But despite this, it will not work to get good productivity from waterfowl if they only receive pasture from the rangers. The article will discuss the correct diet for ducks.
While at large, it is natural for waterfowl to eat juicy plant foods - insects, small fish, roots and cereals. They also find mineral feeding in the form of sand, small shells or pebbles. Based on the above, each owner should try to provide their birds with the most varied diet.
Here you still need to take into account the purpose of breeding ducks. This can be fattening to obtain meat products, collecting egg products, removing young stock for subsequent sale. In order to achieve each of these goals, it must be remembered that poultry must be provided with a balanced, satisfying diet.
What are duck food
Most owners give preference to cereals in feeding ducks - this type of feed accounts for the majority of the entire diet. Grain is prized for its high carbohydrate content - a source of energy for poultry. In addition, cereals provide good growth and subsequent weight gain. Grain is a favorite treat of the duck tribe, and this type of feed is digested very well.
Feed obtained as a result of processing of various food raw materials
This category includes cake, meal and bran. Processing enterprises supply them to poultry farms. The following table will take a closer look at the benefits of a particular feed.
| product name | Beneficial features | How to feed |
| Oil cake and meal | Obtained by processing soybeans, rapeseed, peanuts, cotton, soybeans, sunflower. Oilcake and meal contain essential fats, phosphorus and potassium | The amount in the diet - from 5 to 10% |
| They are a by-product of flour milling. Wheat bran contains up to 12% protein | You can give up to 20% of the total diet. Refers to dry food |
|
| As a rule, it is introduced into the diet for fast feeding. Refers to waste generated in the production of alcoholic products | Young animals can receive such feed only from the age of 30 days. Also fed to an older bird |
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| Beet cake | A by-product of obtaining is sugar. For birds, they are given dry, it is this form that contains carbohydrates in large quantities | Ducklings can receive beet cake from the age of 20 days. Refers to dry food. The recommended amount in the diet is about 9% |
| Rich in B vitamins | Give the bird from 10 days of age. Both raw yeast and dry yeast are fed |
What is meant by succulent feed
These components are introduced into the diet with the onset of the summer months. An excess of such products makes feeding birds more profitable in economic terms. This group includes the following products:
- Various types of aquatic plants. They are the source of energy for the wild duck, respectively, and the domesticated bird will not refuse such food. It is recommended to introduce young animals into the diet from one week of age.
- Green mass. It is necessary to cut plants for ducklings - it can be both nettles and alfalfa, and tops of garden plants. Most often, cut grass is given along with wet-type mash.
- Combined types of silage. They are harvested in the summer months, if possible - using a special technology.
- Green parts of vegetables and root crops. They contain various vitamins in large quantities, which is an undoubted advantage when feeding such food. Can be given cut. Some owners make silage. Boiled vegetables are most often given to ducks.
Feed of animal origin
This group is intended to replace small crustaceans, fish and insects that ducks could catch in nature. Each owner should include this feed at the start of the egg-producing period to ensure that the shell is strong. This group includes the following components:
- Fish flour. The plus is long-term storage, and the feeding itself is rich in proteins, vitamin complexes, calcium, phosphorus.
- Bone meal. Contains a lot of proteins. Can be given to young animals from one week of age.
- Low fat cottage cheese. It is the main protein ingredient that can be fed to ducklings. Introduced into the diet for 2 days after birth and not removed before slaughter.
Having considered the types of feed, it is worth moving on to the next part of the article, which will highlight the moment of proper feeding of waterfowl. You should start with ducklings. In the table below you can get acquainted with the data on feed, as well as with information about at what age what to give.
Note. From day 14, boiled eggs can be removed from the diet, and from day 5, gradually increase the amount of green mass.
Feeding during oviposition
Layers need not only the most careful care, but also a special diet in feeding. The main rule: the poultry must be provided with substances with a high calcium content in order for the shell to be strong. It is best to feed as follows:
- While the egg-laying period is going on, the bird is transferred to feeding up to 4 times a day. Wet feed is given three times a day and grain mixture once (in the evening), it is best to germinate the grains before distribution.
- It is recommended to add 1 tsp to the mash. yeast, the powder is diluted in warm water and added to 1 kg of feed. Then the mixture is infused for 8 hours and used in the morning as an additive to any feed.
- Some individuals may begin to lose weight, in this case it is worth using enhanced feeding, as a rule, it is used before laying. Protein food is introduced into the diet, coarse and juicy feed is reduced.
- It is recommended to feed the ducks with moist ingredients and of course, remember that the bird needs a lot of clean water.
Features of the summer and winter diet
Each season has its own advantages and disadvantages. In summer, the bird can receive grass in unlimited quantities, sprouted grains, vegetables are used for food (depending on the season).
If we consider in more detail the summer option of feeding, then the easiest will be to drive ducks to natural reservoirs. Here they can find food, but they will need supervision (so as not to be stolen).
If there are no water sources nearby, then the bird is released into the meadow, where it is provided with drinking liquid.
The third option involves the collection of green mass in the fields and subsequent feeding directly on the walking yard.
The main thing that every farmer should remember: a properly composed ration is the key to the health of ducks and getting quality products in the future.
In poultry farming, as well as in animal husbandry, there is such a thing as complete feeding. To talk about the usefulness of feeding, on the one hand, you should know which nutrients are needed for a bird in a particular physiological period of its development and productivity, and on the other hand, the content of which nutrients prevails in certain types of feed.
The body of a bird, like any other living organism, in addition to water, consists of nitrogenous substances such as proten (protein, the main component of which is nitrogen), and nitrogen-free - carbohydrates, fats, vitamins. The body's need for these nutrients is not the same, it depends on the need for them, their role for the body is very great. Mineral substances are also important for metabolism: sodium, potassium, chlorine, sulfur, calcium, phosphorus, which are included in the macronutrient group. A separate group of minerals is made up of the so-called microelements: iron, copper, manganese, cobalt, zinc, selenium, iodine, etc. Proteins are the main constituent of every living organism. It is the basis of muscle tissue and all internal organs. Proteins cannot be synthesized in a living organism from other nutrients, they come only with food.
Proteins are made up of amino acids. Proteins differ greatly in terms of their usefulness and composition of amino acids, which determines their usefulness. Some of the amino acids that make up proteins are called non-essential. Those amino acids that are not formed from other amino acids in the body are called essential. These include: arginine, histidine, isoleucine, leucine, lysine, methionine, cystine.
The most deficient for the body of a bird are: tiptophan, lysine, cystine and methionine. In terms of the content of essential amino acids, more complete feeds of animal origin: fish, meat and bone meal, meat meal, meat, dairy products, etc.
