Contents
In meat poultry farming, a broiler duck is called a duck that can quickly build muscle mass. Strictly speaking, all mallard ducks are broiler ducks, since the growth of their muscle mass stops at 2 months, and then the duck begins to gain fat. Wild ducks need fat to survive the flight south. But usually, among poultry farmers, the concept of “broiler ducks” means a large duck, which in 2 months will weigh not 1-1,5 kg, but about 3. In Our Country, the most popular meat breed is Peking duck.
Main broiler breeds of ducks
In the version, all broiler breeds of ducks, or rather, crosses, are produced at the Blagovarsky factory based on the Beijing duck:
- Bashkir colored;
- Blue favorite;
- Agidel;
- Medeo.
All these broiler ducks are crosses. The weight of ducks from the Blagovarskaya factory at the age of 42 days is approximately 3 kg with slight plus or minus fluctuations. It makes no sense to breed these crosses of ducks, since they will not give the desired offspring. Of course, these crosses of broiler ducks are convenient to grow for meat. It is worth paying attention to their ancestor.
Peking duck
Firmly stocked ducks of medium size compared to broiler duck breeds. The weight of an adult Peking duck is on average 3,5 kg, a drake 4 kg. Ducklings at the age of 42 days reach a weight of 2,5 kg.
The heads of Pekin ducks are large, the beak is bright orange. Very wide back and chest. The neck is of medium length, powerful. The wings fit snugly against the body. Legs with a wide set. Metatarsus and paws are bright orange. The color is white.
The advantages of the Peking duck breed are their high productivity (an average of 110 eggs per season), good health, unpretentiousness and a developed incubation instinct.
Features
Peking ducks have a very fast metabolism, due to the high body temperature that must be maintained. In addition, Peking ducks have a very short intestine. Due to the length of the intestine, it absorbs food very quickly. Peking ducks need constant access to food for normal growth and vital activity.
Fire Aylesbury
Ailbury broiler ducks are one of the oldest breeds bred in England. When viewed from the side, Aylesbury ducks resemble geese. These ducks weigh much more than Peking ducks. In a duck, the weight starts from 3,3 kg and can reach up to 5 kg. In drakes, the weight is in the range of 4-5,5 kg. Ducklings grow slower than Beijing ducklings and reach a weight of 2,5 kg only in 60 days. The egg production of these broiler ducks is also low: 85-95 eggs per season. Egg laying lasts about six months.
Aylesbury ducks have a large head with small blue eyes. The beak is light orange, large. The body is horizontally set, dense. The skeleton is well developed, the keel is deep. Legs are thick and short. The color of the ducks is white.
Aylesbury ducks are famous for their tender meat, but they are more tender than Peking ducks. It is effeminacy that prevents the widespread distribution of Aylesbury ducks.
Features of the content
For a normal life, ducks of this breed need to choose a place where water will not stagnate. This may be a hill on a personal plot or a specially equipped platform.
For the winter, they need a warm house with a concrete floor that is easy to clean. Since the birds are heavy, they may have problems with fertilization without a reservoir. Therefore, a small pond is equipped on the walking area.
When growing, young growth is kept on a deep litter, which is stirred and removed as it gets dirty.
Lime is poured at the rate of 0,5 kg per square meter. A bedding 10-15 cm thick is laid on top and only then the ducklings are transferred to the poultry house.
Rouen ducks
Very large powerful ducks of “wild” color. Ducks have a large head, a short thick neck. The body is parallel to the ground. The legs are short and the fat deposits on the abdomen can even touch the ground. The chest and back are wide. Ducks tend to accumulate fat. Egg productivity is low: up to 100 eggs per season. Due to its large weight, the Rouen duck has a very low egg fertility. All these factors combined prevented the Rouen duck from gaining real popularity.
Mullard
This is not a broiler duck, although the mulard surpasses the meat breeds of ducks in size and growth rate. Mulard is the fruitless hybridization of the common domestic duck with the Muscovy duck of South America. This is just the cross that you can bring at home. To obtain mulards, you will need domestic ducks and musky duck drake. Mulardy grow quickly and it is profitable to grow them for meat. But not more.
Muscovy duck
These South American ducks are not strictly broiler ducks, but they gain considerable weight, making it possible to raise them for meat. An adult drake can weigh up to 7 kg. The duck is usually twice as small and weighs 3-3,5 kg.
Muscovy ducks have a well-developed incubation instinct and high fertility even without water bodies. Muscovy ducks, in principle, do not really need water, being forest ducks by nature.
But the general principles of keeping and breeding broiler ducks are the same
Content of broiler ducks
When keeping ducks, one must be prepared for the fact that these birds will breed a swamp in their habitat. They are able to splash water even from a vacuum drinking bowl. The only way to avoid this is to organize a small pond for ducks with a long exit from it on one side. So that while they were walking, all the water was glassed down.
The arrangement of the wintering house will have to be thought out so that the ducks cannot physically splash water everywhere. The swamp in frost will turn into an ice mass, where ducks will also freeze.
In winter, ducks are kept on a deep litter, trying to limit their access to water. But it is also impossible to completely deprive ducks of water, especially when feeding with compound feed. All animals after eating compound feed need a lot of water.
