Egg duck breeding technology and methods

In rural areas, the most common livestock is poultry. Common types of poultry include chickens, ducks, and geese. Many friends raise poultry mainly for laying eggs. Let’s learn about egg duck breeding techniques and methods.

1. Feeding and management of newborn ducklings

1. Duckling selection

Choose healthy, energetic ducklings, whose characteristics include: hatching at a similar time, uniform body shape, well-retracted umbilical cord, bright eyes, active and lively, shiny down, and a strong struggling reaction when grasped. Avoid selecting ducklings with protruding abdomens, sluggish movement, blindness, lameness, deformity, or low weight, as these characteristics may mean lower survival and growth rates. If used as breeding ducks, they must also meet specific breed characteristics.

2. Duckling transportation

Ducklings should ideally be transported no more than 36 hours after hatching. Use bamboo baskets covered with straw to load the ducklings. Each basket is 80 cm in diameter, 25 cm high, and can hold 50 ducklings. Cover with thin cloth when the weather is cool, and cover with a quilt in cold seasons. During transportation, check the condition of the ducklings regularly to prevent them from stacking and protect them from sun, rain and cold wind.

3. Raising ducklings

After the ducklings' down is dry, you can start feeding and giving them water. First, perform the "tide" or "dip water" method. Put the ducklings in a bamboo basket and gently place it in shallow water so that the water reaches the instep of the ducklings' feet. Allow the ducklings to drink freely for 5-6 minutes. The ducklings are then placed on hay and fed for the first time after their feathers have dried. Another method is to spray water on the ducklings, prompting them to peck at the water droplets from each other. Regardless of the method, it should be done in a warm environment to promote the excretion of waste in the body and the absorption of egg yolk.

The first feeding is called "starting feeding" and should be done within 24 hours after hatching. Feeding too late will affect the growth and development of the ducklings. Starter feed should be nutritious, easy to digest, taste good, and easy to suck, such as crushed corn or crushed rice, which should be cooked and soaked before feeding. When feeding, spread the food on the straw mat or plastic sheet and let the ducks peck at it. Follow the principle of frequent additions and small feedings. Feed until the ducks are 80% full each time, 6-8 times a day. Over time, gradually transition to a complete formula feed and maintain 5-6 feedings. Observe the digestion of the ducklings and adjust the feeding amount appropriately.

4. Duckling management

Insulation requirements: Use the warm brooding method. The temperature under the insulation umbrella is 32-30℃ in the first week, and the room temperature is 25-24℃. Then it will drop 1-2℃ every week and maintain 18-20℃ until the fifth week.

Preparation of feed troughs and waterers: Make sure that the ducklings can easily eat and drink water. Use feed trays and waterers of appropriate sizes to prevent the ducklings from entering the feed troughs and waterers.

Disinfection of the brooder house: Before the ducklings enter the house, thoroughly clean and disinfect the brooder house. Use organic acid disinfectant or 1-3% caustic soda solution, 2-5% bleach solution or 3-5% phenol soap hot solution for disinfection. Leave it vacant for 2-3 weeks before receiving the ducklings.

2. Feeding and management of adult ducks

1. Egg duck breed selection

Choose breeds with good production performance, docile temperament, small size, early maturity, fast growth and development, low feed consumption, high egg production, high utilization rate, strong adaptability and strong disease resistance. The best female ducks are kept and the inferior ones are removed within 2 years, and all are replaced in the 3rd year.

2. Feed preparation and formulation

It is prepared in the proportions of 50%-60% cereals, 10%-20% cakes and meal, 10%-15% fish meal or soybean meal, 1% shell meal , 0.5% salt, and 0.2%-0.5% multivitamins. Reference formula for egg-laying period: 45% corn, 20% rice bran, 6% bran, 10% soybean cake, 10% fish meal, 6% rapeseed cake, 1% shell meal, 1% bone meal, 0.5% salt, and 0.5% poultry multivitamins.

3. Feeding method

After crushing and preparing, add water and mix well. Knead it into a ball with your hands and it falls apart when you let go. Feed it 4 times a day and night, i.e. once at 5 a.m., 10 a.m., 3 p.m., and 9-10 p.m. More feed should be given for the last time to make the ducks full. The daily feeding amount for each duck is 125 to 150 grams. Ducks in the off-season only need to be fed twice a day.

4. Start production at the right time

Egg-laying ducks start laying eggs around 150 days of age. Control the amount of green feed to prevent their stomachs from being overwhelmed. After 120 days of age, gradually increase the amount of feed to improve the quality.

5. Release water

After feeding every day, drive the ducks into the water for a bath, 4 to 5 times a day in summer. They can also be allowed to water freely. At night when the ducks are noisy and restless, they still need to be watered once, each time for 20 minutes. In winter, water is released once every day at 10 am and 2 to 3 pm, each time for 5 minutes. After releasing the water, let the ducks bask in the sun in winter and rest in a cool place in summer. Avoid direct exposure to the sun.

