Black. The color matches the name. The color of the bird is completely black. The back and wings have a greenish tint, the other parts are purple. The fluff is gray, dark. The eyes are brown. Metatarsus and beak are black.
Blue The color corresponds to the name. Blue color is pronounced. Individual feathers have a dark edging (a different pen structure). The eyes are brown. Metatarsus with beak is almost black.
Wild The predominant color is black, saturated, with a greenish tint on the back and wings, purple on the chest and purple otherwise. The large integumentary wings of an adult bird are mostly white; those of young animals have fewer. Beak and eyes are brown. Metatarsus is black, fingers are slightly lighter (may be yellowish).
Wild blue. It has a predominantly blue color. Individual feathers are bordered by narrow dark stripes (a different structure). In the blue duck, as in the wild ordinary, most integumentary feathers are white (in mature birds). The beak is almost black, with a transition to reddish blue (at the base), with a dark tip. Metatarsus are close to black. The eyes are brown.
White with a pattern. The base is white. Solid black surfaces are observed on the back, neck, crown of the head, feathers of the head (2nd order), sides, tail, tibia, and wings (inner integumentary feather). The beak is black, with a transition in red-blue, with a black tip. Eyes are brown, light. Metatarsus is yellow (black spots are acceptable).
Development and growing time
Here it is necessary to take into account the biological characteristics of the breed. The plumage of an indigenous bird has three layers: down, a small feather, and a large feather (upper layer). How are the chicks born? Their body is covered only in down. This is the top of the feathers that will grow later. Primary fluff gradually wears out. To replace it, a covering feather grows (after the 20th day from birth to one and a half months). Soon begins juvenile (the so-called juvenile) molting. This is precisely the moment to be expected - this is the very time when the ducklings are ready for slaughter. Why? Firstly, you will avoid “stumps” during plucking, and secondly, at this time the formation of bone tissue (ossification) ends. The molting period lasts a month and a half, sometimes two. This means that the deadline is 12 weeks, the next 24 weeks. As an example, you can take solid French farms. The slaughter terms at these enterprises are 85 days for the drake and 70 days for ducking. Not the last place plays with fattening density. It is better to keep ducklings on a galvanized wire mesh (small, 1x1 cm, from birth and at least up to three weeks). This will increase dryness. Not only that, you will achieve almost one hundred percent survival! Planting density - 20 goals (maximum) per square meter up to 10 days. Further, the area is increased. After landing, it is very desirable to use large (medium) chips. In extreme cases, sawdust, but large. Old sawdust is partially removed and new ones are sprinkled. The entire litter does not change.
Green pasture in the warm season allows you to reduce feed consumption and achieve rapid weight gain.
Breeding Features
How to keep musk ducks? Build low perches in the house so that the bird rests. Musk ducks require slightly different conditions. Unlike turkey roosts, you will need to make long benches at a low height (20 cm), retreating from the wall 35 cm. The width of the perch is 18 cm.
The musky duck does not withstand dirt and moisture. The best temperature for oviposition is 19 degrees, the minimum is 16. The ideal floor is mesh (this was described above). Cell sizes - 24x24 mm. The grid should occupy 2/3 of the entire floor of the caddy. Such a structure is being made along the far wall. "Pillow" (distance to the floor) - 30 cm. The thickness of the pond is at least 2 mm. One of the edges of the mesh floor is best done on hinges - when cleaning it can be lifted and fixed. Drinking bowls are placed on a grid. The feeders are installed no further than three meters from the drinkers. For bedding, as mentioned, use large sawdust. Moldy moist litter can cause an outbreak (aspergillosis).
Musk ducks (breeds do not matter) are kept at a density of 3 g / m. Formation of the broodstock begin 1.5 months before the laying of eggs begins. Five hens need one drake. The latter should be a month older. In this case, the sexual maturity of the indigenous mother comes a little earlier. The age ratio can be achieved by leaving the best males from another farmed batch. The broodstock is usually formed in May-July.
After 180 days, daylight hours are gradually adjusted to 17 hours (before masonry begins). Mode support 4 months. Be careful when lightening, because musky ducks are potential cannibals. Therefore, the power (intensity) of lighting is brought up to only 2 watts per meter. If additional light is required, paint the bulbs in red (orange will do).
Oviposition itself is cyclical. Unlike ordinary ducks, musky eggs lay 15 hours. Collect them at least three times a day (preferably more often). For the cycle you can get 80 pieces.
The instinct of incubation is also peculiar. A musky duck in an empty nest does not linger. She avoids other people's nests, hatching only her eggs. If you do not remove the masonry for three (sometimes two) weeks, the female will sit down there to incubate. During this time, 12-15 eggs will be collected.
