How to raise ducks at home how to feed?

Duck is a fairly common poultry in a rural backyard. It can often be found in rural areas, especially if there is a body of water there. Ducks are raised for meat. By the age of one month, young animals weigh up to 2.5 kg. An adult drake weighs about 4 kg. In addition, ducks lay up to 120 eggs throughout the year.

In this article, we will talk about breeding and raising ducks at home for beginners. In addition, we will learn how to properly feed ducklings at home, what kind of mash, compound feed, what is their composition.

How to breed and raise ducklings for beginners?

Keeping ducks at home for beginners is not much different from raising chickens or geese. But, there are some nuances that should be considered when breeding this bird. You should definitely dwell on them in more detail. Including how long ducks live.

Raising and breeding ducklings hen

An interesting point is that duck eggs can be placed under a chicken or turkey, and they will hatch eggs, mistaking them for their own. But a duck or goose is unlikely to want to do the same with other people's eggs. So, any of three poultry is chosen as a brood hen - chicken, duck or turkey. Of course, it is better if it is a duck.

Up to 15 eggs are usually placed under the duck if the brood is planned to be obtained in the summer and up to 12 if in the spring. This is due to the ambient temperature. Naturally, more eggs are placed under the turkey, which is explained by its large size, and less under the chicken. The main thing is that all eggs in the clutch are under the hen in order to evenly heat them by the body of the hen.

For the hen, a wreath-shaped nest is made of straw so that the eggs do not roll in different directions. The hen will add the rest of the components (for example, feathers). On the bottom of the nest, if it is located on the floor, put sawdust and chaff.

Raising ducklings with a brood hen

It is best to make the nest on a small hill and away from direct sunlight, in the darkest part of the house. There is no need to artificially shade this place. If it seems uncomfortable to you, make an impromptu partition. This will separate one nest from the other and create a feeling of extra comfort.
The first brood is obtained as early as 27 days after the start of incubation.

All chicks should hatch in 1 to 2 days. So that the hen does not hush them up, the ducklings are taken to a separate box immediately after birth. To do this, you can take a cardboard box lined with straw and a floor. The normal temperature for them at this time is 30 degrees. Therefore, if the brood turned out in spring, take care of an additional source of heat.

Keep the box, crate or basket where the ducklings are kept dry.

After all the ducklings are born, they are returned to the hen - the duck. Better to do this in the evening. Make sure that the mother duck accepts them, as chicks especially need warmth during this period.

How can you raise ducklings in an incubator and how long does it take?

The main advantage of raising ducklings in an incubator is the ability to get a brood at any time convenient for you. In addition, there is no need to take care of the hen, and the incubator can be made with your own hands. Modern home incubators are equipped with temperature and humidity controls. Therefore, you just have to monitor the process, turn the eggs over (if this is not provided automatically by the design of the incubator) and occasionally open the apparatus for their small short-term cooling and to remove accumulated gases.

Before laying, the incubator is heated, setting the temperature 1-2 degrees higher than necessary for incubating eggs at the very beginning of the process. Besides, it is recommended to make high air humidity. For this, several trays of water are installed on the pallet.

Due to the fact that the shell of duck eggs is stronger than chicken and they are larger in size, somewhat different in chemical composition, the brood appears later.

Duck eggs need more care than chicken eggs and require high humidity for themselves.

In the first week after laying, the temperature in the incubator should be at 38 degrees (the first 3 days - 38.2, the next 4 - 37.8). Humidity is required to be kept at 60%. After two weeks of eggs in the incubator, it is worth opening the incubator door for 30 minutes twice a day, reducing the temperature to 32 degrees. Then the temperature regime is resumed.

Grown incubator ducks in the paddock

If you have an ovoscope, you need to check the eggs for embryos after 9-10 days. A sharp drop in air temperature must not be allowed. Chicks hatch on the 27-28th day within one or two days. Air humidity is maintained at 55%. After the chicks are dry, they are transferred to a box, basket, box, after putting dry sawdust, chaff, and straw on the bottom.

Install an additional heating source so that the ambient temperature at the litter level does not drop below 28 degrees and the air humidity up to 80%.

Proper maintenance and care

In the first 20 days of life, ducklings need increased attention in relation to compliance with the temperature regime. If they are near the duck, you should not worry about an additional source of heating - the duck itself is able to protect them from low temperatures. In the first week of life, the temperature should be maintained at the litter level of 27-30 degrees; in the second week - 23-26, in the third - 19-22. Then they get used to the natural air temperature.
As said before, the litter must be dry. Otherwise, the ducklings freeze and get sick.

The duration of daylight hours at the beginning of life should be at the level of 20 hours with a gradual decrease to 12 hours at one month of age.

Ducklings with a duck are allowed to walk in the morning and afternoon after five days of age. In the evening, they are closed in a room with additional heating if the air temperature is below the above marks.And after three weeks of age, you can even leave them outside the room around the clock.

The presence of a reservoir is very good for raising ducklings. With an adult bird, they are released into the water after three weeks of life. Independently - after a month. You can keep ducklings in cages for the first two weeks. Then they are given more freedom. That is, partly walking. Monthly young growth is transferred entirely to the content of the walk.

Duck keeping. Ducks outdoors behind a hedge

How to feed ducklings: compound feed, mash and vitamins with your own hands

Feeding ducklings at home for beginners is simple. Youngsters quickly get used to receiving food at the same time. Therefore, you do not have to teach them in addition to a specific diet. Ducklings grow and gain weight quickly. At three weeks of age, he weighs about half a kilogram, after six weeks his weight is on average one and a half kilograms, and at 2.5 months he can already be slaughtered, since his weight reaches two and a half kilograms.

