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Breeding birds in the household is becoming increasingly common among farmers. First of all, because the meat of their birds is guaranteed to be safe and fresh. Mulardy ducks are great for breeding at home. They are also called “meat ducks”.
The origin of mulard ducks and their description
Mulard ducks are hybrids bred by French breeders by crossing Musk and Beijing duck breeds. There are options for crossing with breeds: Orpington, Rouen and White Allier. The result is a duck with a calm character, with meat of excellent taste and quickly gaining weight.
The plumage of mulard ducks is white, there is a dark spot on the head, which is a distinctive feature of this hybrid.
What does a domestic duck look like, look at the photo
Mulard ducks are broilers, that is, bred for meat. Mulard ducks are great for breeding at home, as well as for growing on an industrial scale. The weight of adult females is up to 6,5 kg, males – up to 7 kg. Ducklings have a good rate of weight gain: in two months they weigh up to 1,5 kg.
Description of the growing up of mulard ducks, see the video:
Features of the duck hybrid mulard
Like any poultry, mulard ducks have positive and negative qualities.
Advantages of mulard hybrid ducks
- Undemanding to the conditions of detention. Domestic mulard ducks are absolutely not whimsical about keeping and can adapt to any conditions, including temperature extremes, which is a definite plus for breeders in Our Country.
- Reluctance to feed. Mulard ducks are undemanding to nutrition and do not overeat. However, it is worth remembering that high-quality feeding leads to greater bird productivity. Due to its large size, softness and nutritional value, mulard duck liver is considered the best for the production of foie gras. The liver of a male can reach a weight of 550 grams.
- Good immunity. An important quality is the presence of a very strong immune system in ducks: mulards rarely get sick.
- Rapid maturity. Mularda ducks reach the slaughter weight as early as 3-4 months, provided they are provided with high-quality feed. Due to this precocity, duck meat is especially tender and tasty.
- Excellent meat quality characteristics. The low percentage of fat in the meat of mulard ducks is comparable to that of goose – only 3%. At the same time, it takes more than six months to fatten a goose, and mulards reach slaughter age from three months. For the excellent taste of mulard duck meat, one should thank the musky breed, on the basis of which the hybrid was bred.
- Cleanliness. Mulard ducks are neat. The importance of this quality is fundamental for farmers who raise ducks for sale and use their feathers and down.
- Calm character. Domestic ducks mulard do not bother the owners with screams and quarrels.
Disadvantages of mulard hybrid ducks
Mulardy ducks cannot reproduce: all eggs of females are unfertilized. Therefore, in order to continue to grow mulard ducks, it is necessary to constantly buy additional ducklings. Some farmers are trying to independently breed domestic mulard ducks by buying and crossing Muscovy ducks with Peking ducks. However, it should be understood that the result can be very unpredictable and the qualitative characteristics of the mulard hybrid ducks may not be expressed in full.
Mulard duckling care
It is advisable to raise ducklings separately from other birds, then they will eat and grow better.
Due to the fact that ducks are waterfowl, care should be taken to have a natural habitat for them. It is great if there is a pond near the duck walking area. If not, you can make an artificial one.
Ducklings require around the clock availability of light, which allows them to adapt to the external environment as quickly as possible. As the chicks grow, the lighting can be left for 15-17 hours.
To prevent the death of newborn mulard ducklings from hypothermia, it is necessary to maintain the night temperature at a level not lower than +28 degrees, the daytime temperature should be at least 23 degrees.
Straw or hay should be used as bedding for mulard ducklings. Sawdust is not suitable for this purpose, because. they absorb moisture well and dry for a long time – if the duckling is constantly on a wet surface, it can catch a cold and die.
Catering for mulard ducks
At first, mulard ducklings are given boiled porridge mixed with a boiled egg for eating. The porridge should be thin enough to provide the ducklings with moisture. Over time, greens are added to the mash, which should be chopped very finely. Greens provide mulard ducks with the necessary vitamins and fiber. However, it should be remembered that the digestive system of ducklings is still quite weak, so do not abuse the amount of green supplements.
Starting from the eighth day of ducklings’ life, boiled potatoes are introduced into their diet. Gradually, mineral supplements should be introduced, such as: ground egg shells, shells or chalk. Minerals are essential for the growth and health of ducklings.
Types of feed for domestic ducks mulard
- Cereals: barley, legumes, wheat, corn, oats. Due to the high content of carbohydrates in grains, mulard ducks quickly gain weight. Such food is well absorbed by mulards.
- Waste from processed raw materials: meal and cake (sunflower, soybeans, peanuts, cotton, rapeseed, beets), yeast, bran, bard.
