How to grow mulard at home?

The first mention of the cultivation of mulard dates back to 1960 in France. Mulard is a hybrid of the meat direction, obtained by crossing the drakes of the muscovy (Indo-duck) and the Peking ducks.

The hybrid was created to improve the qualities of the parent breeds in order to obtain a new improved individual. Mulard cannot be found in the wild, they do not reproduce on their own and are grown only at home on the initiative of a person.

Description of the breed of birds

Mulards are big birds of white color with a black spot on the head, it is thanks to this trait that the hybrid is easy to distinguish from other ducks. Adults are larger than their parents (Peking and Muscovy duck). Torso dense, knotted, well-built, elongated, with tightly fitting wings. Head medium-sized, light beak, elongated, dark eyes, elongated neck. Short legs yellow, small tail.

Mulardy ducks on the pasture

Mulard do not give offspring, therefore, these ducks are not used for breeding. Sometimes drakes are sexually active, and ducks lay eggs, but due to the fact that they cannot be obtained without fertilized offspring, this fact has been proven by many studies and experiments. Hybrids are valued for their excellent, low-fat (the percentage of fat is only 3%) meat, like the Indo-milk, without a specific smell, and a fatty large liver, which is used to prepare an exquisite meat dish foie gras. Compared to Peking ducks, mulardy are calm, not so noisy and clean.

Conditions of detention and care

Mulards are suitable for industrial and home maintenance. In an industrial environment the hybrid is grown in special poultry houses equipped with all the necessary mechanisms and technologies. Ducks are mainly used for beef feeding, and drakes are used to obtain liver. The enterprises use floor and cage keeping of poultry.

Growing in household plots mulard does not differ from the content of ducks of other breeds and crosses. In summer, it is economically profitable to keep the bird on paddocks equipped with special feeders and drinkers. At night, the ducks are herded into the barn and closed. Mulard are rarely left for the winter, since they are unsuitable for breeding, and during the season you can get a duck ready for slaughter from a duck. Due to this method of cultivation, there is no need for capital and well-insulated buildings. For the correct maintenance of mulard a simple room with good floors and no holes for rats and other predators to enter is sufficient. There should be no drafts in the barn. On the south side, a hole is made into the poultry house, the hole above the floor should be 5-8 cm and be tightly closed with a door. The poultry house should be built based on the number of ducks per 1 sq. m 3 heads. On the walk the bird should feel free, therefore 1 square meter is allocated for 1 head.m area. For feeding, special feeders 110 x 23 cm long and 23 cm wide are used for adult birds, and for young animals 100x14.5. see A partition is made on top of the feeders so that the birds do not scatter feed. It is better to use nipple drinkers for water.

Mulard ducks on the street near the house

House temperature should be 16-18 ° C, with a humidity of 60-70%. The floor covering is made of sawdust, shavings or straw. The house must be regularly cleaned and ventilated.

Characteristics of adults: the weight of drakes and ducks

Mulard weight - 4-7 kg. The difference in weight between drakes and ducks is only 500 g. In 3 months the bird gains 4 kg. With long-term cultivation, the mass reaches 7 kg, almost like the weight of a goose. Liver mass mulard 500-550 g. Feed intake per day 340 g.

To get mulards, you can cross different breeds. Drakes of musky ducks interbreed with Peking ducks, Rouen ducks, Orgpington ducks, and Allies. As a result of such crosses, ducklings are obtained in different colors and shades.

Feeding and breeding

Since the mulard incapable of procreation, then musk and Peking ducks are used to obtain ducklings. To obtain mulards, families are created from 1 musk drake and 4-6 Peking ducks. The best age for mating is 7-10 months. Ducks begin lay an eggand in 180-210 days. About 15-20 eggs are placed under the hen.

IMPORTANT! The hatchability of chicks under the brood hen is 60%, and in the incubator it is almost 100%, which makes the use of an incubator expedient and cost-effective.