But it is better to slaughter them before the onset of frost, since in summer and autumn the main diet of ducks is greens and everything that they themselves find on the pond. That is, you have to spend little on food.

Feeding in the first days of life

Feeding ducks at home in the first week occurs 6-8 times during the day. A schedule can be made so that the first feed is early in the morning and the last feed before dusk. Finely crumbled boiled eggs, low-fat cottage cheese, and other milk-based products are the main diet of ducklings during this period.
It is advisable to give food from narrow troughs, since wide dishes in the form of a brazier contribute to the fact that the ducklings simply trample the bulk of the food. Drinking bowls should not be placed next to food, as the latter quickly becomes wet and the water dirty.

The fact is that a duck is a waterfowl. At a very young age, she manifests an instinct to eat food, either in the water, or to drink it directly after it enters the beak. Thus, if you put the drinker away from the food, the duckling will already swallow the bulk of it until it reaches the drinker after eating. In this way, clean water can be kept. By the way, it is recommended to dilute a little potassium permanganate in it, but in such a dosage that it cannot turn the water pink.

After five days, begin to prepare mash for ducklings from the above products with the addition of ground corn and wheat skins.

As always, you need to ensure that the water in the drinkers is fresh and clean. This is important because dirty and stagnant water carries many diseases.

What food should be given to individuals from one to three weeks?

How to feed small ducks at home? After a week of life, the ducklings are accustomed to greens, because in the future it will become the main food in the diet of these birds. At this age, the duckling eats about 40 grams of various foods. Gradually reduces the proportion of boiled eggs and dairy products, replacing them with large portions of wheat and corn skins. The diet is supplemented with animal feed: fish and meat and bone meal.

By the age of two weeks, a duckling needs about 60 grams per head. By this period, boiled eggs, cottage cheese and other dairy products are completely excluded from the diet. More greens are given instead. Ideally, if it is duckweed. This bird eats it with pleasure in almost unlimited quantities. At the same time, intensive growth and mass gain begins.

It should not be forgotten that a growing duck eats significantly less. After 20 days of age, the ducklings are released into the pond together with the mother duck.

You can use "dry" feeding, in which the main diet will be purchased compound feed for ducklings. In this case, growing them will be more expensive, but ducklings grow faster.

The mash is cooked just before feeding the birds, as wet pre-cooked food will turn sour quickly.

How should ducks be fed from one month of age to slaughter?

How to feed ducks at home in a month? Grinding of various grain crops, millet, meat and bone and fish meal, shells, chalk, sunflower meal, fodder yeast and greens - these are the components that make up the diet of young animals during this period of life.

In addition, grazing them on a pond will diversify food and reduce the cost of maintenance by about 2 times. The total part of the grass in the diet is 40%, greens - 30%. If a duck has the ability to eat duckweed, then the component of greens in the diet increases by one and a half times.

Adult duck looking for food

How to keep adult ducks at home?

An adult duck (drake), depending on the breed, can weigh from three to four kilograms. The most common breeds of meat duck breeds.

• Beijing: grows and gains weight quickly, tolerates winter well. Two-month-old young animals have a live weight of about 2.5 kg. An adult duck - up to 3.5 kg, and a drake - up to 4 kg. Egg production - up to 110 eggs per year. The meat is delicious.
• Bashkir color: the meat is of excellent quality, adapts well to new conditions of keeping, the fat content is low. Productivity is high.
• Black white-breasted: the weight of an adult duck is 3-3.5 kg, a drake is up to 4 kg. The meat is delicious. A distinctive feature of this breed is increased egg production - up to 130-140 eggs per year.
• Moscow White: the weight is the same as that of the black white-breasted. The meat is very tender and tasty. Egg production is high - up to 160 pieces per year.
• Gray Ukrainian: live weight of drakes is 3-3.5 kg. Weft - up to 3 kg. Egg production is very high and sometimes reaches 220 pieces per year.

Among the meat, egg and egg breeds, the following can be noted.

• Khaki Campbell - meat and egg breed of ducks. Differs in a calm character. Average egg weight - 75 g, egg production - up to 330 pieces. Drake weight - up to 3 kg, ducks - up to 2.5 kg.
• Indian runner - egg breed. It got its name from its high mobility. Egg production and weight similar to Khaki-Campbell. The meat tastes like chicken.

To decide on the choice of the breed, you need to decide for yourself for what purposes you undertake to breed them. Meat breeds weigh more, egg production is less, in meat-egg and egg breeds - on the contrary. White and French ducks are also good for growing.

The ducks are kept indoors or outdoors. In the first case, they should feed more intensively due to compound feed and low mobility of the bird.

The room should be well ventilated, moderately light and warm. An adult duck tolerates winter well, but it is better that the indoor temperature during this period does not drop below 5 degrees Celsius. For 1 sq. m of the area are bred 4 ducks.

Walking way for this bird is better. But it depends on the ability to do such a walk and the presence of a reservoir. In this case, it is better to split the livestock into small groups - 10-15 heads each, dividing them with low partitions. Of the reservoirs, shallow rivers and lakes are preferred. The walks are fenced off with a low fence. They can be made adjacent to the poultry houses so that the ducks can hide in a covered area if they wish.