Proteins in the digestive tract are broken down into amino acids, which, being absorbed into the bloodstream, are carried throughout the body and serve as material for building muscle tissue in a bird and creating proteins specific to its body.
Carbohydrates - consist of starch, sugar and fiber. Carbohydrates enter the bloodstream in the form of glucose and monosaccharides, which, upon further decomposition, are converted into biological energy of the body. With an excess in the body, they are deposited in the liver of the bird in the form of glycogen and go to the formation of fat. In case of insufficient intake of carbohydrates from feed, the body uses the glycogen stores previously deposited in the liver. If the reserves are insufficient, the fats and proteins available in the body are used. Carbohydrates are essential for maintaining body temperature, energy production, muscle function, and the formation of adipose tissue. Many carbohydrates are contained in cereals, potatoes, beets, lemon balm, etc.
Fiber, which is a part of carbohydrates, is poorly digested by the bird, therefore its amount in diets is limited. A lot of fiber is contained in the shells of grain - oats, barley, millet. Therefore, young animals are fed it after removing the film.
Fats - the main source of energy. When they are burned, twice as much energy is released than when the same amount of proteins and carbohydrates are burned. Fats are high in calories. In winter, at low ambient temperatures, in practice, technical fats are often introduced into the diet of poultry to maintain body temperature. In case of insufficient feeding, fats are used by the body primarily as an energy material. With excess intake, they are stored in the subcutaneous tissue, liver, heart and other internal organs. An adult bird is more prone to accumulation of fat than a young one.
Minerals. In a living organism, as in feed, there are various mineral salts. On complete combustion of the dry mass, they form a residue in the form of ash. In the animal organism, they perform a wide variety of functions. Some of them serve as structural elements (calcium and phosphorus compounds are part of the skeleton), others in dissolved form are part of the cells, regulate osmotic pressure and acidity (pH). Calcium and phosphorus are necessary for the formation of eggshell, are involved in metabolic processes, in the absorption of nutrients.
A lack of calcium in the diet in an adult bird can lead to a complete cessation of oviposition, and in deeper forms, to softening of bone tissues - osteomolation; in young birds, its lack can lead to rickets. In young animals, the first signs of insufficient mineral nutrition are manifested in the curvature of the sternum keel. Sources of minerals for poultry are table salt, crushed river shells, ground egg shells, animal bone meal, ground chalk.
Poultry farmers should know that when feeding minerals, their assimilation is not always complete, since the body needs vitamin D for calcium deposition in bones.
Chlorine is used to form hydrochloric acid, which is part of the gastric juice. The main source of chlorine is table salt. Its increased doses of feeding can lead to salt poisoning. Sulfur is part of feathers and body proteins. The need for it increases during the molt period, since it is necessary for the formation of a feather.
Potassium is part of erythrocytes.
The need for microelements in a bird is very small, but their presence is necessary.
Iron is a part of blood hemoglobin. With its lack in the body, anemia (anemia) develops. Copper is also found in blood. Its deficiency leads to the degeneration of nerve fibers. It promotes the absorption of iron, stimulates the formation of red blood cells in the blood. Copper is also used to form egg shells. The bird's body consumes 1 mg of copper per egg.
Manganese plays an important role in bone formation. Its absence or deficiency in the body leads to a disease called perosis (underdevelopment of the tibia and deformation of the muscle tendons). Manganese also affects the quality of the eggshell.
Zinc stimulates the growth, bone formation and plumage of birds.
Iodine is part of the thyroid hormones. Its deficiency leads to the proliferation of the gland. To enrich the feed mixture with microelements, special additives are used that are commercially available.
Vitamins... Biologically active substances were first discovered by Russian scientists N.I. Lunin and the English biochemist Hopkins. In the beginning, vitamins were known as additional nutritional factors in feed and food, essential for human and animal nutrition. In 1912, the Polish scientist Funk combined these substances into a group of vitamins, which now has about 30 different names. These are vital substances, without which it is impossible either to grow full-fledged young growth, or in the future to get high productivity from it. For poultry, vitamins A, group B, as well as C, D, E and K are especially important.
In nature, a sufficient amount of vitamins is found in plant feed - green feed, sprouted grains, root crops, melons, and in feed yeast. Many vitamins are found in animal feed: fish oil, dairy products. For more complete provision of poultry that do not use free range and do not have access to natural vitamin feed, special vitamin preparations are currently being manufactured and widely used.
With a lack of vitamins in feed or their absence, the bird develops a disease under the general name vitamin deficiency. In case of a lack of a specific vitamin and the disease caused by it, the name of the disease is assigned the designation of the missing vitamin (B-avitaminosis, D-avitaminosis, etc.). With a sufficient content of vitamins in feed that exceeds the body's need, they can be stored in reserve, as a reserve, in the liver and other organs and tissues.
According to the generally accepted classification, vitamins are divided into two groups: fat-soluble and water-soluble.
Fat-soluble vitamins include: vitamins of group A, group D, group K and vitamin E. Water-soluble vitamins include: complex of vitamins B, as well as vitamins C, PP, biotin and choline.
The amount of vitamins is expressed in micrograms, milligrams and in conventional units of action (IE, ME), i.e. international or international units. Vitamin preparations of both groups are fed to poultry with feed. Water. An obligatory participant in the digestive processes in poultry. The feed contains an insufficient amount of water for poultry: in grain-flour feed it is from 14 to 19%, in tubers - up to 80, in young grass - up to 85%. But this is not enough, since the bird needs water not only for digestion. It is also part of the cells (65% of the total body weight). The bird needs water to regulate body temperature.
For ducklings, water is necessary not only as a component of nutrition and to quench their thirst, but also as a water walk, to tidy up the feather cover, and clean the nasal openings.
When caring for a bird, you must not do with drinking water from contaminated sources. Drinking water must be clean, free of foreign odors, harmful salts.
Gravel and coarse sand... These components are of no nutritional value, but they must be constantly in the muscular stomach of the bird for more successful grinding of the feed, which improves its digestion. In the absence of gravel, the feed is not fully consumed by the bird and some of it passes outside. Gravel feeding is stopped two weeks before slaughter.
Feed suitable for feeding to ducks
The main food for ducks, as well as for all other types of poultry, is cereal grain. It is easily digested and eaten with pleasure. Its digestibility in ducks is quite high and reaches 80%, which is 8-10% higher than that of chickens. It is the main source of carbohydrates, so grains make up the bulk of the diet.
Grain grain contains up to 70% starch, 10-14% protein, which is not enough to meet the full needs of the body. Therefore, when feeding ducks, along with cereal grain feeds, protein feeds must be introduced into the diet: oilcakes, meal, legumes, meat and bone meal, fish meal or fresh non-standard (non-food) fish.