Despite the fact that the breed is distinguished by its unpretentiousness and early maturity, certain conditions must be taken into account when breeding. When ducklings begin to appear, they are prepared habitat... Depending on the number of chicks, this can be a box or a whole room. A litter of straw or hay is laid on the floor. Under natural conditions, ducklings receive heat from their mothers, and in artificial conditions, additional sources are installed. V first days of life the house must be provided with warmth, temperature indoors 28-30 ° C, after a few days it is reduced to 23 ° C. Lighting plays an important role in the early days and helps ducklings adapt to external conditions. For the first few days, the lighting should be around the clock. After the kids grow up a little, the lighting is reduced to 15-17 hours a day.

Mulardy ducklings

On the first day after birth, ducklings cannot eat on their own, they are used to feed them special kitssold in veterinary pharmacies. The mulards themselves begin to eat for 2-3 days. After the ducklings have hatched and dried, they are soldered a weak solution of potassium permanganate... The first feed is a hard-boiled and finely chopped egg. From day 10, well-crushed grain is added to the diet. From 10 days of age mulards are fed 2 times a day. From 2 weeks it is necessary to give duckweed. An important element when feeding ducklings is meat and bone meal and bran. To normalize calcium in the body, crushed shells are added to the diet. Ducklings need feed with mineral mixtures: chalk, limestone and shell rock. To improve digestive processes, ducks are given gravel. Ducklings should always have clean water. If possible, as an additive, it is allowed to give cottage cheese in the amount of 1 gram per head.

IMPORTANT! Mulard is not limited in food, since they are not inclined to accumulate fat, and only muscle mass grows in the process of abundant feeding.

Ducklings diet should contain up to 20% protein, 1 kg of feed accounts for 2800 kcal of energy. After 3 weeks, the feeding scheme is chosen: intensive, extensive and semi-intensive.

Mularda hybrid ducklings

Intensive technology is feeding pellets, which must contain at least 17% protein.Semi-intensive technology is based on feeding with granular, wet and bulk feed. In the extensive method, roughage and grain are fed using food additives. From 5-6 weeks the birds are released into the pasture. Slaughter is carried out at 3-4 months, when the mulards reach the optimal live weight.

Foie gras feeding mulard

Fattening drakes to get fatty liver consists of 3 steps. In the first 3 weeks of life, chicks are fed in the usual way. Then the bird is transplanted into narrow and small cages so that it cannot move a lot. For the next 4 weeks, the ducklings are fed a diet high in starch and protein, which contributes to very rapid growth of the bird. From 8-10 weeks of age, the forced feeding stage begins. The food is pushed down the throat using a screw with a tube, in this way the bird receives 1.8 kg of grain per day. Forced feeding lasts 12-21 days.

INTERESTING TO KNOW: the liver of mulard fed on foie gras grows 10 times its normal size.

Diseases of ducks during rearing

Mulards are very sturdy and disease-resistant hybrids... They tolerate cold and temperature extremes well. With a normally balanced diet, the bird grows quickly and does not suffer from vitamin deficiencies. But, despite their good adaptation conditions, mularda are still susceptible to some diseases, the description of which is presented below.

Mulard hybrid duck

Aspergillosis

The bird becomes infected with this disease by inhaling the saw, which contains a fungus that grows in moldy straw and old feed. In 50% of cases, death occurs. Symptoms: lethargy, poor appetite, vomiting, rapid breathing, nasal discharge and paralysis of the legs and wings appear in the last stages. For the treatment of aspergillosis, a not very concentrated solution of copper sulfate is added to the water, but nystatin is added to the feed.

Plucking feathers

One of the acute problems of mulard is feather pecking. The disease occurs due to significant lack of protein in the body or adverse conditions of detention. In a small, dirty and poorly ventilated area, bird feathers quickly become dirty, which causes ducks to clean themselves much more often. In order to prevent pecking, it is necessary to balance the rations for all macro and micronutrients and adhere to sanitary and hygienic standards in the poultry house.