Adult ducks on a walk by the pond

The feed is the same as for the young. Emphasis is placed on the grains of cereals and corn, with more corn in the composition. Do not give ducks bread crumb, which negatively affects the digestive system of the bird.

It is also forbidden to give not fresh mash. In general, if there is a suspicion about the quality of the feed, it is better to refrain from feeding it to the bird. Do not forget to give green mass or release it for walking in the pasture, if there is no reservoir nearby. If there are nearby rates or a lake - drive them there. On it, ducks will find the bulk of their food.

If you feed the ducks with non-purchased compound feed, then their composition may be as follows:

1. 40% of rubbing a mixture of grain crops, of which at least half is corn;
2. 30% green mass;
3. 10% grain waste;
4. 7% cake and meal;
5. 7% animal feed;
6. 6% shells, chalk, feed yeast, vitamins, mineral supplements, etc.

It is very important to give vitamins to ducklings and adult ducks, especially in the autumn-winter and winter-spring periods, when there is not enough sunlight and there is no greenery at all. If it is problematic to buy vitamins, you can use brewer's yeast, which contain a lot of proteins, carbohydrates and fiber.

Breeding ducks is no big deal. The main thing at the initial stage of their cultivation is to be attentive to the feeding processes, to give balanced food and to find a place for them to walk and a reservoir for them. Then not only will your family have tender and tasty meat, but you will also be able to cover the costs of keeping this bird with interest by selling surplus products.

When breeding ducks, you need to figure out in advance how and what to feed your poultry. If a poultry farmer buys eggs for hatching in an incubator, or takes day-old chicks, he should additionally figure out how to raise ducklings at home, what to feed?

How to raise ducklings at home, what to feed?

Feeding and caring for adults

A well-formed diet is essential for good weight gain, improved egg production and prevention of poultry disease. Every day, ducks should eat:

• cereals;
• vegetables;
• succulent herbs;
• sand;
• animal feed;
• seashells;
• a piece of chalk.

Organization of feeding ducks

Females and males are given:

• chopped corn, legumes, crushed barley, oats, wheat;
• meal and cake obtained from oil plants;
• potato waste;
• beet cake;
• bran;
• aquatic plants (elodia, duckweed);
• juicy greens: cut clover, peas, young nettles, alfalfa;
• combined silage (juicy herbs, pumpkin, beets, carrots are used for cooking);
• grated vegetables;
• fish and meat and bone meal;
• dairy products.

The diet will depend on the season and the purpose for which the bird is grown. The menu for laying hens is significantly different from the menu for ducks, which are fattened for meat or left to the parent flock.

It should not be too hot in the house during the summer.

But it is necessary to monitor not only that the food is complete and balanced. It is important to understand the conditions for keeping poultry. The house should be warm during the cold season and cool during the summer heat. The egg production of females directly depends on temperature, and the duration of daylight hours also affects it. The number of eggs laid is significantly reduced if the females are kept in damp and dirty rooms.

In the poultry house, a bedding about 30 cm thick is made on the floor. For its preparation in the summer, straw, peat, wood chips, sedge are harvested and dried well.

Keeping ducks with chicks

Ducks need space to walk: it is desirable that the birds have the opportunity to swim in bodies of water. In the absence of such conditions on the ground, containers with water are installed in which they will swim. An aviary for birds is necessary not only in the summer, but also in the winter. In the cold, ducks are taken out for a walk in areas cleared of snow. Frosting of the paws can be prevented by covering the ground with a dense layer of straw.

Duck with ducklings for a walk

During the period of walking on the street, poultry farmers clean and ventilate the poultry house. Compliance with the requirements for care and feeding allows you to maintain a healthy duck flock, to ensure good weight gain and excellent productivity. If the poultry farmer decided to start fattening ducks for meat, then it is important to draw up the menu correctly from the first day of the ducks' life.

How to make a diet for ducklings?

First of all, the poultry farmer must decide what exactly he wants to feed the emerging brood. It is allowed to use granulated feed or a complete mixture from the first days of life.

Newborns need protein foods. They are given:

• boiled eggs;
• fat-free cottage cheese;
• other fermented milk products.

On the first day, the chicks are soldered with a manganese solution or mild antibiotics. This is done to prevent mass deaths from common infections and to increase defenses.

Feeding chicks

Poultry breeders should understand that chicks purchased from a poultry farm will not eat well regular home feed. It is better for them to give compound feed, otherwise it will not be possible to quickly fatten such ducklings for meat. Chicks that were bred at home, especially those that are kept with a brooding duck, are given standard homemade food from day one.

When drawing up the menu, it is necessary to take into account the following nuances when feeding at home:

• during the first 6 days, food is given up to 8 times a day;
• from 7 to 15 days, the number of feedings is reduced to 6;
• from 16 to 30 - reduced to 5;
• from 31 to 4.

When feeding with a special balanced compound feed, it is not advised to give vitamin and mineral supplements separately. The feed is poured so that it always remains in the trough after a meal. This will be a guarantee that the young are eating their fill. Separately put in containers sand, crushed shell, fine gravel, chalk.

Chalk feed

In the first 2-3 days, the farmer makes sure that there are no hungry chicks left. Otherwise, the death of young animals from hunger cannot be avoided. Individuals that do not eat on their own have to be force-fed. Initially, a weak solution of manganese is instilled with a pipette. A crushed egg is poured near the place where the starving birds are sitting.

Important! If the ducklings do not start to eat on their own, then experts advise poultry farmers to dilute the yolk with milk to a mushy state. The resulting mixture is fed to hungry babies through a pipette. Usually, once is enough for the ducklings to start feeding on their own.

