Ducks (or ducks) can produce eggs that are large and highly nutritious, as well as meat that tastes delicious. In addition, ducks can also help keep your garden from slugs and are quite easy to care for. Whether it's just a hobby or a business, you need to get information about ducks if you want to try raising ducks. Although the care is easier to do when compared to the care of other types of poultry, in raising ducks there are some basic things that need to be met in order to produce healthy livestock.
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Part 1 of 4: Preparation for Breeding Ducks
Step 1. Determine your reasons for raising ducks
You can keep ducks as pets or predators to control pests in your garden, or also for their meat and egg production. There are four types of ducks that you can choose from: domestic (local), dabbling (Anatinae species), diving (diving ducks), and sea ducks. Domestic duck is the most popular breed and its varieties (except Muscovy duck) are descended from Mallard duck.
Wild ducks or Wildfowl spend most of their time in the water and tend to be difficult to tame. When they are young, you may need to hold or pinch their wings to keep them from flying around. If you intend to keep this type of duck, make sure you have a large pond or lake
Step 2. If you want to keep ducks as pets, breeds such as Call, Cayuga, Pekin, Rouen or Muscovy can be good choices because of their attractive appearance and character that makes them suitable as pets
- Duck Call is famous for its loud voice. You may need to reconsider your choice of keeping Call ducks if you don't want to disturb your neighbors with their loud noises. Call ducks are small and have gray or white fur. Many people choose this type of duck because of its small size. However, they often fly to and fro so you may need to pinch their wings often enough to keep them from escaping.
- Cayuga ducks have greenish fur and are very calm. However, this type of duck is quite difficult to get.
- The Pekin duck is one of the most popular breeds. This duck is large and has white fur. They tend to be calm and low-tempered.
- The Rouen duck has the same color as the Mallard duck (the hair on the head and neck is green and the fur on the body has a color gradation). This duck is very calm and can interact well with humans.
- Muscovy ducks have a very calm character and this breed has a variety of coat colors. Muscovy ducks are descended from birds. You need to pinch their wings periodically to keep them from flying and escaping.
Step 3. If you want to raise ducks for meat production, Pekin, Muscovy, Rouen or Aylesbury ducks can be good choices
Of course you want to choose a type that grows quickly and produces large, tasty meat. White-feathered ducks are in demand by many people because their meat harvesting can be done more easily and efficiently.
- Pekin ducks are one of the most popular breeds raised as broilers because at seven weeks they are ready to be slaughtered. Pekin ducks have white fur and produce a lot of meat. In addition, Pekin ducks also produce quite a number of eggs in a year, although the number of eggs produced varies depending on the location (for example, in England Pekin ducks do not lay many eggs). This causes the Pekin duck to provide many benefits for different uses. Pekin ducks can be crossed with Aylesburys ducks to produce broiler chicks that have quality meat.
- Muscovy ducks produce dark, less oily meat because the oil glands in these ducks don't function well enough. Although they may not produce eggs well enough due to the length of hatching time (35 hatching days compared to other breeds that lay eggs in 28 days), Muscovy ducks are good brooders and incubators so you don't have to set up an incubator. These ducks can be crossed with Pekin ducks to produce good broiler chicks, even though the offspring will be sterile so they cannot breed. It is recommended to cut the Muscovy duck after it reaches 16 weeks of age so that the meat obtained is not tough.
- Rouen ducks are good broilers. However, they must reach 12 to 15 weeks of age to be cut. This type of duck also produces quite a lot of eggs (about 100 eggs per season), but the feather glands have color and when slaughtered, the meat tends to be more difficult to remove from the bones so that the meat extraction is less efficient.
- Aylesbury ducks are large and white in hair and make a good choice for broilers. You may have a hard time finding the original breeds of Aylesbury ducks because most are the result of a mixture of Aylesbury ducks and Pekin ducks. Even so, the mixed offspring can still produce quality meat. Mixed breeds of Aylesbury and Pekin ducks can have a white crest. Although Aylesbury ducks are a suitable choice as broiler ducks, this breed is not suitable for cultivation as laying ducks.
Step 4. If you want to keep ducks for laying ducks, Khaki Campbell ducks or Indian Runner ducks can be a good choice
These types of ducks can sometimes have egg production rates that exceed chicken egg production levels and can produce eggs that are larger and more nutritious than chicken eggs.