Duckling Mulard

Cloacite

This disease occurs due to a lack of vitamins. A mucous membrane appears on the cloaca of the duck, and pus may appear at a progressive stage. For treatment, first of all, they clean the cloaca, lubricate the mucous membrane with an iodine solution and apply zinc ointment. If the disease is detected at the first stage, then the duck will not suffer and your farm will not be harmed.

Advantages and disadvantages of the breed

Advantages

Cleanliness. The hybrid is distinguished by its cleanliness and well-groomed appearance, thanks to this property, their fluff is widely used in industry.

Calm disposition. Unlike Peking ducks, mularda are not loud, behave calmly and do not annoy breeders with constant noise.

White duck of Mulard breed

Early maturity. Mulard very quickly gain weight with standard feeding, like other ducks, and already at 3-4 months they go to slaughter.

High meat characteristics. Females are mainly used for fattening. Mulard meat is practically lean, because in the process of growth the bird accumulates only muscle mass. The meat does not have a specific smell, is soft and tasty.

Foie gras. It is the mulard liver that is used to prepare an exquisite foie gras dish. To obtain foie gras, only drakes are used; during the fattening period, the liver reaches 500-550 g.

Unpretentiousness. Mulards do not require special care, their maintenance is much cheaper than ordinary ducks. Hybrids adapt well to cold and hot climates.

disadvantages

You cannot get offspring. Since mulards are hybrids, young animals cannot be obtained from them, therefore, for breeding, it is necessary to cross a musky and a Peking duck each time.

They do not tolerate dampness. This is an uncritical drawback, but it is still better to keep mulardov in dry pens to prevent various diseases.

Hybrid breed Mulard

Reviews of the domestic breed of ducks and video

Breeding mulard at home is much easierthan a regular duck. You can buy eggs and put them in an incubator, or buy ducklings right away. Easy for the season a full-fledged duck grows, which can already be cut in the fall. There is a lot of meat and it is practically low-fat, it is better to cut it at 4 months, it makes no sense to keep it anymore, and the duck will be tough. Mulard feed does not consume more than Peking duck, but grows much faster and the carcass is larger. No need to build capital sheds for the winter: I bought ducklings in the spring, and killed them in the fall and no trouble. The big plus is the same weight of ducks and drakes, not that in other breeds the male is large, but in the female there is nothing to see. Mulard is ideal for home growing: fast, inexpensive and tasty.

Mulardy are, perhaps, best duck hybrid. Everyone knows their meat qualities and fast weight gain in a short time. These ducks are very unpretentious and behave calmly in the yard. Ducks by weight no different from drakes... This hybrid is used to produce large foie gras liver. They do not breed themselves, but this is a small problem, you can always buy chicks or eggs for incubation. And if there is an opportunity and time, then in subsidiary farms families from Peking musk ducks are created and with their help every year you can get mulard offspring. Mulard - this is a great option for those who want to receive high quality and lean meat.

Mularda ducks have earned the attention of large poultry farms and owners of private farms due to their rapid weight gain and excellent quality of gourmet liver. This variety of poultry has already supplanted geese, which were previously considered by gourmets the best "suppliers" of raw materials for foie gras, and are increasingly grown for meat in the households of ordinary amateur poultry breeders.

However, among the breeds or species of domestic ducks, mulard cannot be found. The fact is that this is an interspecific hybrid, which saw the light only thanks to the inquiring mind of man.

The origin of domestic mulard ducks

The selection was based on representatives of muscovy ducks, which live in nature on the American continent, and common mallards of European and Asian origin. The ducklings obtained as a result of crossing were called mulard after two parts of the English names of the original species MUscovy duck and malLARD.

Today, muscovy ducks and birds of modern meat breeds are used to obtain a highly productive meat herd of mulards. Depending on the chosen parental pair, the cross gets its name and differs from others in the color of the plumage and some features of its appearance and behavior. Like other descendants of interspecific pairs, domestic mularda ducks are not suitable for further breeding.

Although both females and males of mulard can show signs of sexual interest, they are completely sterile. Therefore, breeding mulard ducks at home does not provide for the abandonment of the parent livestock. All hybrid birds raised are slaughtered.