From day 3 (some even recommend doing this from day 2), the chicks begin to be fed with mash made from green onions, corn or semolina. They also add a boiled egg.

Feed mix

Some experts recommend starting to add green food from 3-4 days, others advise to wait until two weeks of age. At the beginning, greens should be about 10-15% of the total amount of food. In this case, you should monitor the bowel movements. With diarrhea, the menu is revised.

By the age of two weeks, the diet expands. Chicks are fed with what adults do. The only difference is the amount of feed.

But it is not necessary to prepare your own formula for feeding. Many people go the other way: they buy ready-made compound feed. It contains all the required trace elements and vitamins. Some compound feeds contain antibiotics and medicines intended for the prevention of many diseases.

Compound feed for birds

With a mixed diet, it is allowed to pour a mash three times a day, and in the evening - mixed feed. Herbs, grated vegetables, fruits are added between feedings. Weeds plucked from the garden are used as juicy forages.

Experienced poultry farmers recommend feeding newborns with nipple drinkers. This will prevent stagnant water. But small containers of water should be placed separately: they are needed to wash the beaks.

Drinking bowls for ducklings

When feeding at home, it is recommended to add vitamin complexes to food. They give fish oil, concentrates of vitamins A and D. Purchased mineral supplements are replaced with ground shells and chalk. An unbalanced diet and a lack of vitamins leads to poor weight gain and the appearance of diseases.

Fish fat

Common mistakes

Knowing about the need to add animal feed and grain production waste to the diet, some breeders begin to give large quantities of fish or bread. But fish is added to the feed not earlier than 5 days of life, and it is better to wait with bread. It provokes fermentation in the stomach and can even lead to the death of young animals.

Bread provokes fermentation in the stomach of young animals

Some novice poultry farmers do not properly prepare mash.They should not be pasty, too runny or sticky. When eating such mixtures, the nasal openings of the chicks can be clogged, and this is fraught with the appearance of unpleasant consequences.

You can avoid mistakes if you know how to properly expand the diet, figure out when and what to feed young ducks.

Feeding chicks of different ages

If you feed the ducklings with compound feed, then there are no questions. It is enough to figure out how much you need to pour on each head.

1. At the age of 1 to 10 days, 25 g of compound feed is enough.
2. Ducklings aged 11-20 days are given about 70 g.
3. Chicks aged 21 to 30 days are supposed to pour 110 grams.

The process of feeding the young

But many farmers are interested in the peculiarities of making homemade feed. The optimal composition of the feed mixture for ducklings is shown in the table.

Boiled eggs (up to 3 days of age)	3	—	—	—
Juicy greens (finely chopped) in summer	15	50	90	90
Cottage cheese	3	—	—	—
Duckweed	—	15	—	—
Silo (in winter)	—	10	20	20
Food waste	—	15	40	50
Boiled potatoes	—	10	40	60-80
Wheat bran	5	10	30	40
Milled cereals (barley, corn, oats)	2	40	55	80-100
Curtains and cake of oil crops	1	3	7	15-20
Grain waste (shit)	—	20	30	50
Yeast	0,2	0,3	1	1
Chalk (seashells)	1	2	4	6
Bone, fish meal	0,5	1,2	4	6
Salt	—	0,2	0,4	1
Fine gravel	—	0,5	1	1
Skim milk	5	15	20	—

Weight gain indicates proper feeding. So, by 10 days healthy ducklings should weigh 200, by 20 - 500, and by 30 - 800 grams. Fattening for meat lasts only 2-2.5 months. Grown-up individuals weighing 2 kg or more are slaughtered. But for a good set, not only proper feeding is important, but also caring for the bird.

Features of breeding and raising ducklings at home for beginners

Having received offspring from eggs or buying day old ducklings, you should figure out how they need to be kept. The main requirement is to provide heat. If the chicks are kept in a box or basin, then a bedding should be made on the floor (you can put a piece of cloth or a disposable diaper). An incandescent lamp is hung from above so that the young cannot reach it. If the ducklings get cold, they will clump together under the light bulb.

Ducklings in a brooder

In the first 5 days, it is necessary to maintain the temperature at the level of 26-28 ° C, from 6 to 11 days, 22-26 ° C is enough, and by the 20th day it can be reduced to 18 ° C. Monthly birds can live at a temperature of 16 ° C.

From two weeks of age, ducklings can be bathed. They are not immediately released into open water bodies, they are placed in a container with heated water in which they will swim. But with long swims, the chicks can get overcooled and get wet. Therefore, the farmer is closely monitoring the bathing time.

Features of keeping young ducks

But you should not worry about the kids who are with the hen. The duck itself provides them with the necessary heating and leads them to swim from the 3rd day of life. The hen lubricates the wards with fat, which prevents them from getting wet. But it is advisable for the poultry farmer to ensure that only hatched babies are in the water for no more than half an hour.

Video - How to raise healthy ducklings

Poultry farmers should know the peculiarities of growing poultry on free land and water ranges.

Fattening and keeping on free grazing without reservoirs

In the summer, many people practice fattening birds for meat on land. On the fenced off site, special sheds are installed for young animals. Novice poultry breeders should understand the recommended size of fences: the fence should be at least 1 meter high.

Important! For overland maintenance, a good water supply is required. Water must be available at any time of the day. If there is no water, then appetite worsens, the rate of weight gain decreases.