- Khaki Campbell ducks have a strong physical condition, can find their own food and can produce more than 300 eggs each year and do not require special care or lighting to produce many eggs. The eggs produced by this species are white like pearls. Khaki Campbell duck is a breed commonly used in commercial egg production. However, the meat produced by this breed has an uncertain taste (sometimes delicious and sometimes not) and is rarely consumed.
- The Indian Runner duck has an upright posture and has a gait as if it were running. Some breeds of this breed can produce more than 300 bluish eggs each year. Even though they tend to be small in size, Indian Runner ducks have a strong physique and are able to find their own food well.
- The Welsh Harlequin duck is a species that is quite rare. This duck is a good laying duck and has a calm character.
Step 5. If you want to raise ducks to naturally eradicate garden pests, you can choose Indian Runner, Khaki Campbell, or Call ducks
In general, ducks will eat snails, slugs and insect pests in your garden, but some ducks are better at hunting for food and have a wider hunting range.
- Indian Runner ducks are active and are good food hunters that can even catch and eat flying flies. This type of duck has a large hunting area and can be used as pest control in the field. In Asia, the Indian Runner duck is usually cultivated as a pest control in rice fields and in South Africa, this duck was once cultivated as a pest control in an organic winery.
- Khaki Campbell ducks are also good hunters. This type of duck can control pests on land as well as in water, and can eat large numbers of snails, snails, insects, algae and mosquitoes.
- Call ducks are also good hunters. But because of their smaller size compared to other types, they tend to eat prey that is small in size.
Step 6. Make sure your ducks have access to the water source
Domestic ducks don't need large ponds or lakes, but they do need at least a small pond so they can put their heads in the water. Because ducks do not have tear glands, they use water to moisten and clean their eyes. Use an inflatable swimming pool for children or a plastic tub to hold water for your pet ducks.
- Plastic tubs are suitable as ponds for your ducks because you can easily change the water so that the water source for your ducks will be clean of mud and feathers.
- Every now and then, move your plastic tub so that the area around the tub doesn't get waterlogged and muddy.
Step 7. Feed your ducks well
Ducks that do not get good nutrition cannot grow well. This is important to remember, especially if you are raising broilers or laying ducks. Although some types of ducks are reliable food hunters, they still need additional nutrition. You can feed your ducks with instant pellets that can be purchased in stores.
- Do not add medicine to the bran if you use poultry bran as your duck feed because it can harm your ducks.
- Provide nutrition with higher protein in broiler or laying ducks. The protein content in your duck feed is approximately 16% and can come from raw oats. However, the protein content in duck feed should not exceed a quarter of the nutritional content of the diet.
- Laying ducks need higher calcium nutrients in order to produce eggs effectively. You can add additional calcium supplements to the feed for your laying ducks.
- Provide a source of drinking water near the feeding area for the ducks and do not place it directly on the ground so that the water for drinking your ducks does not mix with the mud.
Step 8. Lock your ducks in a cage at night to protect them from predators
The cage for your ducks does not need to be placed in a high place, but at least make the entrance wide enough so that the flock of ducks can enter the cage together. Make sure your duck coop has good air openings.
- The duck cage should have a space of approximately 3700 square centimeters for each duck with a wall height of approximately 1 meter.
- At night, the light can scare the ducks. Therefore, make sure the air opening or duck door is not facing a light source, such as the moon or a lamp.
- At night, place the cage with the door blocked by a wall or fence so the ducks can't get out and stay in the cage.
- Use a clean pile of hay as bedding for your ducks and change the hay regularly to keep your duck's bedding clean.
- Prepare a nest box if you want to take eggs to make it easier when you are looking for eggs.
Step 9. Make sure your ducks stay in your garden
Duck predators can attack your ducks so it is important that you build a protective barrier for your ducks by building a fence around them. This fence can keep the ducks away from predators. Some of the larger broiler ducks cannot jump high, but some smaller and lighter ducks (such as Call ducks) can jump as high as 1.8 meters.
You can keep your ducks with your chickens in the same cage. Different types of ducks can live together in the same cage, but you need to be careful because male ducks of the larger breed can injure the ducks of the smaller breed
Part 2 of 4: Choosing the Breed of Ducks
Step 1. Find information about various types of ducks
Different types of ducks will of course have different physical aspects, such as size, physical shape, egg production rate, fertility rate, hatchability, amount of feed needed and productive periods. By looking for information like this, you can find ducks with the character that you expect.
Step 2. Develop an identification system for your ducks
With this identification system, you can still keep an eye on your ducks. You can identify the ducks in a small flock individually, but if you have trouble identifying them individually, try using a ribbon to tie them around their feet so you can tag them.