The offspring obtained from mating of musky and common, Peking ducks retain the positive qualities of both varieties and, importantly, reduce the influence of their weaknesses. So, for example, domestic ducks of meat breeds, although larger than their American counterparts, quickly accumulate fat, which negatively affects the quality of products. At the same time, they do not differ in a calm disposition, are unscrupulous and do not always willingly hatch laid eggs. Muscovy ducks are not as early maturing as Peking or other meat breeds.But they have amazing tender meat containing record low fat, are excellent hens, calm and vigilant about cleanliness.

What mulard ducks will result from mating representatives of two different species? Most often, hybrid individuals have a variegated, black-and-white or white-brown color, but they are noticeably larger than their parents.

Features of breeding mulard ducks

To combine all the positive aspects and get strong offspring from interspecific couples as early as possible, male muscovy duck and common female mallard ducks are used. As a result of natural mating, which is used to breed mulard ducks at home, ducklings from such pairs appear in the incubator after 30–31 days.

For breeding, sexually mature birds are chosen at the age of 7 to 10 months. The best period, when the percentage of fertilized eggs is highest, lasts mid-spring to early summer. By this time, the parent stock is formed from Peking and musk ducks. There should be 4–6 ducks per male in the pen. It is better if such a family has their own house with a walking area at their disposal. Population density is calculated on the basis of 1 meter of area for three birds inside the house and one meter per head for walking.

Since the incubation instinct in beef breeds is insufficiently developed, laid eggs are removed. For further breeding of mulard ducks, an incubator is used or up to 20 eggs are placed under a good hen, for example, under a musky duck.

Using this trick, experienced poultry farmers achieve a fairly high percentage of successful hatching. True, in this case, the duck will have to be taken care of separately. For the hen, it is very important not only to have drink and hearty feeding, but also to splash freely in the water. Damp feathers and warmth create the atmosphere necessary for the development of embryos. Therefore, in an incubator with laid duck eggs, irrigation with warm water is also used.

Growing mulard ducks at home

Newborn ducklings are usually strong and unpretentious. Therefore, the further cultivation of mulard ducks has almost no special features. At the same time, the main attention is paid to the selection of a diet for the fastest growth and weight gain.

Often from poultry farmers you can hear the opinion that mulard ducks, in the photo, grow well on almost any feed. From the age of one month, chicks are released for walking and pay little attention to feeding the birds, hoping that live inquisitive ducklings will independently provide themselves with food. Such content, indeed, relieves the poultry farmer of many problems. But a bird left to itself will not be able to show the results that are inherent in it by nature. Although by the age of three months the chicks will grow larger than their parents, due to a lack of protein feed, an abundance of moisture, which contributes to the speedy removal of food from the intestines and serious energy consumption per day, the mularda will not reveal the full potential of the mularda.

From the first weeks of life, chicks should have a balanced diet with a predominance of specialized feeds or nutritional mixtures based on grain.

It depends on the competent organization of feeding mulard ducks and their maintenance, how much weight the bird will gain by 7-9 weeks and later, when the time for slaughter comes. For fast fattening of ducks, they try to restrict movement. Due to the ability to grow lean meat with a low fat content, inherited from their musky ancestors, domestic mularda ducks do not get fat even on a hearty diet and without long walks. Therefore, free range is not provided for them, and feeders and drinkers are installed in the immediate vicinity of the herd location.

Raising mulard ducks is akin to keeping broiler chickens, when everything is aimed at a quick increase in carcass weight.

Juicy food and herbs are added to the mash or given separately. Water is offered in drip troughs.When feeding mulard ducks, the tendency to pecking is also taken into account, therefore, sulfur and feed rich in calcium must be introduced into the diet. We must not forget about such important components of the menu as fish and meat and bone meal, yeast and mineral supplements. Ducklings should receive them from the first month of life.