It is also necessary to ensure that the ducklings have the opportunity to hide from the scorching rays. In the absence of natural shade (for example, from trees), special shelters are made. Experienced poultry farmers advise doing double walks - from the north and south sides. This allows the young to find the coolest places for themselves.

Container for washing beaks and bathing

Particular attention is paid to the cleanliness and dryness of the places of detention. Even in the rainy season, birds are not allowed to have wet bedding or get dirty in the mud. Otherwise, there will be podoprevny feathers on the chest at the time of slaughter.

Proper installation of the drinkers helps to ensure dryness. It is better to place them behind the net so that the birds have to pull their heads through the holes. This will prevent water from splashing around where you are walking.

Drinker placement option

Free-range ducklings are fed at least 4 times. They are advised to sprinkle mash with whey or yogurt. Also, separate containers should always contain shells, small gravel. The menu for chicks in free overland housing does not differ from the menu for chicks who have access to swimming ponds.

Fattening and keeping on free grazing with a pond

Experienced poultry farmers recommend providing access to water bodies for ducklings in the summer. But water enclosures should be fenced 50 cm above the water level and 70 cm down. The underwater fencing is necessary so that the ducks do not have the opportunity to dive in and swim away. They build fences from metal nets, slats, or even fishing nets.

The size of overland and water walks is approximately the same. Sheds are placed on the land side. Their length and width are determined based on the number of birds kept.

Mushroom for ducklings

In the area where streams flow, walks are organized near them. You can fence off areas and place fences on both sides of the stream. Thus, double walking is formed. But feeders are placed on one bank, the other side is intended for birds to rest.

As in the case of overland keeping, grown ducks are fed 3 times with mash. Grain is poured into the evening feeding. Intensive feeding and proper keeping conditions allow them to be slaughtered for meat at the age of 50-70 days.

Feeding meat ducks at home

From the first days of life, ducklings should be properly fed. With a competent approach, they gain at least 2 kg of weight in 2 months. Young animals at the age of 2-3 months are distinguished by excellent taste characteristics, so most of the grown ducklings are slaughtered.

Fattening ducks

In the first days, the chicks are given protein foods: boiled eggs, cottage cheese. Poultry farmers need to check the freshness of the food, because the digestive system of young animals is sensitive.

Low fat cottage cheese is a good source of protein for ducks

To fatten the herd, they adhere to the standard diet for young animals. An approximate diet of young ducks, which are raised for meat, is shown in the table.

Juicy greens	20-40 (depending on age)
Barley (crushed grains)	Up to 20
Shredded corn	Up to 20
Grain waste	Up to 25
Wheat bran	Up to 20
Meat and fish meal	Up to 15
Chalk, shell	Up to 1

When breeding ducks, you need to figure out in advance how and what to feed your poultry.

When breeding ducks, you need to figure out in advance how and what to feed your poultry.

Read also: Indoor meat breed Indoor meat breeds are becoming increasingly popular among poultry farmers. The peculiarities of this breed allow both experienced farmers and novice bird breeders to breed it.

For each kilogram of live weight gain, it is necessary to feed about 4 kg of feed.

Attention! The older the ducks get, the more fresh greens are included in their diet. If at the age of 1.5 months, juicy green fodder gives no more than 30%, then by 2 months of age their number increases to 40%.

Duck mash

The preparation of mash is considered mandatory (with the exception of those cases when the bird is fed with balanced compound feed). They are given twice a day: on the first morning feed and in the afternoon. For the preparation of wet mash, the following components are taken:

• corn, wheat, pea, barley groats in equal amounts;
• reverse, whey or yogurt.

Read also: Broiler ducks Breeding broiler ducks is one of the most affordable and simple ways to increase the profitability of your farm. An overview of the varieties of ducks, feeding, care, building a duck house with your own hands and arranging it.

But many do not stop there, adding zucchini, pumpkin, boiled small potatoes, carrots, cabbage and other root vegetables to the mash. This has a positive effect on the state of health, because the body of birds is saturated with vitamins and the young quickly gain weight. You can speed up the set if you pour crushed grains in the evening feeding. It is a high-energy food that contains protein.

Boiled potatoes

In the hottest period, the feeding regime is changed. In the heat, birds lose their appetite, they stop eating normally. The situation can be corrected by pouring food into the feeders before dawn (around 3 a.m.), the last feeding is carried out at dusk. Wet mash can be poured in the evening: the birds will eat them at night. This provides excellent weight gain.

Duck grain

On a note! Feeding begins 2 weeks before the planned slaughter date. The wefts are restrained in movement. At the same time, the amount of protein food is increased in the diet: peas are added in large quantities, and cottage cheese is added again. The amount of food is increased in the last week, with special emphasis on feeding mash and boiled potatoes. Such a diet contributes to the intense formation of body fat.

Domestic ducks are not picky. They can be given any feed, the main thing is to monitor their freshness. Experienced poultry farmers say this is a profitable business. Young animals rarely get sick and gain weight in record time.

Keeping ducks on a personal plot is a very profitable business. More than 100 eggs and about 50 ducklings can be obtained from one individual per year. Of course, raising ducks for meat at home is a procedure that requires compliance with some rules. In particular, they need to be adhered to by those who decide to start breeding this bird in order to generate additional income. In the review, we will tell you what a novice businessman needs to know and how to create your own business.

Which breed to choose: Muscovy ducks

Of course, you should start a business by choosing a variety of poultry. One of the reasons for the low popularity of duck meat on the market is its fat content. Therefore, in recent years, farmers are increasingly paying attention to such a breed as musky. The meat of these ducks is lean and at the same time juicy.