Corn - the best grain crop in terms of energy and nutritional qualities. Its value also lies in the low fiber content - no more than 2.5%. The richest in carbohydrates, which determines its energy value. For poultry, yellow varieties are of great value, since they contain up to 20 mg of carotene, from which vitamin A is formed in the body. Corn grain contains insufficient protein - only 8-10%, and its protein is defective, since it does not have enough such amino acids like tryptophan, lysine, cystine. Therefore, when it is fed, protein feed of animal origin is added to the diet. The average level of corn intake in the diet is 40-50%, the maximum is up to 70%. Young growth is less: 30-40 and up to 60%, respectively.
Wheat... For poultry feeding, feed wheat is used, which is not used for food purposes. Of all cereals, wheat contains the largest amount of protein - 12-14%. In terms of energy nutrition, it is second only to corn. It contains relatively many B vitamins and vitamin E.
Young animals of early age are fed finely crushed wheat in the form of coarse flour in an amount of 10-30% of the total weight of feed. When feeding in a moist mash, you cannot use finely ground wheat, since the resulting sticky masses clog the nasal openings of the beak. Adult ducks are fed at the same rates as corn. For feeding the ducks, you can use grain waste, consisting of crushed shrunken grains. Up to ten days of age, it is undesirable to feed grain waste to ducklings. In the diet of the rest of the bird, they are introduced to 20%.
Barley... The disadvantage of this feed is the presence of a cellular membrane, which reduces its quality and increases the content of poorly digestible fiber. Young ducklings are fed barley in the form of small grains, after sifting out film casings. They are introduced into the diet in the amount of 20-40% of the total content of the grain-flour mixture. When feeding barley to ducklings over one month old, it is not necessary to sift out the grain shells. An adult livestock is fed a grain of barley in sprouted or soaked form.
Oats - good feed for poultry, favorably affects the general condition of the bird, but the feed value, as well as in barley, is reduced by the presence of a grain film. The crude protein contained in oats from 8 to 15% is poor in such essential amino acids as methionine, histidine and tryptophan, while oats contain a fairly high percentage of fat - 4.8%.
For feeding poultry, it is better to use naked oats, without films. When using film varieties, ducklings up to 20 days of age are fed husked grain in the form of small crumbs sifted from the shells. Oats are added to the grain mixture in an amount of 10-20%.
Legumes are also referred to the group of grain feeds. In households, peas are often fed. Peas are a high-protein grain crop. Contains over 21% protein. Due to the low fat content, the energy supply is low. Peas are well digested when ground, but due to their specific smell and taste, they are poorly eaten. The diet for young animals is introduced in an amount of 10-12%, for adults 20-25%.
Feed obtained from the processing of agricultural raw materials
Waste from technical production is widely used in feeding ducks. So, in the manufacture of vegetable oils from oilseeds, cakes and meal are obtained, and bran is obtained in the mill.
Oilcakes and meal differ in the production method. When oil is produced by pressing seeds under a press, cake is obtained, and when it is extracted, meal is obtained. Oilcakes contain 5-6%, and meal no more than 2-3% fat, and therefore the meal is stored longer. In addition, they contain significant amounts of potassium and phosphorus.
Bran are a by-product of flour mills. Bran can be wheat, rye, barley, rice, etc. According to the degree of grinding, the bran is coarse (large) and thin (small). Bran consists of particles of grain shells with an admixture of flour and germs. The nutritional value of bran depends on the content of flour particles in them. The more flour in the bran and less shells, the higher the feed nutritional value.
Wheat bran. They contain from 10 to 12% protein and a large amount of fiber - 9-11%. It is the high fiber content that restrains their feeding rate, they are poorly absorbed. Most often, bran is used as the main component in feed yeast. In the diet of ducks is introduced in the amount of 10-20% of grain-flour feed.
Sunflower cakes and meal. The most common feed products obtained in the manufacture of vegetable oils. In terms of nutritional value, they are more suitable for poultry feeding than other species, since less stone shells remain in them.
The cake contains 40% or more of crude protein, which is close to complete in terms of the amino acids it contains. Differs in a high content of methionine. Its in the meal is up to 43%.
For ducks, sunflower cake or meal is introduced in an amount of 5-10% of the weight of grain-flour feed, depending on the age of the bird.
Of other species, soybean, peanut, cotton and rapeseed cakes and meal are most acceptable for poultry. Other waste products can also be used to feed ducks.
Mill (flour) dust. It can be white, gray or black depending on the soil particles. You can use white and gray dust to feed the ducks. The bird is not fed black dust. Light mill dust is fed to grown-ups older than 30 days of age in an amount of 10-15% of the grain mass of the diet.
Barda - waste of alcohol production., It can be watery (up to 92% water) and dried. Bread stillage has a nutritional value twice as high as that of potato. Dried vinasse is twice as rich in protein, contains vitamins of group B. Dry vinasse is fed to ducklings after 30 days of age in the amount of 8-10% of the weight of dry food.
Beet cake. May be dry and moist. It is good food for ducks. Dry food contains more carbohydrates. Ducklings are introduced into the diet starting from 20 days of age in the amount of 5-8% of the mass of grain-flour feed.
Yeast... Baker's and brewer's yeast is used to feed the ducks. They are rich in B vitamins. They are fed to poultry both raw and dry. Baker's yeast is fed to ducklings of all ages in an amount up to 3% of the dry weight of the diet. Brewer's yeast is fed to ducklings after 10 days of age in the amount of 5-8%.
Animal feed
These include fish meal, meat and bone meal, milk and dairy products, scrap meat, non-edible fish, incubation waste.
Fish flour. Excellent food for ducks. Contains over 50% complete proteins, B vitamins, calcium and phosphorus. Use preferably low-fat flour (no more than 10% fat). Fatty is fishmeal with a content of 15-18% fat. It is not stored for a long time, its fat is quickly oxidized, which can cause poultry disease. Fishmeal is included in the diet of poultry in an amount of 3-7%. They stop feeding it two weeks before slaughter to avoid the fishy taste in the duck carcass.
Instead of fish meal, you can feed river fish fines after preliminary grinding in a meat grinder, in the amount of 20-30 g per adult head. Meat and bone meal. Produced at meat processing plants from slaughterhouse waste or carcasses that have died from non-infectious animal diseases.
Meat and bone meal contains from 30 to 50% complete protein. It is included in the diet for young animals after 5 days of age in the amount of 1-5%, for grown ducklings - 6-8, for adults no more than 10%.
Milk and dairy products are a valuable protein feed, especially for ducklings at the beginning of rearing. Fresh should be fed carefully because of the rapid souring, which can lead to gastrointestinal diseases. For the preparation of wet mash, fermented dairy products are used.