Under industrial conditions, mulards go to slaughter at the age of 7-10 weeks. Ducks produce excellent meat, and today males are increasingly fattened to obtain the most delicate raw materials for foie gras.

When using forced feeding of mulard ducks by the age of 4 months, poultry farmers manage to obtain a 500-gram liver of the highest quality. By the same time, the weight of the bird itself can reach 4 or more kilograms.

A video about caring for mulard ducks will be a useful help for a novice poultry breeder. Subject to the rules of keeping, proper feeding and maintaining cleanliness in the poultry houses, this unpretentious, interesting bird will delight you with its rapid growth and excellent quality of meat products.

Cultivation of mulard ducks - video

Today, on personal plots, many breed domestic animals for their own needs or for sale. This process is not so difficult, especially if there is a sufficient food supply. The easiest way is to grow a bird, since it is easier to feed it, and there is no need for specially equipped rooms for it, and it is not necessary to leave it for the winter. One of the most profitable breeds of poultry for domestic breeding are mularda (ducks).

Description of the breed

Mulardy is not so long ago an artificially bred hybrid obtained by crossing in the classic version a musky and domestic Peking white duck, intended exclusively for meat, because it does not give offspring. This breed was bred by French breeders who were able, while retaining the advantages of the original breeds, to practically get rid of their shortcomings.

It is easy to recognize these ducks by the black speck on the head, which is the only mark on a completely white body.

If a musk drake is crossed with a Rouen duck, a white alier or an Orlington, they also get an interspecific mulard hybrid, only their color can change slightly, a spot on the head remains.

Mulard are ducks that are suitable for both domestic and industrial rearing. They look tightly knit outwardly and are in good health.

Breed characteristics

Domestic mulard ducks are hardy, can adapt to any conditions, are resistant to diseases, give a high survival rate, are productive, their meat is less fatty and more tasty than that of ducks of other breeds. They easily tolerate temperature extremes and cold snaps and are unpretentious in food.

This bird is distinguished by enviable calmness and cleanliness. And also, compared to other breeds, it is very quiet. Ducks rarely quack and do not rush around the yard, especially if there is a body of water nearby.

The difference in weight between drakes and ducks of this breed is about half a kilogram. In two months, with proper care and nutrition, the mulard reaches a weight of 3.5 kg, and in another month - 6 kg. For summer residents who live outside the city for no more than six months and can release a bird to nibble the grass, this breed is especially beneficial with relatively low feeding costs.

Breeding mulard ducks

Ducks of this breed lay eggs, but they are unfertilized. Therefore, for breeding mulards, you can purchase eggs in an incubator, but at home you need to organize an incubator with strict adherence to temperature and light conditions. Mulard ducks need this.

Breeding at home is also possible from chicks or already grown-up birds, which have characteristic external features of the breed. This way is safer, but the price of ducklings is quite high. You can reduce the cost of the purchase by purchasing young animals in bulk, if you need a large number of poultry.

Amateur breeders can breed the hybrid on their own. This path is longer, more laborious, but also more exciting.First you need a musky drake and two or three Peking ducks, or vice versa, as it turns out. This is not so important, although in the second case, the ducks will not turn out so meaty. Another thing is important: they need to be kept separate from the rest of the poultry, because it is difficult to get a drake to fertilize a female of a different breed and should not be left with a choice.

Ducks hatch eggs as usual. You can also use an incubator, only in it the productivity is much lower - about 60%. And under the hen, at least 80%, or even 100%, is displayed. The ducklings are growing actively, after some one and a half to two months they already surpass their own parents in weight.

Features of growing mulard ducklings

If mulard ducklings are purchased for growing, immediately after delivery from the seller of the babies, you need to drink a light solution of potassium permanganate from a pipette.

In the first five days of life, chicks should be kept in a room with a temperature slightly below 30 ° C, next to a reliable source of heat and round-the-clock lighting.

Within a week, babies are not afraid of even 18 ° C. And after a few days they are provided with lighting for no more than 16 hours a day.