Red skin growths are located under or above the beak of individuals of the musk breed. Their plumage is usually white or black and white. Because of such an unusual appearance, the people of these birds were nicknamed Indo-women. The weight of an adult duck of this breed can reach 2.5 kg. Drakes grow bigger - up to 5 kg. This bird is ideal if you decide to do such a thing as raising ducks for meat at home. See a photo of a musk breed below.

Moscow whites

This fairly new breed was obtained by crossing Peking ducks with Hakikempbella. One of its distinctive features is its long head and wide beak. The mass of drakes of this breed can reach 4 kg, ducks - 3.5 kg. One of the undoubted advantages of Moscow white is delicious tender meat.

Ukrainian breed

These birds are also quite common in household plots. Their color can be gray, clay or white. The last option is the most common. The mass of Ukrainian drakes is on average 3.5 kg, ducks - 2.5 kg. Up to 220 eggs can be obtained from one hen per year.

What should be a poultry house

Of course, raising ducks for meat at home is possible only if there is a fairly spacious barn. The poultry house can be frame, cobbled, stone, etc. The floor in the barn is best done with stone or brick.Small animals - ferrets, mice, rats, etc. - can harm ducks very easily. Before laying bricks, the soil in the house must be carefully compacted.

A soft bedding is arranged over the hard floor. It can be made from hay, straw or sawdust. You can also cover the floor in the shed with dry sand. It is imperative to arrange manholes in the duckhouse above the floor itself. They are necessary so that the bird can freely enter and leave the barn.

In the duckhouse, you need to install feeders, drinkers and nests. A small fenced enclosure is arranged next to it. Here you also need to put a couple of drinkers and a feeder. The former can be made from buckets (not galvanized) by digging them into the ground. Special troughs are usually installed as feeders. It is important to choose the right sizes. One head should have about 10 cm of the perimeter of the side. Drinkers should be deep enough for the bird to flush the nasal openings.

The dimensions of the barn are determined based on the fact that 2-3 ducks should have about one square meter of space.

Nests

Farmers wondering how to raise ducks for meat at home should also be aware of what the nests of this bird should be. Duck eggs lay slightly less than chickens. However, of course, it is necessary to provide special places for masonry in the barn. Ducks nests are rather large - 50x50x35. They are ordinary boxes with a straw bottom.

Basic rules of content

Of course, those who decide to start breeding this bird as a business need to be aware of how to care for it. First of all, it should be borne in mind that raising ducks for meat at home is a procedure that necessarily requires compliance with the regime. The productivity of the bird directly depends on this. Usually in households, the following method is practiced:

• In the morning, the bird is released into the reservoir. You can open the duck house no earlier than 10 o'clock. Birds usually lay eggs in the morning.
• After 5-6 hours, the ducks are driven into the paddock for feeding.
• Then they are released back to the reservoir.
• In the evening before going to bed, the troughs are again filled with food.

At night, the bird is driven into the barn. Soon the ducks get used to this routine and they themselves come from the reservoir to the poultry house at the time of feeding.

Slaughter

Raising ducks for meat as a business is quite profitable. During the season, if desired, you can grow 3-4 broods. The whole summer they don't keep ducks like chickens. They are usually slaughtered before the first juvenile molt - at 50-60 days of age. The carcasses of such ducks have a marketable appearance, since there are no hemp on them. There is one more reason for such an early slaughter - purely economic. The fact is that up to two months of age, the amount of feed consumed per individual during a month is only about 2.5-5.5 kg, depending on the age of the bird. Individuals older, on the other hand, begin to eat a lot, gaining fat. By 3-5 months. ducks should be given up to 20-25 kg of feed. Two month old ducklings weigh about two kilograms, six month old - 4 kg. Therefore, keep ducks for more than 2.5-3 months. impractical.

All summer long, the same brood can be kept only if the farm is located on the banks of a large reservoir, where the ducks can get themselves a sufficient amount of food on their own. However, even in this case, many owners of such a business prefer to slaughter the poultry earlier. In large ducks, the meat is usually too fatty.

Raising ducks for meat at home: feeding

As already mentioned, this bird is usually given food twice a day. In the morning, you can feed with concentrated feed (crushed). In the evening they give mash. The latter can consist of fresh grass, root vegetables, vegetables, etc. You can also use kitchen waste, whey, meat and bone or fish meal, mineral additives, etc.

The proportion of cereals and mealy in the diet of ducks should be about 80%. The remaining 20% ​​are damp mash and various additives.

How to get ducklings

The question of how to raise ducks for meat comes down to, among other things, how you can get your own young. These birds are not as good as chickens. However, some individuals do sit on eggs. A way out can be found even if not a single duck does this. Very often eggs are simply placed under the chickens. The young duck are hatched just a few days later than the chickens.

The chicken will take care of the babies. But young animals brought up by a grouse are usually not allowed to enter the pond. The sight of floating "chickens" severely traumatizes the psyche of the hen. In any case, it is impossible to launch babies into a pond, if they are raised without a duck, until their fluff comes off and real plumage appears. The fact is that very small chicks do not have subcutaneous fat. Therefore, they can just catch a cold.

Sometimes ducklings are also obtained in incubators. In this case, it will be somewhat more difficult to feed them. But it's worth trying. When laying eggs in an incubator, you need to be prepared for the fact that not all of them will hatch chicks. The yield of young animals in any case (under duck, chicken or in an incubator) is usually no more than 50%. The fact is that there are no antibacterial substances in the protein of duck eggs. As a result, many embryos die during the developmental stage.

