In many countries, chickens are the poultry par excellence. However, the breeding of ducks is considered an activity with perspectives. The advantages become obvious when you recognize in these birds the ability to live in unfavorable environmental conditions, resist diseases and parasites and produce excellent meat.
The intensive breeding of certain types of ducks increased in different regions of the world. For centuries Europeans and Asians know that the duck is one of the most useful and versatile domestic animals.
How many should I raise?
You should never raise a duck alone. You can breed only females or only males. But if you want to raise both you should have one male for every 4-6 females, since during the breeding season the male will be very active and a single female would suffer.
For meat production the choice of a good breed is a basic element. Peking duck stands out among the most advisable. Its resistance to different areas and its capacity to reach its largest size in a short time (3,200 kilos at 77 days, slaughter time) place it among the first places within the typical geography of poultry farming. A common mistake that is made with ducks is to raise them as if they were chickens, when, unlike these, they prefer to stay most of the time out in the open. In temperate climates they are raised without artificial shelters. The majority of the breeders own a corral with defense where they enclose to the animals at night, or in continuous form if the space is limited.
In areas where the temperature is low (less than 15ºC) it is necessary to build or recondition an establishment. In modern facilities for ducks, the Bolts accommodation system is recommended. They are low buildings (2 meters), elongated and semi-flat roof (rural sheet, aluminum or tarred cardboard). Its interior (12 meters wide) consists of a central corridor (1.5 meters) that, from the point of view of the workforce, facilitates the feeding, the placement of the straw floors and the extraction of the manure. If the soil, preferably dirt, has poor drainage, the pen should be covered with sand, straw or wood chips, with the ends at a level higher than the center (corridor).
Through trapdoors located on the side walls the birds go out to the parks (12 meters with a small inclination). the grilled floors are a solution to avoid the accumulation of excrement and food waste.
Opposite to what is generally believed, ducks can be bred perfectly without a swimming pond. On the contrary, many times the existence of pools of stagnant water leads to health problems. However, a constant supply of clean water to drink and wash the beak is necessary. It is essential to design drinking fountains at least ten centimeters deep; To prevent mud puddles from forming, they should be placed on platforms built with wire cloth.
However, a minimum establishment consists of a male and 4 females (a hatchery with industrial characteristics would have to start with no less than 700 animals). For each breeding duck there is 0.5 meter of surface, to which we must add 1.5 meters of park and feeders.
An open nest box is needed for three females or trap nests (35 centimeters wide and 50 centimeters long and 40 centimeters high for each bird). A laying season (in the wild) begins in September and lasts until mid-December.
In captivity the laying starts around week 23 and the normal cycle of laying is 40 weeks with a production that ranges between 160 and 200 eggs, depending on the strains. The egg weighs about seventy grams and the incubation lasts twenty-eight days.
As females lack maternal skill, special attention must be paid to quickly bring the newly laid eggs to the incubators. Not all fertile eggs are suitable for incubation. The ideal is to select those of medium size and without irregularities in the shell (fissures, spots or malformations). The care of the eggs before they are placed in the appliance is as important as the correct incubation procedures.
Many owners of small flocks of poultry neglect this aspect without realizing that it is the main cause of a bad hatching. Some lesions in the embryo may also occur in the washing of the eggs. In spite of this it is preferable to wash them to place them dirty, because to filter germs or bacteria in the process of incubation can mean the failure of all the production. Storage, away from direct sunlight, should be carried out in basements or cool and humid rooms (refrigerators are generally very cold). The set-up of the incubator (soft air) should be done between 48 and 72 hours before placing the eggs. However, when they are placed in it, it is necessary to heat the eggs for 5 or 6 hours at an ambient temperature of 21ºC.
If this procedure is not carried out, water condenses in the eggshells and the yolks may break. Many breeders tend to adjust the machine with the eggs inside. This practice is a very serious error since one of the most critical periods for the development of the embryo are the first 4 or 5 days of incubation.
For a higher percentage of hatching it is essential that the eggs are incubated in the correct position, always on their sides with the higher end (air chamber) slightly raised. It is convenient to accommodate a number of eggs according to the capacity of the tray and in no way pile them or overcoat them.
The care of the humidity inside the incubator is essential to achieve a large number of strong ducklings. The rate at which the content of the eggs is dehydrated is regulated by the amount of moisture in the air of the incubator enclosure.
This is generally provided by the evaporation of water from the containers. The ideal is to reach a relative humidity of 55% and during hatching (last 3 days of incubation) it should increase to 75%. Eggs must be turned over for embryo exercise and reduce stress. Some will hatch if you turn them once every 24 hours, but it is advisable to rotate them 3 times a day with intervals of 8 hours, thus a high percentage of births will be obtained (from 50 to 60%). But to achieve better results, you have to spray the eggs with warm water once a day (except for the first week and the three final days of incubation). If the ambient temperature is 20 to 21ºC, the egg trays have to be removed from the incubator and cooled 5 minutes a day during the second week, 8 'the third and 12' the first 4 days of the fourth week.
After a period of 28 days, the ducklings are born. These go immediately to the feeder and begin to eat food in large quantities. They do not have major climatic demands. It is necessary to provide them with adequate heating for three weeks, during which the temperature of 30ºC must drop to 24ºC.
Space requirements are 1 square meter for every 20 birds in the first two weeks. Then this figure increases. Young ducks are the equivalent of broiler chicken. Over time, these birds have been managed in such a way that they achieve greater growth in the shortest time and with the least amount of food.
They reach a weight of 2.2 to 2.5 kg at 7 weeks, with a feed conversion of 1 kg of meat every 3.5 or 4 kg of feed. To stimulate the development of fat, the ducks must exercise limited, with a continuous contribution of high energy.
The rapid growth of the birds is directly linked to the quantity (240 g / day) and quality of the food that is supplied to them. A good yield will be obtained with a diet containing 20 to 22% of proteins up to 2 weeks of age and 16 to 18% from the second to the seventh week.
According to the British specialists John Walters and Michael Parker, ducks that are bred for butcher purposes need to have a good start, which is achieved by resorting to balanced feed. Foods in the form of crumbs or granules, possessing 10% protein, especially for ducks are the most recommended. This food must be available to the animal during the 24 hours in the first four weeks of life.
If you want you can continue to feed them in this way until the time of dressing, but it is not justified. Therefore, after the fourth week it is advisable to change the balance for another cheaper food, which usually contains less protein. A reasonable fattening diet may consist of a "leftover soup from the kitchen" made with bran, ground oats, barley flour and a little corn flour. A mixture of old bread soaked with the remains of boiled fish is an excellent diet, but the growth will be slower.
If you raise ducks, it will not be a secret for your neighbors. Although many people like the sound they emit, sometimes it is convenient to inform the neighbors of your intentions. The ducks are not chatting all the time, but if when something surprises them. In general, they talk to each other during the day. The amount of noise they make depends on the race. The ducks are the noisiest, so they are used as decoys to catch other ducks. Peking ducks are in a close and second place on the scale of quackery. If the noise levels are important, the Creole duck (Muscovite) is the quietest of all and if you are not as demanding as regards the eggs, the male ducks are also much calmer than the females.