The ducklings should be placed on a thick, soft bed of hay or straw. Sawdust cannot be used for this purpose: chicks peck at them and may die.

It is possible to release babies for a walk already in the second week of life, if the weather is warm and sunny.

Feeding mulard ducklings

Tiny ducklings have to be taught to eat. Today pharmacies offer special kits for feeding chicks at home. But this is, firstly, expensive, and secondly, rather laborious. Therefore, for babies, they prepare porridge from crushed rice or millet (small cereals) and mix it with mashed hard-boiled egg. This mixture, warm enough, is sprinkled directly on the ducklings to grab moving food, or on a dark surface where the light porridge is clearly visible.

By the third day, the ducklings are already starting to eat on their own. After that, finely chopped nettle greens or other herbs are introduced into the diet. At ten days of age, chicks happily eat boiled and mashed potatoes.

For the entire first month, ducklings are given low-fat cottage cheese and milk, they are added to cereals.

If there is a pond or a river nearby, duckweed is caught with a net and given to chicks starting from two weeks of age. Ducklings can be released and swim, but only when the reservoir is close enough.

Mulard are ducks and, of course, love water and drink it a lot. It is necessary to ensure that there is water in the drinker. Up to a month, ducklings are fed three times a day, then two.

Feeding adult mulard

Mulard duck at home should receive not only food, but also mineral supplements.

They feed adult mulards, like ducks of other breeds, with compound feed, wheat and corn.

Eggshells, chalk, limestone and shells are used as mineral additives, which are poured into a separate feeder. This feeder should never be empty.

Fine gravel is needed for the normal digestive process in poultry.

Ducks not only drink water, but also rinse their beaks and nostrils clogged with food with it. Drinking bowls should be deep, but not too wide.

Adult poultry should receive baker's yeast up to 1 g per day for normal digestion, wheat bran and meal, boiled meat waste and potatoes, meat and bone meal.

Keeping mulard ducks

Mulard are ducks, the content of which is no different from the conditions for other breeds of poultry. They spend the night indoors to protect them from precipitation and cold, the area of ​​which is calculated on the basis of 1 sq. m for 3 individuals. For walking, you need a fenced yard, in which at least 1 sq. m area.

It is worth keeping a bird for no more than three months. After 60 days, you can slaughter her, her meat at this time is very tender. Later, the duck begins to molt and is hard to pluck. It is believed that it is best to score a mulard at two and three months.In the interval, its sexual maturation occurs.

Mulard productivity

Ducks of this breed give more than 3 kg of meat of very good quality from one poultry. For this, females are raised, which in adulthood reach a weight of about 6 kg. Males, on the other hand, are raised mainly because of the liver, which in a drake reaches more than half a kilogram of weight.

Meat is meat, but, which is especially important in summer cottage life, ducks begin to lay eggs at about three months of age and can bring more than 250 pieces per season.

Advantages and disadvantages of mulard

Endurance, vitality and calmness are not all the advantages that the mulard duck distinguishes. Reviews of farmers begin with the profitability of breeding this breed from an economic point of view. Mulardy give an increase in live weight of about one and a half kilograms by the time they are ten weeks old. Compared to ducks of other breeds and geese, they fatten up faster, while the consumption of corn, feed, which is quite expensive, is much less.

Mulard are grown for meat, the special delicate taste of which is an undoubted advantage. The liver of these ducks is not much different from the goose liver in size and fat content. This is also a plus that only mulard ducks are characterized by.

Breeding at home for your own use does not require the preservation of the characteristics of the breed in several generations of the bird.

But for farmers and breeders, the one-season mulard is a disadvantage. It is much more profitable to purchase a bird that can regularly bring offspring that retains the characteristics of the breed.

Cooking mulard meat

The recipe for mularda duck with apples is very simple, few ingredients are used, because the meat is tender, devoid of a specific duck smell, does not require soaking in a marinade and a lot of spices. A cleanly washed carcass is rubbed with salt and pepper, generously smeared with sour cream to soften the skin and obtain a golden brown crust when baking, marinated for several hours, then stuffed with sour apples, cut into four parts and without a core.