Ducklings care

Of course, the young of this bird, like any other, need to be provided with optimal conditions for growth and development. Immediately after hatching, ducklings are usually brought into a warm room and kept for several days at a temperature of at least 20-25 grams. However, it would be better to put them in boxes or cages (20-25 pieces per 1m2), with heating up to at least +30 gr. This air temperature can be achieved using conventional incandescent bulbs. They are installed in the cage lattices. After three weeks, the ducklings are seated in different enclosures so that there are no more than 12 of them per square meter. By the same time, the temperature is reduced to 16-18 grams. (gradually). Lighting for newborns is arranged around the clock. By three weeks of age, it should be about 16 hours long.

How to raise ducks for meat. What to feed the chicks

The diet of newly hatched ducklings usually includes boiled eggs and very finely crushed oatmeal. From the second - third day of life, cottage cheese is included in the diet, and from 5-6 - finely chopped greens and aquatic vegetation (in a ratio of about 0.5x1). From ten days of age, potatoes and finely chopped root vegetables can already be added to the ducklings' mash.

At first, babies are given food 6-8 times a day. Starting from the 10th day and up to one month of age, the number of feedings is reduced to 5-6, then - to 2-4 times a day.

Keeping ducks in winter

By private owners, the cultivation of ducks for meat in the country is practiced most often only in the summer. Farmers who breed this bird to sell carcasses usually keep it in winter. During this time of year, certain rules must be followed for successful cultivation.

In winter they feed the bird not two, but at least three times a day. In the morning and in the afternoon they give mash, in the evening - grain. Ducks tolerate cold weather quite well. However, it is impossible to allow the air temperature in the house to fall below 5 degrees. You should also protect the ducks from drafts. If the litter in the barn is damp, they will have a decrease in egg production. Therefore, dry hay or sawdust should be periodically sprinkled on the floor in the house. In this case, putrefactive processes with the release of heat will begin to occur in the lower layers.

An ice hole can be made in the duck bathing pond in winter. The complexity of its equipment lies primarily in the fact that in order to prevent the bird from falling under the ice, its edges will have to be fenced off with a net. But you can keep ducks in the cold season and without swimming.

In order for the ducks to fly better, additional lighting should be arranged in the house. Light bulbs turn on in the mornings and evenings.They will not reduce the egg production of ducks in winter only if there is lighting for at least 14 hours a day.

What should be a pond

Sometimes this bird is also kept overland (in cages or aviaries). It is this method that is practiced in the event that ducks are reared for meat in an industrial environment. But for small farms, free range is still considered more preferable. The reservoir intended for this bird should have a fairly large area and shallow depth. Ducks dive very well and can get food from the bottom up to 1 m. It is not recommended to arrange very deep reservoirs on the site. In this case, duck droppings, sinking to the bottom - where the layers of water do not mix - begins to rot with the release of methane. As a result, the lake "blooms". In flowing ponds, the stocking density of ducks can be significantly reduced.

Useful Tips

And finally, we will give several recommendations that may be useful to novice business poultry breeders:

• The daily routine for ducks should be followed without fail. Otherwise, the bird will reduce productivity.
• Ducks must not be moved to another room when the laying period begins. Otherwise, the bird may begin to molt. At the same time, duck eggs will cease to be laid.
• This bird is very shy. Therefore, you need to handle it carefully.

As you can see, raising ducks for meat at home is not particularly difficult. The main thing is to arrange a comfortable barn for the bird, develop a diet correctly and observe the regime. In this case, you can get tens of kilograms of delicious, environmentally friendly and expensive duck meat per season.

Raising ducklings is an interesting and not too troublesome activity, which can bring good benefits at the same time.

Ducks are unpretentious, so it's not difficult to create comfortable conditions for the chicks and provide them with suitable food, the main thing is to know how to do it.

Types of feed for young animals

Correct and balanced nutrition is the most important condition for the health and rapid growth of ducklings. The following are used as feed for young animals:

• grain - corn, wheat, oats, barley;
• legumes - usually peas are used;
• animal products such as cottage cheese;
• waste from the table;
• greens - dandelion, clover, carrot or beet tops;
• special compound feed developed for feeding chicks.

It is very convenient to use compound feed, all you need to do is choose a mixture in accordance with the age of the bird and give it to young animals several times a day. However, farmers who raise ducks at home usually prefer to prepare their own feed using the products mentioned above.

In this case, grains, which are a valuable source of carbohydrates, should make up the bulk of the diet. In the daily diet, up to 50% can be taken by corn, which is very suitable for feeding ducklings.

Barley, whose kernels have a poorly digestible shell, must be soaked for at least 10 hours before feeding it to the bird. The same goes for oats, most of which also have a hard skin.

Supplements and vitamins

It is impossible to achieve high productivity of the flock if the poultry does not have enough minerals and vitamins in the diet. In order for the ducklings' nutrition to be complete, it is necessary either to very carefully select their diet, making it varied and including a large amount of greens in it, or to use various vitamin complexes.

Also of great importance are mineral supplements - meat and bone and fish meal, shell, chalk, coarse sand, table salt.

Chick feeding rules

When growing duck young, feeding is normalized according to three age groups:

• up to 10 days;
• from 10 days to 1 month;
• after 1 month.

