One of the most popular farm birds among summer residents and farmers are ducks. Home breeding of this living creature is a business that does not require large initial investments and at the same time is quite profitable. But of course, a novice entrepreneur should definitely know what are the rules for caring for this bird.
Breeding ducks at home as a business: what should I know?
The duck farm site is best purchased away from the city. It is advisable if any small pond is located nearby. The required size of the land allotment depends on the planned population. Ducks are raised in three ways: closed, walking and limited walking. In the second case, the area will need much more. For walking one duck needs about 10 square meters. m. With closed content, you can do and 2 square meters. m per individual. The same goes for the limited walking method.
Experienced farmers believe that such an enterprise can only be cost-effective if it contains at least 500 indoubts. As for other breeds, then in this case, individuals will need even more. For example, duck mularda, breeding at home which is quite profitable, usually contained in an amount of at least 800 pieces.
How to set up a business?
Typically, duck farms are registered as LLCs. Although a small enterprise can be issued as an individual entrepreneur. In this case, you do not have to keep accounts. However, in terms of seriousness and prestige, IP, of course, loses to LLC.
In order to organize such an enterprise as a duck farm, a beginner poultry farmer, of course, will need start-up capital. Since such a business does not require too much expenses at the initial stage, usually 2000-3000 dollars are enough. If the person who wants to organize a farm does not have such an amount, you will have to contact the bank. In this case, it will be necessary to draw up a detailed business plan of the enterprise with an indication of the initial costs, potential profits, etc.
What should be the house?
Ducks, breeding at home which can be done both outdoor and walking, are unpretentious birds. And they will feel good in almost any building. Free-range keeping is only possible if there is a reservoir in the immediate vicinity of the farm. Therefore, most often ducks are bred outdoor limited-walk method.
When constructing a house, it is important to ensure that there are no gaps in its walls. Like all waterfowl, ducks react very painfully to temperature extremes. A small artificial walk is usually arranged near the house. Breeding a musky duck at home, as well as any other, will be beneficial only if there is enough space for the bird to move in the fresh air.
The walk is usually fenced with a fence 1.5 meters high from a netting netting. When keeping ducks in large quantities, water should not be put in the place of walking. Otherwise, they will begin to fight for the right to swim and breed dirt on the territory. The breeds bred by modern breeders are well adapted for keeping without water.
A pond or a lake on the farm is mandatory only if its owners are engaged in such activities as breeding wild ducks at home.
In the house itself, it will be necessary to determine a place for ducklings, young growth, as well as broodstock. The latter usually consists of two families of 3-4 laying hens and one drake in each. In this case, it will be possible to get enough eggs to reproduce the herd.
Poultry equipment
Feeders and drinking bowls are installed in the duck shed and on the walk. In the latter case, it is best to use nipple or drip design models. It is better not to set open drinking bowls in the caddy. This is especially true for the winter period. In cold weather, ducks can bathe in a drinker and freeze. If there is no opportunity to purchase drip structures, in winter ducks will have to snow instead of water. Open drinking bowls are cleaned for the winter. Nests should also be placed in the broodstock compartment.
Breed selection
Most often, on medium and small farms they contain Peking unpretentious breed related to the meat direction of productivity. This bird does not eat too much and quickly gain weight. Peking duck breeding at home is considered a particularly cost-effective business. Such a bird is usually kept up to two months of age. Therefore, for a year you can feed two or three broods.
It is also worth thinking about the content of indole (musky). The main advantage of this bird is lean meat. It is bought up very willingly. Breeding a musky duck at home can therefore be very beneficial. However, if you want to tackle the maintenance of just such a bird, you should keep in mind that the Indians can fly.
Sometimes the farms also bred combining the best qualities of musky and Peking breeds mularda, as well as wild mallards.
Feeding
Ducks, breeding at home which will be successful only if the diet is properly developed, are usually eaten three times a day in the winter. In summer, the number of feedings is reduced to two per day. Of course, only if the farm has a sufficiently large pasture with a pond. Feeding can be carried out using two technologies: dry, using feed and wet using vegetable mixtures. In the first case, you don’t have to hire maintenance staff to prepare the mash. However, the cost of feed using the dry method is higher.
When feeding using wet technology, grated vegetables are mixed with chopped grass (carrot and beet tops, nettles, etc.) and seasoned with whey or meat broth.
If you have a pond or lake nearby for feeding, you can save a lot. Ducks willingly eat juicy grass, algae and plankton. In those areas where groundwater is close to the surface, it is not difficult to make an artificial pond. To do this, simply dig a hole 2.5-3 m deep.
The breeding of Peking ducks at home, mullards, as well as other breeds with a fast metabolism has the peculiarity that food in poultry should be constantly present in the feeders.
Chicks at home
Ducklings are bred on farms, usually using an incubator. Eggs are laid in the apparatus for 28-30 days. For the farm, incubator models with automatic egg flipping are more suitable. Unfortunately, the yield of young animals in ducks is very small. The fact is that the eggshell of this bird has large pores. Because of this, an infection often gets inside, as a result of which the embryo dies. Therefore, incubators must be disinfected before laying. The eggs themselves must not be washed. If the protective cuticle is damaged, the risk of infection increases many times. Before laying duck eggs, it is very advisable to inspect using an ovoscope. Very often, these devices are sold with incubators.
Of course, eggs can only be taken from birds belonging to any breed. Hybrids will have to buy annually. Not very productive ducks grow from cross chicks. Mulards, breeding at home which is distinguished by just such a feature, are very popular hybrids. However, those who want to breed them should take into account that one such duckling costs about 45-50 rubles.
Profitability
Duck breeding entrepreneurs earn income:
- From the sale of meat. Ducks are usually killed at 2 months of age. After molting, this bird has a lot of “hemp” on the skin, which spoils the presentation of the carcass. In addition, after two months, with an increase in the amount of necessary food in weight, the bird begins to gain very slowly.
- From the sale of fluff and feather. You can organize your own workshop for making pillows or hand over raw materials to someone else's studio.
- From the sale of manure. You can implement it, for example, to summer residents.
Ducks, breeding at home which should be produced using certain technologies, as you see, are unpretentious. The main thing is to properly organize production and purchase chicks. And then the business of breeding this bird will be profitable and profitable.