How to feed a duck? Cultivation of ducks

One of the first birds that were subjected to domestication was ducks. Not too capricious in care and nutrition, these winged, whose ancestors are wild mallards, are quite popular on the farmstead. A significant increase in mass in a short period of time is one of the important advantages of such a claimed bird.

Duck at home farmstead: benefits

Cultivation of ducks at home is directed primarily at the early receipt of meat. Different from the usual chicken, it has a rich taste; Slightly greasy, with pronounced coarse fibers.

Egg is also a product obtained from noisy pets. In food, however, it is not used because of a peculiar taste, but it is successfully consumed in baking and preparing various dishes (for example, mayonnaise). Eggs are also used for incubation with the aim of reproducing the feathered herd.

A byproduct of ducks is the fluffy raw material for stuffing blankets and pillows, and duck dung is a valuable organic fertilizer.

Basic diet of ducks

The content of such poultry is not particularly difficult even for a beginner, the main thing is to know what to feed the domestic ducks. The main part of the diet in the "quacking" diet is cereal, containing a large amount of carbohydrates, providing the bird with a stable weight gain and growth. The coefficient of digestibility of cereals is about 80%, which is much higher than that of chickens. The most nutritious food for ducks is corn, containing a small percentage of fiber, due to which it is easily digested. In the total proportion of the daily diet, it can be half of it. Wheat, rich in vitamins B and E, ranks second in its nutritional value, but outstrips corn in protein content. You can use flour from wheat, only grind must be rough, otherwise its small particles can kill the nasal passages in the bird, which will lead to undesirable consequences.

The grain mixture can be enriched with barley, which should not be contained in a total amount of more than 30%, because this grain is heavily digested. Therefore, it is recommended to feed the adult barley to the germinated barley, the young - the grain in the milled condition. Ducks are also recommended to feed oats and legumes containing a high percentage of protein and protein.

What to feed a duck, except grain?

However, one grain for feeding ducks is not enough. What to feed a duck, except for cereals? You can diversify the diet with the help of bran, oil cake and meal. Bran - waste products of grain production, are a kind of economical option: they can be added to wet mashrooms, which the duck (bird) eats with pleasure. Cake (peanut, rape, soybean, sunflower) is rich in fat content, because it is a product of processing (pressing) of oil-bearing seeds. In its composition there is enough potassium and phosphorus - the elements required for the bone system of the bird.

What to feed a duck, except for cereals? You can feed the ducks pre-soaked dry bread, which they eat with pleasure.

Feeding ducks in summer

The above feeds are suitable for keeping ducks in the cold season, and feeding at this time should be carried out 3-4 times a day (2 times - wet mash, 2 times - dry food). In the summer, the cultivation of ducks is low-cost, since they can be released to ponds and nearby pastures, where birds self-seek for their own food. It is during the summer, when there is an abundance of green grass in the meadows, it is least worthwhile to think about what to feed the duck. During this period the bird can be fed twice a day.

What does a duck eat in nature? It is interesting to know that her favorite food is water duckweed; Adults can be fed 0.5 kg per day per head, for babies - depending on age, but in a smaller dosage. Sliced mixtures of green herbs (clover, peas, young nettles, alfalfa), combined with damp mashrooms, will help in a short time to gain sufficient weight. Cooking mashrooms need in the amount that will be eaten at one time, otherwise the food will quickly deteriorate due to warm weather.

For qualitative growth and optimum egg production, ducks are recommended to add meat and fish meal (rich in phosphorus, calcium, B vitamins and proteins) to the main food, also it is possible to feed dairy products (for example, fat-free cottage cheese, which is especially useful for ducklings) and small Fish.

Necessary in the diet of ducks should be present mineral supplements (chalk, shell, egg shell) that facilitate the process of digestion of food and contribute to the full formation of eggs in the body. For grinding in the stomach of solid grains, it is required to mix gravel or coarse-grained sand into food.

How to feed a hen

For laying ducks, a different feeding method should be used, which requires increasing the amount of protein and concentrated feed and reducing the volume of juicy and coarse fodder. This is due to the need to increase the content of calcium and other minerals.

When growing ducks for meat, the duration of which on average is 2.5 months, fattening should begin from the moment of birth. In the early days, babies are given boiled crushed eggs and skim cottage cheese, which must always be fresh. You can give special foods with high content of minerals and vitamins.

Two weeks before the proposed slaughter, fattening is aimed at increasing protein food in the diet, which causes the accelerated growth of muscle mass. A week before the appearance of the offspring should be given more food, the effect of which is directed to the formation of fat (boiled potatoes, poultry, etc.), and exclude from the diet fishmeal and fish. During this period it is recommended to minimize the motor activity of duck-hens.

Clean and fresh water is the main condition for keeping ducks

At any time of day, the bird must be provided with fresh clean water, especially if there are no water bodies nearby. Drinkers should be equipped so that the ducks can rinse their nose in them, but do not swim, otherwise the water will have to be changed constantly.

So after all, what does the duck eat? Domestic ducks are omnivorous birds, practically sweeping away any food on their way. Unwillingness to the conditions of detention, fast weight gain, resistance to diseases - these are the advantages for which it is worth keeping ducks at home.