The sexual instinct in drakes is seasonal. In the first months, fertilization is high (96%), by autumn it decreases to 50%. Therefore, incubation of musky ducks is carried out mainly in the spring. To breed interspecific hybrids, it is preferable to mix Peking ducks with musky drakes.
Musk duck incubation
What is desirable to know? The egg of a musky duck has a fairly dense shell that covers the shell and eliminates dehydration. However, exhaust gas removal and oxygen permeability are simultaneously reduced. This makes embryo development difficult. Older eggs stored for two weeks at twenty degrees have better hatchability than completely fresh eggs. The wild mother hen often leaves the nest for taking “baths”. Upon returning, she shakes herself above the nest, irrigating hatched eggs. In addition, the expectant mother turns their paws, removing the film and thereby opening areas for gas exchange. Therefore, the incubation of musky ducks should be carried out either in an inclined or horizontal position (the embryo develops better). So that they do not fall out of the trays when turning, they are covered with a net, securing with a strong thread or braid.
For eggs of this breed, the modernized Universal incubators (IUV 15, IUV 45) are perfectly suitable. It is very important not to forget about the cooling system. What is its essence? On the 16th day of incubation (and further) with the combined method, the eggs are turned over twice - at 8.00 and 20.00 (tentatively). In the beginning, twenty-minute cooling by air is required by twofold rotation of the drum. Then they are irrigated (4 minutes) from the sprayer (the position of the trays is horizontal).
Below is an indicative incubation regime for musk ducks.
Stage 1 (1-16 days of incubation). Temperature - 37.8 ° C. Turns to the axis, 45 degrees. Humidity 32%. Cooling and spraying are not required.
Stage 2 (17-21 days of incubation). The temperature is 37.6 ° C. Rotate off axis by 45 degrees. Humidity 30.5%. Two-time cooling, 25 minutes each. Spraying - twice a day.
Stage 3 (22-30 days of incubation). The temperature is 37.4 ° C. Rotate off axis by 45 degrees. Humidity 28.5%. Double cooling, 30 minutes each. The spraying mode is the same.
Stage 4 (30-31 days of incubation). Temperature 37.2 ° C. No turning required. Humidity 31%. Two-time spraying. Cooling - twice a day for 25 minutes.
Stage 5 (32-35 days of incubation). Temperature 36.9 ° C, humidity 35%. No turning required. Cooling - twice a day for 30 minutes.
Feeding
What do musky ducks eat? Feeding this bird can also be divided into stages: early (chicks) and mature (growing, adults).
Three days (from birth) it is better to feed a chicken (or duck) finely crushed egg. Then they start adding cottage cheese, mixers (always friable - both dairy and broth). At the same age, they already give greens (nettle is especially useful). Root crops are introduced in two weeks. Grain can be cooked, and can be fed in dry form. Nearby put two boxes filled with gravel (necessarily fine) and sand (river). In winter, branches, vegetables, and hay are used for feeding. Musk duck ducklings, like adults, love Jerusalem artichoke (both tubers and greens). Moreover, when feeding this plant, weight is gained faster, plumage glistens, egg production increases. By winter, it is advisable to stock up on silage from forbs (nettle, dandelion, wood lice, etc.). The grass is necessarily crushed, placed in jars (glass), compacted, slightly salted (just a spoonful of salt per 3 l), an aspirin tablet is placed on top. Such blanks are stored in the cellar.
The inclusion of slightly salted boiled corn seasoned with fat in the diet accelerates fattening.
In general, with regard to nutrition, musky ducks are quite unpretentious.
Disease Prevention
In principle, immunity in musk ducks is quite high. Nevertheless, they can get viral hepatitis, lack of plumage, pasteurellosis (cholera), aspergillosis, salmonellosis (paratyphoid), etc. To avoid problems, it is necessary to responsibly approach the arrangement of the house, the temperature regime, lighting and, of course, feeding. Unacceptable contamination of drinking bowls with feeders. The rooms should always be clean and dry.
Quite often, poultry lovers are faced with one of the serious problems - the “new duck flu.” With a timely reaction, an outbreak of the disease is quite possible to suppress the antibiotic - the drug "Terramycin". Ducklings can be susceptible to liver damage due to viral hepatitis. Mortality from this disease, frankly, is quite high. The method of struggle here can only be immunization. What to recommend for these purposes? An example would be the Capevac vaccine. It contains the plague virus (attenuated, lyophilized form), Jansen strain. The vaccine allows for the active immunization of young animals. It is done twice, in the fourth and eighth week, always before oviposition, by subcutaneous injection. Dosage - milliliter per bird. If the zone is dysfunctional, vaccine begins after 21 days. Revaccination - after two, a maximum of three weeks.