Step 3. Use the trap nest to see if any eggs are hatched
The nest traps are specially designed so that ducks can enter the nest but cannot get out again until the door is opened from the outside. This way you can tell which ducks will lay eggs.
Step 4. Get information about individual ducks
Record the number of eggs hatched by one duck, the number of ducklings hatched from a single mother, the number of ducklings to be sold or to be slaughtered, and the age of the ducklings when they reached the appropriate weight for slaughter.
The information you get can help you to choose which ducks are the most effective and productive for breeding as broilers or laying ducks
Step 5. Referring to the information related to the breed, choose a duck with good physical shape
A good duck must have strong bones, straight legs and strong scales on the legs. A good duck should also not have a bent sternum and broken wings.
Step 6. Choose a duck that is still young and strong
Young ducks have brightly colored legs and beaks, a strong and flexible breastbone, and a smooth and flexible neck. Old ducks have legs and beaks with a dull color and hardened skin surface, and hard sternum and neck.
Pet ducks must be in a healthy condition, have thick and soft fur, clear eyes, no wet nostrils and thick tail feathers (depending on the breed)
Step 7. In general, choose ducks by weight
The weight of the duck is the main factor when choosing ducks because this factor can be passed on to the next generation. Do not mate your ducks with ducks that show signs of defects, abnormal size, or other physical defects.
The number of eggs produced and the ducklings that hatch are the next factors you need to consider
Part 3 of 4: Mating Ducks
Step 1. Keep the right ratio between the number of male ducks to the number of female ducks
You need to find out about the ratio of male to female ducks because each breed will have a different ratio. Large species such as Muscovy ducks and other broiler ducks have a ratio of one male to (maximum) five female ducks.
- If the number of male ducks is much higher than that of female ducks, the female ducks can be injured because the male ducks will often mate with them.
- You need to pay attention to the size difference between male and female ducks if you intend to crossbreed your ducks because these differences have the potential to injure the smaller female ducks.
- If you have a large number of drake, you can keep them in separate cages in the breeding season.
- You can mate your ducks into pairs, but this becomes difficult when there are more males than females and there is not enough room.
Step 2. Minimize the gap between generations
Breed your pet ducks when they are young to minimize the gap between generations and get the best genetic development. It is recommended to mate your ducks when they reach one year of age and do not mate your ducks under six months of age.
Step 3. Know when the breeding season takes place
Although some domestic ducks can mate all year round, the breeding season lasts from late winter until spring or early summer. In the mating season, the ducks will show more pronounced mating behavior and lay eggs.
Mating behaviors include head nodding, pecking, neck biting and, for drakes, trying to climb on top of their mate
Step 4. Watch for different species in the same cage
Usually, ducks will mate with other ducks, including ducks of a different breed. If you want to produce a certain cross, you have to separate other types of ducks so that ducks are not mated by just any breed. Keep ducks of different breeds separate in different cages during the breeding season if you don't want them to cross-breed.
Muscovy ducks that mate with domestic ducks will produce sterile offspring. Nevertheless, these breeds can make good broilers. Mixing between types of domestic ducks will not produce sterile offspring
Step 5. Count the number of ducks you want to mate, depending on how many ducks you want to produce
In almost all species, one female duck can produce 100 ducklings per season.
You will get ducklings in better condition if you have fewer ducks bred and kept together in the same cage. But in commercial production, usually companies will breed ducks en masse for economic reasons
Part 4 of 4: Incubation and Hatching of Ducks
Step 1. Give your ducks two weeks to mate before you do egg retrieval
Given two weeks of time, your ducks will have enough time to prepare themselves for mating, and this can have an effect on good fertility rates.
Step 2. Take an egg every day to make sure that the eggs you get are clean
Store the eggs in a cool (but not too cold) place and turn the eggs once a day to prevent the membranes from sticking to the shells. These eggs can be stored for 7 to 10 days before being incubated. It's a good idea to incubate all the eggs at the same time so that all the eggs reach the same stage of development.
Step 3. Prepare the incubator for the eggs you have taken
Follow the instructions on your incubator (if you don't have an incubator, you can look it up online). Set the incubator temperature so that it reaches 37.5 degrees Celsius with a humidity level of 86%.
- Turn on the incubator for a day or two before the eggs are laid in it. This can keep the air temperature inside the incubator stable.
- Humidity can be maintained by filling water into the water container in your incubator and following the instructions listed below. You can also squirt water over your eggs each time you turn your eggs.