Cottage cheese - excellent food for ducklings in the first days of rearing. It is better to feed lean cottage cheese - from skim milk.
You can also use for reared young and adult ducks wastes of butter-making - whey, buttermilk, which are used to make wet mash. It should not be forgotten that dairy products should not be stored and given to poultry in galvanized dishes. The combination of milk with zinc can lead to serious illness and death of poultry.
Incubation waste... These include unfertilized eggs and embryos frozen during incubation, which must be boiled before feeding.
Juicy vitamin feed, root and tuber crops
Ducks of all ages willingly eat juicy young green mass. It is especially useful to feed alfalfa, clover, peas, young nettles, which contain not only a complex of vitamins, but also a significant amount of protein. It is better to feed fresh chopped grass to ducks of all ages together with wet mash. The grown ducklings are first given 7-10% green forage, then the amount is increased to 15-20%. Young nettles are fed after preliminary scalding with boiling water.
Carrots (red) - dietary and vitamin food. Exceptionally rich in carotene - provitamin A, but it easily loses it during storage. Better vitamins are preserved in canned form. For this purpose, it is ensiled or salted. For salting, chopped carrots are placed in a container and sprinkled with salt layer by layer at the rate of 4% salt to the total mass of carrots. The container is tightly covered. An adult bird is given salted carrots in wet bags in an amount of 10-15%, young animals from one month old - 5-7% of the amount of grain-flour feed.
Combined silo. Serves as a good source of carotenoids. Leguminous herbs (alfalfa, clover) are poorly ensiled, therefore, to improve ensiling, plants rich in carbohydrates (red carrots and sugar beets with tops, yellow pumpkin varieties) are added to them. The silage mass is placed in a container (tubs, barrels, well concreted rings, lined trenches, pits), tamped tightly to displace air. For better ramming and silage, the green mass is crushed to particles of 0.5-0.7 cm in size. Filled and rammed containers are tightly covered with straw and a layer of earth. Some add 2-3% table salt to the mass. In 1-1.5 months after laying, lactic acid fermentation ends, and the silage can be fed to the bird. Before feeding, ground chalk is added to the silo for deoxidation at the rate of 50-70 g per 1 kg of silage mass. Adult ducks are fed after 3 weeks of age starting at low doses, gradually increasing the dosage.
The quality of silage is judged by its color and smell. The color of the silage should match the color of the crops being ensiled, and the smell should be reminiscent of pickled apples. Pumpkin. Yellow varieties are of great value. It contains more carotene and carbohydrates. They are fed in the same doses as red carrots.
Kale. Exceptionally valuable food for carotenoid and vitamin content. Its proteins include sulfur-containing amino acids, which is especially important for growing feathered birds. Feeding cabbage has a beneficial effect on digestion and plumage. The rates of her feeding are not limited.
Potatoes. Starchy carbohydrate feed. When feeding with potatoes, you can replace up to 30% of grain-flour feed. Feed boiled ducklings from 10 days of age in the amount of 10-20% of the mass of grain-flour feed. The water in which the potatoes were boiled should not be fed to the bird.
Sugar beet. Good carbohydrate feed, contains up to 20% sugar. It is better to feed the ducklings boiled together with the water in which the beets were boiled. You can also feed it in dry chopped form in wet mash in the same doses as potatoes and carrots.
Aquatic vegetation. This group of food includes such plants as duckweed, elodea, pond. They contain various vitamins, trace elements, proteins and other vital substances. Ducks of all ages readily eat aquatic vegetation. Adult ducks are fed up to 0.5 kg per head. Ducklings are fed from 5 days of age, at first 10-15 g, then the rate is gradually increased and by the age of two months is brought to 500 g. By using aquatic vegetation for feeding ducks, you can save up to 40% of concentrated feed. It can be fed both as part of wet mash, and in pure form.
Mineral supplements
Natural plant foods contain insufficient minerals to meet the needs of the ducks. Therefore, mineral supplements are added to the poultry feed.
Shell - refers to seafood, is rich in calcium, contains up to 38%. Well absorbed by the bird. It is fed in the form of small crumbs, with a particle size of 0.5-2 mm for young animals, and 2-5 mm for an adult. The ducks are given together with a damp mash in the amount of 1.5-2.5% by weight of the flour mixture.
a piece of chalk - contains 37% calcium. They are fed ground in equal parts with a shell.
Bone flour contains 26% calcium, 14% phosphorus, as well as sodium, potassium and a complex of trace elements. Bone meal is produced in meat processing plants from fat-free and dehydrated animal bones. Bone meal can also be obtained from the bones of animals and poultry on your farm. The bones are pre-burned well on fire, after which they are finely chopped. Mineral substances from bone formations are well absorbed - up to 60%. They are fed in the amount of 1-2.5% of the dry weight of the diet.
Salt contains 30% sodium and 37% chlorine.
Feed should be done carefully. If the diet includes salted fish or fish meal, salt should not be added to the diet. In other cases, it is administered in an amount of 0.2% by weight of dry food. It is safer to feed in the form of a saline water solution in moist mash. Salt is fed to ducklings for cultivation from 10 days of age.
Eggshell - rich in calcium content. The collected eggshells are pre-boiled, freed from the shell films, dried and crushed. The feed mixture is added in an amount of 2-3%.
Tricalcium phosphate is a source of calcium (32%) and phosphorus (14%). Young ducklings are fed from 10 days of age in the same amount as bone meal.
Gravel or coarse sand - mechanical impurity, which is necessary for grinding food in the muscular stomach. It is impossible to replace these impurities with building sand: you can cause inflammation of the intestinal mucosa. For 10 ducklings, once a week, up to 100 g is introduced into the flour mixture.
Features of feeding ducks
A feature of feeding ducks in household plots is the possibility of using all available food, table and garden waste for feeding. The main component of the diet at home is green and juicy food. Ducks readily eat them and absorb the nutrients they contain well. Their diversity during feeding ensures not only the growth and development of young animals, but also high productivity during the egg-laying period of an adult bird.
If there is a natural reservoir next to the household farm, you should definitely use it. Ducks will surely find a variety of aquatic vegetation and small animals in it. All these feeds will not fully solve the feeding problems, but they will save some of the expensive grain-flour feeds.
It is not worth it to normalize the feeding of ducks in terms of limiting the feeding of the daily ration when raising ducklings for meat. It is better to feed them with cheap feed from personal plots - they will gain live weight faster.