Breeding broiler ducks
Only thoroughbred broiler ducks are bred. Crosses of broiler ducks in the second generation will give splitting and high-quality offspring will not work.
The total number of broiler ducks is calculated based on the area of the poultry house: 5 heads of ducks per 1 sq. m.
For breeding, a broodstock is formed at the rate of 4 ducks per 1 male. But you will have to navigate by the drakes. If the male is active, 3 ducks will not be enough for him, and from 5 the number of unfertilized eggs will increase.
Next, you need to decide on the method of breeding. In the absence of an incubator, if the breed of ducks has the instinct of incubation, this process can be left at the mercy of nature by equipping shelters for future hens. The duck normally perceives an ordinary wooden fruit box. She is convinced that no one sees her there, but she sees everything and can escape in case of danger.
If the females have no choice, two ducks may choose the same nest box. In this case, the ducks will scatter their eggs, constantly moving around the box. As a result, the owner will be very lucky if this couple hatch at least some ducklings.
Having chosen a box, the duck lays an egg directly on the bare ground. It’s OK. In the process of laying, she simultaneously drags grass, straw and other debris into the nest. By the time the incubation begins, the bird already has a full-fledged nest. It is only necessary to provide laying hens with building materials.
After the duck sits tightly on the nest, it becomes invisible – not heard. The duck comes out once a day to eat. The duck sorts out its own eggs and throws the bad ones out of the nest. The mother hen sits on the nest until the last duckling hatches and may lose the first hatchlings. The hatching process takes about a day. During this time, the first ducklings dry out and go in search of adventure. If there is a cat or dog in the courtyard, adventures will surely be found.
In order not to lose ducklings, by the end of the incubation period, you will have to monitor the hen. Already cracked eggs can be taken and placed in a box with a lamp, calculated so that the eggs are not too hot or cold. In general, this is determined by touch. The eggs should not be much warmer than the hand.
Incubator
During the season, a duck can sit 3-4 broods with an average of 10-12 ducklings in each. If the duck is kept only for itself, it is worth considering whether an incubator is needed in the house or you can do without it.
If ducks are bred for further sale for meat, then it is advisable to use an incubator. By not spending time incubating, the female will lay more eggs in a season.
Medium-sized eggs are selected for incubation. If there is an ovoscope, the eggs must first be enlightened to see if there are any cracks in the shell. Before incubation, the eggs are disinfected.
Leptospira remaining on the egg shell will later infect the newly hatched duckling.
After disinfection, the eggs are placed in an incubator and the temperature is set to 37,8°C. The main problem in incubating eggs is humidity. Typically, incubators are designed for chicken eggs, which need a humidity of about 50%. For ducks, humidity ranges from 60 to 70%. Humidity is usually increased to the last digit in the last 2 before hatching to make it easier for the chicks to emerge from the egg.
The best option for an incubator is with automatic egg turning. If the eggs are not turned over, the embryo sticks to the wall of the egg and dies.
Depending on the incubator model, in the last 2 days you can remove the motorized tray and leave the eggs on the tray, or transfer almost ready-to-hatch eggs to the hatcher with manual egg turning.
After the ducklings have left their eggs and dried out, they are transferred to a brooder.
Cultivation
At the beginning, the temperature in the brooder is maintained at about 30°C. As the ducklings grow, the temperature is reduced. The need of ducklings for warmth is noticeable by their behavior. If ducklings crowd near a heat source, they are cold. Otherwise, they go to the far corner.
Ducklings are fed depending on the personal preferences of the owner. Someone prefers industrial feed for broiler breeds of ducks, someone prepares feed for ducks himself, so that it is natural. With “natural” feeding, some owners give duckweed to ducklings, believing that since it is natural food, it will not bring harm. Duckweed by itself will not bring harm. But along with it, ducklings can be fed larvae of intestinal parasites.
The disadvantage of natural food is not only that it is difficult for fast-growing organisms to provide a balanced diet, but also that such food quickly turns sour. Poor quality food causes intestinal diseases. And at first, ducklings should have constant access to food, since they do not have their own fat reserves.
With a large livestock, in order to prevent coccidiosis, coccidiostatics are soldered to ducklings.
Those diseases that are asymptomatic in an adult duck and do not bring harm can kill the entire brood of ducklings.
For ducklings, protein feed of animal origin is added to the feed: fish, blood or meat and bone meal.
When to score
In the case of broiler ducks, this entirely depends on the tastes of the owner. Ducks grow up to 2 months, after which they begin to gain fat. If you need a carcass without fat with a thin skin, the duck is slaughtered at 2 months.
If you need a duck with a stronger skin and a small layer of fat, it is worth feeding the duckling up to 3-4 months. But here another problem arises: juvenile molting. When slaughtering a duck older than 2 months, one must be prepared for the fact that she has begun a juvenile molt and, after plucking, a lot of feather stumps will remain in the skin.
Moulards and Muscovy ducks can be kept for up to 5 months. They do not gain fat, but they will have time to shed.
Conclusion
The basic principles for raising broiler ducks are the same as for raising any other mallard. It is only necessary to ensure that broiler ducks receive a sufficient amount of feed in general and protein in particular. Since, due to the rapid growth of broiler ducks, they need a lot of protein.