- Since Muscovy ducks are good brooders and brooders, their eggs do not have to be incubated. This can make it easier for you to care for and breed your ducks.
Step 4. Turn the eggs at least three times a day
Incubated eggs need to be turned. Some incubators have a function that can automatically rotate eggs, but if that function is not available, you have to turn the eggs an odd number of times in one day (eg 3 or 5 times).
In the first week of incubation, turning the eggs is very important, so turn the eggs as often as possible
Step 5. Check egg fertility after the first week of incubation
Use the candling method to determine if the eggs are fertile and discard those that are not showing signs of fertility. Prepare a very dark room and a small flashlight. Lift the egg and direct the light at the egg. If you can clearly see the blood vessels, then there is a chance the egg is alive.
Repeat this candling process once a week and remove any dead eggs
Step 6. Incubate for about 28 days
Different types of ducks have different time periods for incubation. Mallard ducks take about 26.5 to 27 days of incubation. Runner ducks require 28.5 days of incubation and Muscovy ducks require a longer incubation time, which is about 35 days. Meanwhile, other types take about 28 days.
Step 7. Let the egg hatching process run its course
This process can take as long as 3 to 5 days and may even take longer. You need to be patient and don't worry as the ducklings may stay in the egg shells for a day or two to absorb the remaining yolks.
Call ducks are notorious for their inability to break egg shells from the inside. If your ducklings seem to be having a hard time breaking the shell and need help, be very careful right away and try using a small pincer to make a hole in the shell. If you see any bleeding, stop immediately
Step 8. Leave the ducklings in the incubator for twelve hours after hatching
This can help their body dry and give additional time for other eggs to hatch. Newly hatched ducklings may stumble or stagger as they move, but you don't need to worry as this is normal for newly hatched ducklings.
Step 9. Transfer the ducklings to a special cage
You can use a plastic box with a small lid as a cage for your ducks. Use a 250-watt light bulb as a source of light and warmth for your ducklings during the first few weeks. After three weeks, your ducklings will no longer need a heating lamp.
- If your ducklings are seen huddled together under the light, they may feel cold. Move your lamp in the right place so that the heat it provides can reach all parts of the cage.
- If the ducklings move away from the lamp, they may feel that it is too hot, so it is a good idea to lift the lamp higher.
- Take a lamp if your ducklings are no longer sleeping under the lamp.
Step 10. As much as possible let the ducklings stay alone for the first three days
Do not let the ducklings follow anyone for the first three days because they will continue to follow you and can cause problems later.
Step 11. Provide food and water for your ducklings
Make sure that the drinking trough for the ducks is deep enough so that the ducklings can enter their nostrils to clean it. However, be careful not to let the depth of the drinking vessel cause them to drown. In the first 24 hours after hatching, they do not need food but after that, provide bread crumbs or bran as food for your ducklings. You can get bran at pet feed stores. After ten days of bran feeding, replace the bran with growth pellets.
- If there are ducklings that seem weak or don't want to eat, try feeding them with boiled egg yolks that have been mashed. This can help the duckling to start eating the bran as feed.
- You can give them regular pellets like you would give to adult ducks after 16 weeks.
- Watch your ducklings so they don't drown if you let them swim. Unlike adult ducks, ducklings do not yet produce oil in their fur that can protect them from cold temperatures, so the water for duck swimming pools should be warm. Generally, the mother duck will lubricate the feathers of the ducklings with the oil.
Step 12. Raise your ducks according to the purpose you want
You can start raising your ducks as pets, broilers, laying ducks, or biological pest controllers. Ducks can be moved outdoors when they reach 6 to 8 weeks of age.
- Before being moved outdoors, the ducks should have removed their downy hair.
- Be careful when taking the ducklings outdoors as predators can easily catch and carry the ducklings away.
Tips
- When they are very young, ducklings need a rough surface to be able to stand. Do not use smooth paper as their bedding, but use pieces of wood or other rough-surfaced objects.
- Find out more about the breed of duck you choose so you can learn about the specifics of the care and breeding of the type of duck you choose.
- Before the ducklings had thick feathers, they still needed a cage to protect them from the rain.
Warning
- You need to be aware of signs of disease in your ducks because the entire flock of ducks can catch the disease quickly if diseased ducks are not treated immediately.
- Ducks and other poultry can sometimes carry the harmful Salmonella bacteria. Make sure you wash your hands well after you handle your ducks.