When feeding ducklings and ducks on household plots, wet feeding is more suitable, i.e. moistened mash, consisting of ground grain feed, boiled potatoes, root crops, green mass, food and milk waste. It should be borne in mind: the mash should not be waterlogged. When squeezing the prepared mash in a fist, water should not protrude between the fingers of the hand, and when unclenching the fist, the feed lump should disintegrate freely. If dry feed mixtures are used to prepare a wet mash without adding juicy and green feed, for 10 kg it is enough to introduce 200-300 g of liquid - skim milk or any other humidifier. Due to the fact that in the warm summer season, wet mash is quickly sour, you should adapt so that the bird eats a one-time dacha in 30-40 minutes. Sour food can cause gastrointestinal diseases with poor outcomes.
To avoid this, not fresh dairy products are used for mash, but well-fermented ones. Skim milk and buttermilk can be fed to adult birds and young birds. Dairy products are fed from separate drinking bowls, but not from galvanized ones.
It is known that ducks are gluttonous, although not unprofitable. Food is eaten quickly in small portions and immediately rushes to the drinker to wash down the food with water and rinse the beak. Therefore, there should be enough feeders and drinkers for ducks so as not to create congestion, the distance between feeders and drinkers for adult livestock should not exceed 3 m, and the passage between them should be free for movement. A feature of ducks eating food is swallowing it. Swallowing a portion of food, the ducks make sharp back-and-forth movements of their heads, which is difficult when the content is high. In such conditions, the stronger birds push the weak ones away from the feed and their developmental delay increases. Before oviposition, adult ducks are fed moderately to maintain life weight and maintain body weight.
The laying period is timed to the end of January, which is associated with the best biological timing of hatching and rearing ducklings. It is better if the beginning of the preparatory period coincides with the 150-day age.
Along with the creation of conditions of detention, the diet and feeding regime are changed. Three weeks before the planned mass egg-laying, the amount of succulent and roughage in the diet of ducks is reduced, but the content of concentrated and protein feeds in it is increased, while the composition of protein feed should include feed of both plant and animal origin. If by the beginning of egg-laying the bird is not well-fed, preparation for the breeding season begins earlier - one and a half to two months.
During this period, the bird is fed more often - four times a day, while three times they give wet mash, and at night grain, preferably in a germinated form, which increases the content of B vitamins and vitamin E, necessary to increase the incubation qualities of eggs and vitality ducklings. The bird readily eats the sprouted grain, the digestibility of the grain increases.
For germination, oat and barley grains of good germination are used. Grain previously soaked in warm water is poured into prepared shallow boxes with a layer of 7-10 cm and kept at a temperature of 18-20 ° C for 3 days until sprouts appear with a length of grain. To ensure the daily feeding of sprouted grain, the farm must have three sets of containers. The share of sprouted grain is about 30-49% of the grain-flour portion of the daily ration of ducks.
For orientation, you can offer an approximate daily ration in the following composition: grain and grain-flour feed - 130-140 g; wheat bran -25 g; meat and bone and fish meal - 10-15g; sunflower cake - up to 15 g; finely chopped hay or leaf dust fallen around the stack (stack) - 25 g; beets, potatoes, carrots or combined silage - up to 150 g; ground shell and chalk - up to 10 g; bone meal - 0.5 g; table salt - 1 g
For adult ducks, unlike other types of poultry, mineral feed and gravel must always be kept in special feeders. In the preparatory and breeding periods, it is advisable to feed the broodstock of ducks with yeast grain feed. The yeast feed mixture can be composed of corn, wheat and barley skins. Compound feeds and feed mixtures enriched with vitamins and mineral premixes must not be subjected to yeast.
This technique increases the nutritional value of the diet, promotes better assimilation of the feed available in the diet, improves its taste, and increases the appetite of the bird.
Yeast technique. For each kilogram of mealy forage, 10-20 g of yeast diluted in warm water is added. 1-1.5 l of diluted yeast is poured into 1 kg of feed. The mass is mixed well and placed in a room with a temperature of 18-20 ° C. The yeast process will speed up and improve the addition of chopped sugar beets (10% by weight). The yeast mass is stirred periodically. Under normal conditions, yeast lasts 6-8 hours, after which you can feed it, adding it to flour and juicy feed. After the end of the breeding season, the ducks are again transferred to supporting feeding.
Plucking ducks
Duck plumage is much inferior to goose plumage, but nevertheless finds application in the manufacture of warm blankets and pillows.
Unlike geese, pinching of ducks is carried out only in an adult livestock, after the cessation of egg-laying, and it is attached to the beginning of the first summer molt, it usually takes place in June-July. It should be remembered that females begin to molt 10-15 days later than males. Tracking the natural timing of the start of molting is due to the fact that, firstly, the plucking process will not cause pain to the bird and it will behave more calmly, and secondly, in the future, it will take less time to recover the plucked feather.
After determining the readiness of the feather-down plumage for pinching, a test pinching is carried out, for which they pull out the feather from a small number of birds in different parts of the body. Full readiness can be judged by how the feather is pulled out. If it is easy to remove and its stem is light and dry, you can start pinching. If the lower part of the trunk (ochina) is filled with blood or lymphatic fluid, feather growth is not yet complete. You will have to wait a little with the pinch. On the eve of pinching, the ducks are given the opportunity to swim in order to clean up their plumage. At night after bathing, the bird is placed in a cleaned room. Ducks intended to be pinched are not fed in the evening.
The order and technique for plucking ducks is the same as for geese. They start from the lower end of the sternum keel, after which they move from the abdomen to the thoracic part of the body to the subfocal cavity. Then the feathers of the back and lower part of the neck are plucked. The fluff can be plucked separately or together with the feather. In the first case, the fluff is removed after the feather has been completely removed, in the second, the feather and fluff are plucked from each separate part of the body sequentially, but not together. For each separate technique, a small bunch is taken and pulled out in the direction of its growth. When plucking from one adult duck, 50-60 g of feather and down are obtained, at post-slaughter, when full plucking is performed, the collection is doubled, of which the share of down is about 10%. Feather pillows are lined from duck feathers. Feather blankets are quilted from the down together with a soft train (chopped sorted soft part of the large feathers of all bird species). When using down with a slight addition of feathers (in a percentage ratio of 85:15), duvets are quilted, and with an equal amount - semi-duvets. A double blanket (172x212 cm) will require 1.4 kg of down, for a one-and-a-half (140x212 cm) blanket - 1.1 kg, for a baby blanket (110x x140 cm) -0.4 kg.
If necessary, the fluff is washed in a gauze bag with warm soapy water (for 10 liters of water - 400 g of shaved soap and 2 teaspoons of borax or only Lotus powder). The bag is immersed in the solution for 30 minutes and gently stirred in water. Then it is wrung out and placed again for 30 minutes in a fresh solution, but the detergents and borax are put in half as much. The fluff squeezed out after that is rinsed in clean water and dried in the sun or on shelves (tables) indoors.