Feeding ducklings in the first 10 days

In the first days of life, hatched chicks need to be fed often - every two hours... The first serving can be given as soon as the babies are dry.As feed for chicks up to one and a half weeks old, use:

• finely chopped hard-boiled eggs - they can be given from the first day;
• greens and wet mash, which are added from the third day of life;
• from the fourth to fifth day, you can include animal products and mineral supplements in the diet of ducklings - low-fat cottage cheese, milk, meat and fish meal, chalk and shell.

For the manufacture of wet mash for fattening ducklings in the first 10 days of life, it is better to use corn, ground cereal grains, oilcakes and bran.

Diet of ducklings aged 10 days to 1 month

At this time, the nutrition of the young should provide him with good health and activate the growth processes. Here is an example of a balanced diet for ducklings under 1 month of age:

• corn - about 50%;
• waste from sunflower processing - 20%;
• wheat - about 13%;
• fish meal - 7%;
• feed yeast - about 5%;
• herbal flour - 4%;
• feed fat - 0.5%;
• feed chalk 0.5%.

After 1 month

After reaching the age of 1 month, it is necessary to ensure rapid weight gain. Based on this, a diet is selected, for feeding you can use the following formula:

• corn - 45%;
• cake - 17%;
• wheat - 13%;
• barley - 8%;
• feed yeast - 5%;
• fish meal - 4%;
• feed fat - 1.5%;
• meat and bone meal - 1.5%.

It is very important that ducklings at this age spend a lot of time in the pasture, where they will nibble fresh greens.

Diet for chicks of meat breeds

Ducklings raised for meat require more protein to gain weight as quickly as possible.

The diet must be selected so that proteins are at least 20% - this is the main difference in the nutrition of such a bird.

In this case, the same feeds that are used when raising other ducks are suitable - grain, herbs and animal products. In terms of time, fattening lasts up to 2.5 months - keeping meat breeds longer is impractical.

Feeding ducks for meat

When two weeks remain before slaughter, the bird is transferred to a special diet:

• grain - 100 g per day;
• greens - 80 g;
• cereals and grain waste - 40 g;
• bran - 40 g;
• meal and cake - 20 g;
• shells - 6 g;
• gravel - 2 g;
• meat and bone meal - 3 g;
• feed yeast - 1 g;
• salt - 1 g

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It is very important to feed the goslings properly in the first days of life. You will find useful tips and tricks in this article.

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How to raise chicks

In order for the ducklings to be strong and healthy and gain weight quickly, in addition to proper nutrition, it is necessary to create comfortable living conditions for them. To do this, you need to equip the poultry house and make a pasture for walking.

Arrangement of premises

The room in which the ducklings are raised must be heated. This is especially important in the first two weeks of the chicks' life. They also need a lot of light, so lamps need to be installed. For babies to be comfortable, the lighting should not be too bright.

Light bulbs with a capacity of 60 watts work well and should be hung in the house at a height of about two meters. One square meter of the room requires 5 watts of power, using this formula it is easy to calculate the required number of lamps.

It is also necessary to arrange a deep bedding. It is this method of floor preparation that is usually used when raising ducklings in a household environment, while in poultry farms, a mesh floor is used. To create it, you can use:

• wood shavings;
• straw;
• crushed corn rods.

First, lime fluff is poured onto the floor in the amount of 600 grams per 1 square meter, after which the litter is laid, the thickness of which should be at least 6 centimeters.

To feed the ducklings food, it is convenient to use trough feeders. If trays are used for this, the bird will trample the feed, making it unusable.

How to make a drinker for ducklings with your own hands

The bird should always have access to drinking water, so, last but not least, you need to take care of a good drinker. It can be made from a plastic plumbing pipe of a suitable diameter. This requires:

• cut rectangular holes along the entire length of the pipe;
• close one end of the pipe with a plug;
• on the other end, install a plastic elbow with a 90-degree angle.

At this, the drinking bowl is ready, it remains only to fix it motionless so that the hole of the plastic elbow looks up - fresh water will be poured through it. To install the drinker in the pasture, it is enough to stick four wooden or metal rods into the ground.

Pasture

In addition to the poultry house for the ducklings, it is necessary to prepare a good pasture. For this, the area on the south side of the farm, which receives the most light, is best suited. It must be fenced off with a net and divided into several sections.

It is good if there is a reservoir on this territory, in this case the ducklings will independently find up to 50% of the food in it, and this will significantly reduce costs.

Keeping ducklings

In order for the ducklings to feel comfortable, not get sick and gain weight quickly, it is very important to maintain an optimal temperature:

• in the first week of life - 30 degrees;
• the second week - 20 degrees;
• starting from the third week, the temperature can be reduced to 15 degrees.

It is possible to determine how comfortable the temperature is for ducklings not only by the thermometer. If they gather in piles and squeak strongly, the room is not warmed up enough. When the temperature rises too much, the chicks breathe with their beaks wide open and drink a lot.

Until the ducklings reach one week of age, the duration of daylight hours should be about 20 hours, subsequently it is gradually reduced to 15 hours. Low lighting is left at night - about 2 watts per square meter of area.

To prevent the bird from getting sick, it is necessary to constantly sanitize the room where it is kept. It should be washed with hot water and disinfected once a week. For disinfection, formalin or creolin solutions are suitable.

If you create optimal conditions for ducklings and provide a full-fledged balanced diet, they will quickly gain weight, and the likelihood of diseases in the herd will be minimized. Ducks are quite unpretentious and do not require a lot of money and time, and even a novice farmer can provide them with a good level of comfort, which will contribute to rapid growth and weight gain.