Then the bird is baked in the sleeve for 2-2.5 hours, depending on its size, until the same golden brown crust is obtained. The meat is perfectly baked and easy to cut.

A rather complicated recipe for mulard breast with lemon chutney with an abundance of ingredients and spices is impossible with fatty duck of another breed, which is melted into fat when frying.

It is believed that for the preparation of the famous foie gras (pâté made from fatty liver), not only goose is suitable, but also fatty nutritious soft liver, which is distinguished by mulard duck. Cooking this dish is a whole art. And the fat that is released when baking duck liver plays an important role both in the preparation of the pate and in its storage.

Mulard are ducks with a lot of advantages, the disadvantages of which are completely unimportant for home breeding. Dishes made from their meat and liver are delicious and nutritious. Any family can be provided with their eggs in abundance. Therefore, they are so beneficial for growing in personal plots, especially if there is a body of water nearby.

Mulard is a factory cross obtained from two breeds. Usually, this is a musky Indo-Duck and a Peking Duck. At home, the bird gains marketable weight in two and a half months. Mulards are calm, quiet, clean - even beginners in poultry farming take them for growing. You can see what this hybrid is in a photo or video. Mulard meat is devoid of a specific smell and excess fat.

Description and characteristics of cross-broilers "Mulard"

France is considered the homeland of crosses, where in 1960 they first began to breed these birds on an industrial scale. Among the main advantages: a rapid increase in muscle, not fat mass, unpretentious care. The offspring have the best qualities of the two breeds taken.

Attention! Mulard are not left for wintering, after 4 months of life it is economically unprofitable to keep a broiler duck.

The adult mulard has a dense body, a long neck relative to the body, yellow legs and a light, slightly elongated beak, the wings are pressed to the sides. The color depends on the composition of the parental pair, the feather can be completely white, black or variegated. Breeders bred:

• white duck mulard;
• gray motley duck;

Adult Mulard duck

• semi-muular;
• white heavy duck;
• white autosex duck.

Interestingly, males and females of this hybrid have virtually no size differences. All individuals are equally large, gaining weight up to 4.2–4.5 kg in 90 days. The average liver weight is 600 g (in an autosex duck, more than 700 g). In Europe, mulard has supplanted geese on many farms, since the hybrid cross is the best producer of high-quality liver.

Choosing mulard ducklings

A healthy duckling is fussy, restless, actively looking for and pecking food. The bird reacts to noise, such as a sudden impact. The chicks' beaks are pink, the body is evenly covered with down. Signs of good quality young stock:

1. Tightly fitted wings.
2. Undertail cleanliness.
3. Shiny eyes.
4. Long and wide feet.
5. The duckling stands firmly on its feet.

Mulard ducklings

Day-old ducklings are purchased in early spring. It is better to buy from farmers or backyards with a good reputation and experience in breeding poultry. For transporting ducklings, it is necessary to pick up wide containers made of natural materials (wood, cardboard). For 1 sq. m place no more than 16 chicks.

Advice. Before buying ducklings, prepare everything you need to keep them.

It is most convenient to arrange the kids in the house. In the room where the ducklings live, dampness and drafts are excluded. A box with chicks is placed under a lamp, near which it should be + 28 ... + 30 ° С. Straw and soft hay are used for bedding. Sawdust is categorically not suitable, they will clog the nasal openings, and the chicks will die.

Care of young mulard

The first 5 days of life, ducklings need lighting for at least 18 hours a day. The temperature in the box is + 20 ... + 22 ° С. After 7 days, the temperature is gradually reduced and brought to +18 ° C. The amount of light is also reduced starting from the eleventh day - 16 hours. The light in the nursery is made not bright, but diffused. Otherwise, newborns may go blind.

Advice. Freshly brought ducklings are soldered with boiled water with a weak solution of manganese.