In order for the ducklings to grow up quickly and gain good weight, they should be properly fed from the first hours of birth. For the growth and development of birds, protein, carbohydrates and minerals are needed. Poultry is unpretentious in food, eats almost everything, even waste from the table. The diet is selected balanced in order to prevent damage to various diseases. You should not limit pet food to grass and vegetables, as they need protein for growth and development, minerals, carbohydrates. And this speaks of mixing different grains when preparing feed. It should be at least 60% of the total feed.
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How to feed ducks?
From birth to slaughter, one bird eats about 8-9 kilograms of grain. Slaughter is performed at the age of 9 weeks. For one kilogram of body weight, about 2.5 or 2.8 kilograms of food is spent.
Birds love grass and vegetables. But food cannot consist only of them, since animals must also feed on grain. The feed should contain about 65-70% grain.
In order for the bird to gain weight, it must not be left without feed. Hungry, they will crush, maim each other and spoil the food, pounced on the food trough and trampled the food.
What to feed?
For poultry to gain weight before slaughter, ducks must be properly fed. To do this, you need to know which foods contain minerals and vitamins that contribute to weight gain. Let's consider some of them:
- corn;
- barley;
- wheat;
- legumes;
- oats;
- cake and meal;
- bran;
- dry bread;
- yeast;
- vegetation;
- vegetables;
- mineral supplements and more.
Corn. It contains 3% fiber, and the fiber is quickly absorbed. Corn should be given more often, half of the diet may be corn.
Barley. At home, they are crushed in an electric mill. The crusher is suitable for feeding both small ducklings and adults. 30% of the feed can be barley.
Wheat. It is rich in vitamins B and E and is also high in protein. It can be given whole and ground - mixed into mash with other crops or with boiled potatoes.
Oats. Favors rapid growth and weight gain at the time of slaughter, because it contains fat and protein. The share of peas in the grain mass is 10%. Peas should be given crushed.
The use of peanut, cottonseed, rapeseed, sunflower meal will help to supplement the diet of poultry with fats, protein, potassium and phosphate. These foods contribute to the weight gain of birds. 110 part of the feed consists of meal and cake.
Bran is a cheaper product than cereals. But their value does not decrease, since the aforementioned mass contains up to 10-12% protein. 20% of the feed is bran. This ratio is considered normal for the development of pets.
Bakery and brewer's yeast will saturate the body of ducks with vitamin B. Dry bread is given after soaking it in water. In summer and autumn, ducklings are driven out onto the green grass. They, like wild relatives, love to nibble greens. During the day, adult birds eat up to 1 kilogram of various herbs - duckweed, elodea and others. It is advised to mix crushed clover, alfalfa, young nettle, field bindweed, spurge into the feed. Give this mixture from a week of age.
Vegetables are wiped before use. Rub carrots, cabbage or pumpkin, zucchini. It is possible to fill the food of the ducklings with grated apples. They contain iron, glucose, carbohydrates, which are necessary for the growing body of ducks. To improve digestion, mineral supplements are used: chalk, bone meal, shells, table salt, crushed egg shells, gravel or river sand.
Fish oil strengthens the immune system of birds and is a prophylactic agent against infectious diseases. It helps in the absorption of calcium and the formation of strong bone mass.
What shouldn't be given?
Finely ground flour should not be given, as when consumed, it sticks together, closing the airways, which leads to breathing problems. Aspergillosis occurs when ducks are fed moldy bread or grains. Therefore, only fresh produce should be purchased. Milk porridges are dangerous, as they quickly deteriorate and cause disorders of the digestive system.
Fresh milk quickly turns sour, causing diarrhea in young animals and even in adult ducks. Do not allow poisonous plants to enter the feed , such as celandine, cocklebur, black henbane, poisonous milestone and others. Nettle , used entirely, burns the walls of the stomach, causing irritation. The bird may die. Nettle scalded with boiling water is safe. Maple leaves, bird cherry flowers cause allergies in birds. Even the smell of bird cherry can destroy them.
Homemade food recipes
This is not a complete list of recipes for feeding poultry. We present only a few of them so that housewives can cook them on their own and have an idea of \u200b\u200bthe amount of added ingredients:
Age of birds Feed composition How much to add to feed, in grams Total for one head per day From birth to 10 days Wheat grating / Maize grating / Millet / Boiled egg / Milk powder / Fish oil / Meat and bone meal / Bone meal / Fish meal 5g / 8g / 3g / 10g / 2g / 0.3g / 1g / 0.5g / 1g 30.8 grams 11th to 30th days Wheat dash / Corn dash / Grain mixture / Millet / Fish oil / Fish meal / Bone meal / Meat and bone meal / Shells / Sunflower meal / Hay meal / Yeast / Salt / Chalk 30g / 40g / 15g / 8g / 1g / 9g / 2g / 6g / 1g / 6g / 6g / 4g / 0.5g / 1.5g 130 grams Between the 31st and 51st days Grain mixture / Wheat grains / Maize grains / Millet / Barley / Bone meal / Fish meal / Shells / Sunflower meal / Yeast / Hay meal / Chalk / Salt 50g / 20g / 70g / 19g / 5g / 2g / 12g / 5g / 12g / 6g / 15g / 3g / 1g 220 g
Despite the fact that domestic ducks are quite unpretentious in their diet, you still need to know what to feed the ducks in order to achieve good results: fast weight gain, good egg-laying and prevention of diseases. Reading the article will give answers to the main questions: what do ducks eat? How much do they eat and how to feed them properly?
Main types of feed
In addition to succulent grasses, grains and vegetables, the diet for ducks should also include animal feed. In addition, for the stable functioning of the digestive tract, the formation of the skeletal system and the formation of the shell, ducks need substances such as chalk, coarse sand and shells. So what exactly can you feed ducks?
Cereal feed
Feeding ducks at home involves mainly the use of cereals, which should make up the "lion's share" of the diet. The advantage of grains is in the large amount of carbohydrates necessary for the vital energy of birds. In addition, feeding with cereals guarantees stable growth and weight gain. Ducks eat grain with pleasure, the digestibility coefficient of such feed is very high - up to 80% (much more than that of chickens). Cereal grains are 70% starch, another 10-15% are proteins (protein).
