Musk ducks, which are also called indochka, are very productive poultry. Indochka, the breeding of which everyone can master, are considered the most unpretentious representatives of the duck kingdom. Such a bird can have up to 10 types of color, four of which are monophonic (white, brown, black, and also blue), the rest are mixed. It is widely believed that productivity depends on color. Practice shows that with proper care, you can get good performance in ducks of any color.
The homeland of this species of ducks is South America. Despite the fact that this bird is often called an indochka, it has no affinity with a turkey. It represents a separate type of wood duck and differs from the waterfowl familiar to us. Such a bird is wonderful without a reservoir. It got its name due to the sharp musky smell, which is inherent in the drakes during the mating season. In Europe, it is called Barbarian and warty, as well as Indian and dumb. There are other names.
Drains are much larger than females and their weight with good feeding and care can reach up to 7 kg. The meat of this bird is also different. It is not fatty, but more lean and it belongs to dietary meat.
In nature, there are crosses between musky and ordinary ducks. They are called mullards, and they have no offspring. Mullards are superior to parents, both in weight and in meat quality.
For breeding, you must have one drake for 4 or 5 females. The egg production of a musky duck reaches 120 eggs per year. Medium sized eggs. They weigh 70-90 g. Such eggs are stored up to 18 days. This fact allows us to optimize the collection of eggs for laying in the incubator. Musk ducks are famous for the absence of young growth or a very insignificant death. Their breeding is therefore considered a profitable business. You can do even without the use of an incubator, since the indochka hatch young growth very well. Only a turkey is considered to be a hen better than her.
Very unpretentious and rather quiet birds are Indochka. Their breeding therefore does not bring great difficulty even for a beginner poultry breeder. Drakes only sizzle. Ducks can quack only when they are frightened by something. In other cases, they emit only rumbling. Due to the calm inherent in this bird, it is sometimes bred as a decorative one. She looks great on any lawn, or near a decorative pond. Usually such a duck does not try to fly, but there are exceptions. In such cases, you just need to trim the wings and the bird will stop making attempts to fly from one place to another.
Among all ducks, lesser demands are placed on the amount of food by indochka. Breeding such a less gluttonous bird is more cost-effective because there is less feed consumption. True and the growth rate of this bird is slightly less. But still, less feed is needed per weight gain unit. The daily feed rate for adult musky duck is 160-210 g of concentrates. For comparison, the same Peking duck will need 240-300g. Both musky and Peking ducks are very unpretentious in eating. They can eat any food.
When keeping musk duck in winter in unheated rooms, good bedding material should be arranged. At the same time, it must be dry. Dry sawdust is well suited for this. You can’t call such birds as Indochka. Breeding during winter keeping in a warm, and even illuminated room significantly improve their productivity. With a good bird content, it can begin egg laying already in late January.
Peking duck is a good competitor to musky duck, breeding of which is also simple and quite profitable. It should be remembered that these are two completely different species of birds.