The first time, until the mulards learned to peck, they are fed by hand. To do this, food is put directly into the beak or the beak is dipped in boiled milk with crushed yolk. The yolk is the basis of nutrition for ducklings up to three days old; low-fat cottage cheese and chopped greens are added to the yolk. The frequency of feeding is 5–6 times a day. Gradually add millet, wheat and corn turf. Water for drinking and bathing is freely available.

From the first decade of life, ducklings are prepared crumbly mash:

• ground corn kernels (50%);
• shredded wheat and peas (13%);
• bran and cake (19%);

It is very important to formulate the right diet for ducks.

• greens (3%);
• yeast (5%);
• calcium - shells, chalk, gravel (1%);
• fish oil (1%).

From dairy products: fresh cottage cheese, reverse (3%). Meat and bone meal and fish meal (7%) are used as additives. After the tenth day, salt (0.2%) is added to the diet. It is dissolved in a little water and added to the mixture. Sand should not be given to ducks instead of shells and chalk, as it causes inflammatory processes in the digestive tract of a bird.

In good weather conditions, the bird is walked from 3-4 days. From the age of half a month, the ducklings are released to swim in the reservoir, where the young will feed on vegetation: duckweed, grass.

Care and maintenance of adult mulard ducks

Grown-up individuals are fed three times a day. In the first (morning) feeding, they give a dry mixture, the second and third feeding - a wet mash with vegetables. For rapid growth, duckweed is included in the diet of ducks.
From the age of 20 days, ducklings can get their main food on their own in water bodies. For this, the bird is not fed in the morning. The amount of feed mixture with such a diet is reduced by 1/3. In case of free content, they are fed twice: at 10-11 o'clock and in the evening before the corral for the night. Before going to bed, the ducklings are given abundant food, including table waste, boiled potatoes. They give soaked stale bread, wheat bran. It is convenient to use ready-made compound feed for birds, they are eagerly pecked by ducklings of any age. Fresh herbs are added to the compound feed.

Forced feeding of mulards begins from the 13th week. Used for this mainly, steamed corn and greens. The amount of feed is increased by 2–2.5 times. Food is pushed into the crop through a funnel or a special machine. A bird with an overcrowded crop is not fed. If the duck does not digest the contents within three days, then such a bird is slaughtered, it is not suitable for fattening. On average, the entire feeding process takes about 20 days.

Ducklings can forage in water bodies

At the age of 70 days, mulard ducks begin their seasonal molt. The bird loses weight, "hemp" of feathers appear on the body, which cannot be plucked without damaging the skin. Therefore, slaughter is carried out for 60–65 days.

Broiler Mulard is a profitable "duck business"

To get a beautiful marketable carcass, the bird must be plucked correctly. Plucking is started 2–4 hours after killing. There are two options:

1. Dry. Feathers are removed manually in the direction of growth, down in the opposite direction. A blunt knife is used as a tool. After that, the carcass is wiped with flour and scorched over the burner.
2. Hot. The carcass is immersed in hot water (80 ° C) for 2 minutes. After plucking. There is an option when the duck is wrapped in burlap moistened with water and steamed with an iron or rolled in a heated oven.

The Mulard breed is often used for sale.

The main disadvantage of the Mulard cross is sterility. New offspring are obtained only by repeated crossing. Nevertheless, at home, many poultry breeders receive young animals on their own: mixing muscovy ducks with other breeds (mute ducks, Peking, White Allie, Orpington). Parents are selected from 7 to 10 months of age. One drake will need 6–7 females.

Attention! If you plant a duck of its kind along with other breeds to a drake, cross-mating will not occur.

The selection of eggs for incubation is carried out within a week. The best hatching percentage is observed when hatching by a brood hen: duck or chicken.

Mulard is often used for the poultry business. Meat ducks pay for themselves in 1–1.5 years. When starting a commercial activity, be sure to study the demand and prices for duck meat, liver, check the prices for compound feed and the cost of building a summer poultry house. Buy a small number of ducklings. Mulards rarely get sick, are in good health and grow quickly, and caring for broilers is simple.

Mulard ducks: video