Let's take a closer look at the nutritional value of some cereals:
| Name | Benefits for poultry | Using |
|---|---|---|
| Corn |
It is a leader among cereals in terms of its energy value. It contains a very small percentage of fiber (about 2-3%), therefore it is well over-etched. Preference should be given to yellow varieties with the highest content of carotene, necessary for the synthesis of vitamin A. The protein content in corn is about 10%. In addition, corn protein is poor in some of the important amino acids lysine, cystine, and tryptophan. |
Corn kernels can account for up to half of the total feed volume. For young animals, this rate should be 10% less. |
| Wheat |
Wheat is in second place in terms of energy value. For feeding, feed wheat is used. In terms of protein content (about 14%), wheat is ahead of corn and contains a lot of B and E vitamins. Coarse wheat flour is also suitable for feeding, which is usually mixed with other feed, for example, with wet mash. |
The amount of such flour should not exceed one third of the total weight of the feed. It is undesirable to give fine flour, since it sticks together from moisture and can block the nasal openings of the bird, placed on the beak. |
| Barley |
Barley grains can also be added to the composition of the grain-flour mixture at the rate of 30% of the total mass of such a mixture. One of the drawbacks of barley grains is the cellular shell, which contains fiber that is difficult to digest. |
For adults, it is advisable to give sprouted (or soaked) barley. For small ducklings, the barley is ground and the shell is sifted out. |
| Oats |
Its advantage in a significant amount of fat is almost 5%. Oats have a fairly high level of proteins (up to 15%), but some essential amino acids (histidine, tryptophan) are not enough. |
For fattening, it is advisable to use naked varieties or grain peeled from shells. |
| Legumes | The value of peas is their high protein content - about 20%. |
Peas or other legumes can be given in a small amount (10% of the total grain mass). It is not recommended to give more, since ducks are not very willing to eat it. The peas also need to be ground to feed. |
Feed - waste from the processing of agricultural raw materials
Feeding ducks should also include some feed that is considered waste at processing plants: cake, meal, bran.
| Name | Benefits for poultry | Using |
|---|---|---|
| Oilcakes and meal from oil crops |
Suitable for feeding are cakes and meal from soybeans, rapeseed, peanuts, cotton, and of course, sunflower. Oilcakes are richer in fats (5-6%), since they are obtained by pressing sunflowers or other oil-containing seeds. In cake and meal there is a lot of phosphorus and potassium, necessary for the skeletal system of ducks. Sunflower waste contains over 40% crude protein, rich in amino acids. |
It is enough for ducks to give 5-10% of the total mass of cereals. |
| Bran |
Feeding ducks can be made more economical also by using bran - waste of flour milling. Bran is a mixture of grain hulls, germ and flour. For example, wheat bran contains up to 12% protein. |
The high level of fiber (10%) does not allow increasing the recommended dose - up to 20% of the dry feed weight. |
| Barda |
Sometimes, for fattening ducks, stillage is also used - potato or grain waste obtained during the production of alcohol. |
This food can be fed to ducklings from one month of age and older. Dose - 10% of dry food. |
| Beet cake |
Sugar production also produces fodder waste - beet cake. Ducks are given dry cake as it contains more carbohydrates. |
You can mix this food for ducklings from 20 days of age in an amount of up to 9% of the total weight of dry food. |
| Brewer's or baker's yeast |
You can enrich the body of a bird with B vitamins using brewer's or baker's yeast. |
For ten-day-old ducklings, dry or raw yeast (3% of the amount of dry food) can be fed. |
If there is dry bread left, you can also feed it to the ducks after soaking it in water.
Juicy feed and root crops
In the summertime, ducks are much cheaper to feed because they can be released into pastures or waterways. Independent and timely preparation of greens will allow you to feed the birds in the enclosure with it.
| Name | Benefits for poultry | Using |
|---|---|---|
| Aquatic vegetation |
Duckweed, pondweed and elodea are among the favorite food of ducks in natural conditions. These plants contain essential vitamins, minerals and proteins. |
Adult ducks can be given 0.5 kg of this mass. For ducklings from 5 days of age, no more than 15 g of these plants, gradually increasing to an adult dose. |
| Green mass |
Usually chopped grass is mixed with moist mash. The diet for feeding ducks should include up to 20% of these greens. Nettle must be doused with boiling water. |
|
| Combined silo |
Vitamin-containing silage can be prepared from summer. For this, the herbs that duck eats (clover, alfalfa) are mixed with some vegetables (pumpkin, carrots, sugar beets). Naturally, before placing in a container, the mass is crushed to small particles not exceeding 0.5-0.7 cm. A prerequisite for proper storage of the silo is the absence of air in it. To do this, it must be well tamped. Approximately 5-6 weeks after laying, the silage stops fermenting and takes on the smell of soaked apples. Only then can it be given to the bird. To neutralize acidity, about 50 g of ground chalk is added to 1 kg of silage. |
Silage is given little by little, gradually increasing its volume. Silage is not recommended for ducklings under three weeks of age. |
| Vegetables |
Grated vegetables (carrots, cabbage, yellow pumpkin) are excellent sources of vitamins. Since carrots quickly lose pro-vitamin A (carotene) during storage, it is better to silage or salt them. Kale is an important nutrient for the younger generation, as it contains sulfur-containing amino acids necessary for feather growth. |
Salted carrots are added to wet mash in the amount of 10-15% of the total mass. The amount of cabbage in the diet of ducks can be unlimited. You can feed potatoes from ten days of age in an amount of up to 20% of dry food. In the same amount, you can give a carbohydrate-rich, boiled sugar beet. |
Animal feed
Under natural conditions, the food that ducks eat are enriched with animal proteins: amphibians, invertebrates, small fish, insects. At home, they feel a lack of such food, so it is imperative to give ducks food similar in nutritional value to ducks for the growth and laying of eggs - dairy products, fish and meat and bone meal, small fish.
| Name | Benefits for poultry | Using |
|---|---|---|
| Fish flour |
The most convenient for storage and use is fishmeal. It contains more than half of the essential proteins, calcium, phosphorus and B vitamins. Skim flour (up to 10% fat) is considered safer for the health of birds. |
The amount of this product in the diet of birds is no more than 7% of the total mass of feed. If you wish, you can cook minced meat from fresh fish instead of flour at the rate of 30 g per adult. |
| Meat and bone meal |
A similar, although less valuable for ducks, is meat and bone meal. The amount of complete protein in it ranges from 30 to 50%. |
You can mix flour with other feeds from 5 days of age. For small ducklings - up to 5%, medium - up to 8%, adults - up to 10% of the total feed mass. |
| Milk products |
Fresh milk should not be given as it quickly sours and can lead to diarrhea. From the first days, ducklings can be given low-fat cottage cheese. |
Mineral supplements
A feature of poultry feeding is the need for mineral supplements, without which the process of digestion of food will be complicated and the process of forming eggs with a hard shell is practically impossible.