6. Male and female matching

The stronger the duck's sexual desire, the more eggs it lays. There should be enough drakes in the egg-laying duck flock. In small groups, one drake is paired with every 100 female ducks, and in large groups, one drake is paired with every 200 female ducks, which can increase the egg production rate by 5% to 8%. For egg-laying breeding ducks, one drake is raised for every 20 to 30 female ducks. During the egg-laying, resting and molting periods, male ducks should be isolated to avoid harassment.

7. Old duck supplement

Old ducks should be fed cod liver oil 7 days a month after laying eggs for 1 year. This can make them lay more eggs and extend their high-production years.

8. Forced molting

Egg-laying ducks stop laying and molt in late summer and early autumn. At this time, artificial forced molting should be adopted. The method is: no food and water for the first two days, water but no food on the 3rd to 5th days, feed half of the normal amount of feed and water from the 6th day, and return to normal on the 7th day to promote fast and uniform molting and make the egg-laying ducks lay eggs uniformly.

9. Litter

Use straw, wheat straw, rice husks or sawdust as bedding on the floor of the house. Add bedding once every other day and raise the floor where eggs are laid. Combined with the ventilation and lighting of the duck house , heat prevention and cooling can keep the duck house clean and dry. A layer of mud or stone sand can also be laid in summer.

10. Add some light

In autumn and winter, due to the shortening of natural daylight, the duck's pituitary gland and endocrine glands decrease, affecting egg production, so artificial supplementary lighting must be used. Generally, continuous lighting time is required to reach 16 hours per day. A 60-watt bulb can be installed every 30 meters in the duck house. The bulb should be hung 2 meters high from the duck's back and equipped with a lampshade. Turn on the lights twice a day, morning and evening, that is, turn on the lights at 4 am and turn off the lights at 8 am, turn on the lights at 5 pm and turn off the lights at 8 pm. The time for turning on and off the lights must be strictly fixed. At the same time, two 3-5 watt low-light bulbs should be installed in each duck house to avoid scaring the flock after turning off the lights. In case of dark and low-light weather such as heavy snow, dense fog, continuous rain, etc., the lights should be turned on earlier at night and the lights can be turned off later in the morning. If necessary, the lights can be kept on all day. Practice shows that the egg production rate of laying ducks with supplementary light is 20% to 25% higher than that of laying ducks without supplementary light.

11. Add night food

Generally speaking, feeding laying ducks at night can increase egg production by about 1% compared to not feeding laying ducks. Therefore, laying ducks should be fed more night food in autumn and winter. Two points should be noted when feeding at night: first, provide enough drinking water, and second, the protein in the night feed should not be too much.

12. Reduce stress

Egg-laying ducks have a high metabolism and are particularly sensitive to polluted air, so attention should be paid to ventilation at ordinary times. All the windows of the duck house should be opened whenever the ducks are playing in the water. Do not make loud noises in the duck house, and do not chase the ducks with bamboo poles to scare them. Keep warm in winter and cool in summer to minimize the adverse effects of cold and heat stress on laying ducks and allow them to live in a quiet and comfortable environment.

13.Anti-abnormality

When laying ducks begin to lay smaller eggs, their eggshells become thinner, their egg-laying time is prolonged, their feathers are wet when they are fed or come ashore, and they rush into the duck house, effective measures must be taken in a timely manner to prevent and control the situation. The following methods are commonly used: (1) Improve quality, especially increase protein; (2) Move the ducks around frequently to increase exercise; (3) Increase light; (4) Keep the duck house warm. It is best to add liquid cod liver oil to the feed, mixing 1 ml per duck per day for 3 to 4 days.

14. Maintain good hygiene

The indoor and outdoor playgrounds of the duck house should be cleaned regularly, and the feeding troughs and water troughs should be cleaned and disinfected regularly. They must be fresh, and moldy food should be avoided. The drinking water should be clean. The duck house should be well ventilated to keep the air fresh and prevent ammonia from irritating the ducks. Change the bedding frequently to ensure it is clean and dry. Ducks like to be clean. Once their feathers get dirty, they should be driven into the water to clean them immediately. Otherwise, the ducks will become infected and sick due to the dirty feathers, and may even stop laying eggs.

15. Disinfect regularly

The pens and playgrounds can be disinfected every week with 20% quicklime milk , 2% sodium hydroxide, or 3% compound phenol (disinfectant), and the feeding troughs and utensils can be disinfected with Baidusha. The feeding and drinking water can be treated with 0.02% potassium permanganate solution.

The above is an introduction to the breeding techniques and methods of laying ducks. The growth management characteristics of laying ducks at different growth stages will be different, so please pay attention to comprehensive reference.