One of the first birds to be domesticated was ducks. Not too whimsical in care and nutrition, these winged, whose ancestors are wild mallards, are quite popular on the farmstead. Significant weight gain in a short time is one of the important advantages of such a popular bird.
Duck in the home compound: benefits
Growing ducks at home is aimed primarily at the speedy receipt of meat. Different from the usual chicken, it has a rich taste; slightly oily, with pronounced large fibers.
Egg is also a product obtained from noisy pets. However, it is not used for food because of its peculiar taste, but it is successfully consumed in baking and preparing various dishes (for example, mayonnaise). Eggs are also used for incubation in order to reproduce the feathered herd.
A by-product of keeping ducks is fluff - a popular raw material for stuffing blankets and pillows, and duck droppings are a valuable organic fertilizer.
Main duck diet
The content of such poultry is not particularly difficult even for a beginner, the main thing is to know how to feed domestic ducks. The main share of the diet in the “quacking” diet is made up of cereals containing a large amount of carbohydrates, which provide the bird with a stable weight gain and growth. The digestibility coefficient of cereals is about 80%, which is significantly higher than that of chickens. The most nutritious feed for ducks is corn, which contains a small percentage of fiber, due to which it is easily digested. In the total share of the daily diet, it can be half of it.
Wheat, rich in vitamins B and E, ranks second in its nutritional value, but ahead of corn in protein content. You can use wheat flour, only the grinding must be coarse, otherwise its small particles can clog the nasal passages of the bird, which will lead to undesirable consequences.
The grain mixture can be enriched with barley, which should be contained in a total amount of not more than 30%, because this grain is difficult to digest. Therefore, it is recommended that an adult livestock be fed sprouted barley, and young stock - grain in the ground state. It is also recommended that ducks feed oats and legumes containing a high percentage of protein and protein.
How to feed a duck, except for grain?
However, one grain for feeding ducks is not enough. How to feed a duck, except for cereals? You can diversify the diet with the help of bran, oilcake and meal. Bran - grain production waste, is a kind of economical option: they can be added to wet mixers, which a duck (bird) eats with pleasure.
Oilcake (peanuts, canola, soybeans, sunflowers) is rich in fat content, because it is a product of processing (pressing) of oily seeds. It contains enough potassium and phosphorus - the elements required for the bird's bone system.
How to feed a duck, except for cereals? You can feed ducks pre-soaked dry bread, which they eat with pleasure.
Summer duck feeding
The above feeds are suitable for keeping ducks in the cold season, and feeding at this time should be done 3-4 times a day (2 times - wet mixers, 2 times - dry food). In the summer, growing ducks is not expensive, since they can be released to ponds and nearby pastures, where birds seek their own food. It is during the summer period, when there is an abundance of green grass in the meadows, it is worth the least to think about how to feed the duck. During this period, the bird can be fed twice a day.
What does a duck eat in nature? It is interesting to know that her favorite food is water duckweed; adults can be fed 0.5 kg per day per head, for babies, depending on age, but at a lower dosage. Sliced mixtures of green herbs (clover, peas, young nettle, alfalfa), combined with wet mash, will help to gain sufficient weight in a short time. Mixers need to be prepared in the amount that will be eaten in one go, otherwise the food will quickly go bad due to warm weather.
For high-quality growth and optimal egg production, ducks are recommended to add meat and bone meal and fish meal (rich in phosphorus, calcium, B vitamins and proteins) to their main food, and dairy products (for example, low-fat cottage cheese, which is especially useful for ducklings) can also be fed. a little fish.
Necessarily in the diet of ducks must be present mineral additives (chalk, shell, eggshell), facilitating the process of digestion of food and contributing to the full formation of eggs in the body. To grind hard cereals in the stomach, mix gravel or coarse sand into food.
How to feed a hen
For laying ducks, a different feeding method should be used, in which it is necessary to increase the amount of protein and concentrated feed and reduce the volume of succulent and coarse. This is due to the need to increase the content of calcium and other minerals.
When growing ducks for meat, the average duration of which is 2.5 months, fattening should begin from the moment of birth. In the early days, babies are given boiled, chopped eggs and low-fat cottage cheese, which should always be fresh. You can give special food with a high content of minerals and vitamins.
Two weeks before the expected slaughter, fattening is aimed at increasing protein food in the diet, which leads to accelerated muscle growth. A week before the offspring, more feed should be given, the action of which is aimed at the formation of fat (boiled potatoes, mixers, etc.), and exclude fishmeal and fish from the diet. During this period, it is recommended to minimize the motor activity of ducks – hens.
Clean and fresh water - the main condition for keeping ducks
At any time, the bird should be provided with fresh clean water, this is especially true if there are no ponds nearby. Drinking bowls should be arranged so that ducks can rinse their nose, but not swim, otherwise the water will have to be changed constantly.
So after all, what does the duck eat? Domestic ducks are an omnivorous bird, almost sweeping away any food in its path. Unpretentiousness to the conditions of detention, fast weight gain, resistance to diseases - these are the advantages for which it is worth keeping ducks in the home compound.