| Name | Benefits for poultry | Using |
|---|---|---|
| Shell, eggshell and chalk |
The shell contains up to 40% calcium necessary for a duck. There is also a lot of it in chalk and eggshells. |
The size of the shell particles should not exceed 2 mm. For even eating, a small amount of the shell is added to the mash. The dried eggshells are ground and also mixed into the main feed. Natural calcium is perfectly absorbed by the duck organism. |
| Bone flour |
It contains 25% calcium, 14% phosphorus, potassium, sodium and other important trace elements. Well absorbed by poultry (up to 60%). |
In a small amount (2-3%) it is added to the bulk of the feed. |
| Salt |
Regular table salt, which contains chlorine and sodium, should only be given if the ducks are not eating salted foods. |
It should be added to feed in very small doses (0.2%). |
| Coarse sand or gravel |
Needed by ducks for grinding hard cereals in the stomach. Building sand is not suitable for these purposes. |
Each duck should consume about 10 g of this coarse sand per week. |
Feeding during the warm season
The ideal option when raising ducks in the warm season is the opportunity to visit natural reservoirs or small rivers with a slow flow. In such conditions, there is no need to particularly ask the question: what to feed the ducks? Birds receive half of the food they need on their own. As a last resort, ducks can be released into pasture where they can nibble on grass all day. Then, it is enough to feed the birds twice a day.
If the pets are constantly in the pen and do not have the opportunity to get food on their own, they should be fed 4 times a day: 2 times are given dry food and 2 times - wet mash, including aquatic vegetation.
When preparing wet mash in the summer, you need to accurately calculate the amount that will be completely eaten in one go. Warm weather makes food sour quickly.
Fresh greens in the diet of ducks should be throughout the season.
Feeding during the cold season
In winter, the diet of the duck is significantly reduced. Consider how you can feed ducks in winter? Feed should be given no more than two times - morning and evening. One feeding should consist of wet mash and combined silage, and the other should consist of dry grain-flour forage. Winter feeding of ducks must include fish or meat and bone meal, boiled potatoes, steamed hay and dust.
Everything that ducks eat in winter is slightly reflected in their weight, however, this does not mean that their diet can be significantly reduced. In severe frosts, when the room temperature can be below zero, the birds do not freeze due to the accumulated fat.
Duck feeding diet
Knowing the energy value and purpose of all types of feed, it is necessary to balance the nutrition of the ducks, depending on the ultimate goal: fattening for meat or increasing egg production. In the tables below, you can familiarize yourself with the recommended diet of birds to achieve certain goals. For better understanding, the tables are accompanied by comments.
Diet of laying hens
Three weeks before the planned egg-laying (usually at the end of January), the bird is transferred to a different diet: the amount of concentrated and protein feed is increased and the rate of succulent and roughage is reduced.
The need to change the diet is due to the fact that egg-laying requires an increased content of calcium and other minerals, therefore layers should be fed with feed with a high content of these.
Layers consume about a liter of water daily, however, feed that is too wet should not be fed.
An undernourished duck must be transferred to a new diet one and a half months before laying.
4 meals a day should include wet mash three times. At night, give a sprouted grain of barley or oats.
All grain feeds for layers should preferably be yeast. To do this, 20 g of yeast is diluted in warm water and 1 liter of such a mixture is mixed with 1 kg of grain. This mixture should stand for about 8 hours at room temperature, after which it can be added to any feed.
Table: Diet and approximate feeding rates for laying hens (g per head per day):
Feeding ducks for meat
Feeding ducks for meat lasts no more than 2.5 months from their birth, so they start feeding them from birth. In any brood, there will definitely be several weak ducklings that cannot feed on their own. These babies can be pipet-fed. If the livestock is large, then weak ducklings are simply discarded.
In the early days, kids willingly eat a boiled and crushed egg, low-fat cottage cheese. It is especially necessary to monitor the freshness of such products, since the stomachs in the first days of life are very sensitive. Some poultry breeders feed their ducklings with special dry food with a high content of vitamins and minerals.
15 days before the supposed slaughter of ducks, feeding begins, implying an increase in protein foods (cottage cheese, peas) in the diet for an accelerated set of muscle mass. In the last week, more feed is given for the formation of fat (mash, boiled potatoes, etc.). Fish and fish meal are not given during feeding.
It is advisable to limit their physical activity.
Diet of breeder ducks
The ration of the parent flock must be improved with greens and sprouted grains, since in this form it contains vitamins B and E, which are highly desirable for better egg incubation.
Table: Approximate norms for feeding ducks (daily ration, g per head):
Domestic ducks eat almost everything, they are picky about living conditions. In addition, they have a high survival rate, they rarely get sick, quickly gain weight and, most importantly, are very cost-effective, especially in the summer. Even beginners can cope with keeping and feeding ducks.
What the wild ancestor of the domestic duck, the mallard, eats, say the specialists of the research laboratory of reserves and hunting farms of the Glavokhota RF:
As a species that feeds in shallow water, the mallard eats about one and a half kilograms of aquatic plants and about three thousand insects, both aquatic and terrestrial, as well as their larvae per day. In addition, the duck eats fish, tadpoles, frogs, as well as crustaceans, worms and molluscs.
Thus, no less than half of the daily diet of this species is animal food. Feeding and keeping domestic duck breeds involves the use of up to seventy percent of the food of plant origin. Waterfowl willingly eat cultivated and wild plants such as:
- cabbage leaves;
- tops of carrots and beets;
- stalks and leaves of nettles;
- alfalfa;
- clover;
- dandelion;
- duckweed.
It is highly desirable that live grass be on the duck menu for as long as possible. Ideally, when the domestic duck feeds on its own in the meadow or near the nearest body of water.
In the water, domestic ducks eat a lot of algae and duckweed, and also dive for animal prey.
How to feed ducklings
Only hatched ducklings are fed no earlier than 12 hours, but no later than 24. To begin with, they are given fresh water from a pipette, to which many add a solution of potassium permanganate of a pale pink hue. Chopped eggs and steep porridge are best for the first feeding - while the chicks are learning to eat, the food should not be liquid. Next time, eggs and porridge are already slightly diluted with milk.
In the early days, chicks eat every 2-3 hours.
In different physiological phases of development, the body's requirements for a set of nutrients differ. From the very first days, many accustom chicks to compound feed, offering it wet and leaving it in the feeders overnight. Grass and wet mash are added to the diet, and the amount of eggs is gradually reduced. On the third day, the egg can be removed completely.
From the seventh day, young ducks are offered gravel, ranging in size from one to three millimeters. The amount of feed should be such that the chick can eat it in twenty or thirty minutes.
After two or three days, the ducklings can be released to feed on the pond with the duck. At the same time, they need to be fed at home 3-4 times a day. If the ducklings live in a pen, they are fed up to seven times a day.
On average, one kilogram of growth requires about three kilograms of feed.