- Juicy forages: aquatic vegetation (elodea, duckweed, pondweed), greens (nettle, alfalfa, clover, peas), combined silage (fermented grass with vegetables), vegetables (carrots, pumpkin, cabbage).
- animal feed: ideally – insects, worms, fry, frogs. At home: meat and bone and fish meal, small fish, dairy products.
In the warm season, if domestic mulard ducks are not on free pasture near a natural reservoir, they should be fed four times a day: twice with dry food and two with wet mash. Aquatic vegetation should be added to wet food. If the ducks are released to the pond and pasture, it is enough to give them food twice a day.
In winter, ducks are fed twice a day: once with combined silage and wet mash, the second with dry feed. Be sure to add steamed hay, fish or meat and bone meal, boiled potatoes and dust.
Conditions for keeping ducks mulard
Despite the fact that mulard ducks are completely unpretentious to the conditions of detention, it is still worth equipping the house in such a way that the ducks in it are as comfortable as possible. As a result of the correct approach to keeping, the mulard ducks will quickly reach the productivity declared for this hybrid.
Poultry house
Wood is considered the ideal material for a poultry house. The best place to build will be the south side on some hill, or you can raise the house above the ground by at least half a meter (see photo).
The size of the house is calculated from the area of one square meter for three ducks. Moulards do not need perches, they spend all the time below, so the floor must be covered (in summer, litter is almost not needed, in winter it will need about 6 kg per individual).
The house should be warm and dry – humidity has a bad effect on the plumage of ducks, the cover becomes less dense and there is a risk of disease of the mulard.
If the entrance to the poultry house is too high for ducks, you need to attach a ramp or ladder to the entrance at such a slope that the mulards can easily climb.
Description of the poultry house from the greenhouse for the wintering of mulard ducks, see the video
Feeders
The feeders should be at the height of the back of the mulard ducks. Each type of food should have its own feeder: for wet mash, mineral and vitamin supplements, dry food, greens. An important condition when choosing a feeder is the convenience of washing and disinfecting it.
Feeders can be either simple (for example, from auxiliary materials) or automatic, in which feed is fed as it decreases without the participation of the farmer.
Drinking bowls
Mulard ducks should always have fresh and clean drinking water in the access zone. It is better if a drip drinker is organized for watering, because the mulards have a short intestine and a large amount of water consumed quickly removes food from the body. A very favorable effect on the development of mulard ducks is the possibility of drinking from a natural reservoir, which contains duckweed.
Nest
Despite the fact that mulard ducks are bred for meat, females still carry eggs. Therefore, it will be necessary to install nests in the poultry house, which are also necessary if the purchased eggs of mulard ducks are incubated by an adult female hybrid.
To install the nest, you need to choose the quietest and most secluded place in the house, where the least light enters. It is desirable to arrange the structure so that the ducks turn out to be beak to the wall, due to this the effect of privacy will be enhanced. One nest should be designed for one female.
At the bottom of the nest, you need to lay the litter in such an amount that the eggs cannot get damaged. To prevent eggs from falling out, the nest must be provided with sides.
Walking
Since ducks of the mulard hybrid are not prone to obesity, they do not need hourly walks over a large area. The most optimal for them is free range near the reservoir. If there are no opportunities for organizing such a walk, you can allocate a small courtyard for walking. The minimum number of square meters per duck is one.
For walking ducklings in the yard, you can make a corral from a frame sheathed on all sides, except for the bottom, with a metal mesh. The design will protect the ducklings from other birds or animals and will not allow the chicks to scatter. The positive aspect of such a corral is its mobility: when the ducklings eat all the grass under the structure, it can be moved to another area. Inside the corral you need to put drinking water and food. How the corral looks like, look at the photo.
Reviews of breeding ducks mulard
About breeding ducks mulardov at home, the reviews of most farmers are positive. Breeders note their rapid growth, lean, tasty meat. Many feed ducks with a mixture of chicken and pig feed and notice that mulard ducks eat a lot until they reach the age of three months, then their appetite becomes moderate. Breeders are advised to remove poultry for meat with the onset of winter cold so that there are no problems with storage of products.
Of the minuses, the absence of offspring and the fearfulness of mulard ducks are distinguished. A large number of farmers fell for the bait of unscrupulous sellers of mulard ducks, who claimed that the females of this hybrid are highly egg-laying. Breeders bought mulard ducks in order to reproduce offspring and were disappointed when they did not receive it. In this regard, their reviews of mulard ducks have a negative connotation.
Conclusion
Mulard hybrid ducks are great for breeding at home: unpretentiousness in maintenance and food, good health and rapid growth allow even beginners to grow ducks.