Not every farmer knows how to feed ducks at home in order to quickly grow meat on the bird or increase its egg production by 2-3 times. The question of what the duck eats and how to feed the ducks in the winter is becoming acute for people with a large number of livestock. The increase in the number of young animals at home, the high quality of fluff ensures proper and balanced nutrition. What do ducks like to eat and how not to lose money with cheap food?
- high-quality meat stocks in the house;
- valuable fluff;
- for the sake of eggs;
- for sale.
Duck food determines their well-being and the health of their future brood. Can ducks be fed bread? There are many myths among the people about what can and cannot be added to a poultry feeder. Feeding depends on the capabilities of the farmer. Why ducks cannot be fed bread, only poultry farmers who have learned from experience know that they encountered the undesirable consequences of improper feeding of birds. The rule of a successful household is only one thing: what ducks eat in nature, they can eat properly at home in humans.
Green lure is the most hearty, healthy and environmentally friendly, but what to do in winter or during epidemics?It is impossible to feed pets with anything horrible, and the quality of its down and meat depends on what the feathered representative eats. To feed ducks only with grain, oats or pumpkin seeds is harmful for the stomach of domestic animals. Only a caring farmer will be able to breed a large herd at home. How much food is needed for adult ducks and young animals?
The duck eats several times a day, also she drinks a large amount of purified water.
Features of care are only in vitamin supplements . This is exactly what young ducks especially need. Without nutrients, the duck quickly weakens and falls to its feet, while it cannot gain weight.
It is not advisable to feed young animals with poor-quality food, only waste or dry compound feed, as this species will require much more time to grow. To arrange open-air cages and cages for duck groups, to organize their feeders and drinking bowls is a simple matter, but making a diet for the whole poultry is not as easy as it might seem from the outside.
You can only get a large flock of ducks at home attentive and patient farmer. Ducklings need to be handled even more carefully, because their stomachs are too weak to withstand excessive loads. What do pets who need to gain a lot of weight or in the future sit in a nest to breed offspring give?It is unreasonable and dangerous to feed the entire farm of birds with one and the same food: both young and adult birds can suffer as a result of rash actions.
What are the forages?
How to feed ducks in winter, and what to put in the trough in the summer? The diet of a domesticated bird changes several times a year. With changes in temperature and humidity, the behavior of birds changes. With ducks you need to be especially careful during cold weather, then birds are most weakened and unprotected from various diseases. How to feed ducks at home? Nutrition, both primary and secondary, should be varied. The same food will not only quickly bother pets, it will not allow them to receive the necessary amount of nutrients and vitamins.
In summer, feeding a duck flock is easy, and at home in just one season a successful farmer can increase the number of ducks by 2-3 times. Ducks are easy to manage if you know a few features of their life. What does the diet depend on? Feeding can vary depending on several factors:
- poultry for meat (for birds to gain excess weight, carbohydrates and proteins must be present in their area);
- increased egg production for large the number of offspring for sale (special attention is paid to the nutrition of laying hens);
- to obtain high-quality fluff (additives consist of many vitamin complexes with a high calcium content).
For himself, the farmer determines the main function of ducks in the farm, and then paints and feeds the flock. Arranging a diet is easy if you know what supplements you need to include in your daily diet. Regardless of the person’s plans, all birds without exception should receive nutrients and green supplements every day.
Main types of food
Only high-quality products are selected for domestic birds, which were procured independently or purchased in specialized stores. Risking food for birds – harm your own profit or health. In order for birds to gain weight faster, their diet should in no way be combined with a sedentary lifestyle, and cramped cages will not benefit plumage, with such ducks the farm will quickly become unprofitable.
It is important to consider the living conditions of the flock if the farmer aims for serious work. Caring for pets that produce eggs and meat is in the interest of the person who eats these foods. The duck eats everything that is put in the feeder, because she is not able to get food on her own. With ducklings, things are even more complicated: they are entirely dependent on the person. They give the birds safe food of this type:
- cereals (literally any cereal crop);
- waste;
- root crops (green grass);
- flour from other animals;
- mineral complexes in the form of additives;
- vitamin feeds.
They feed one at a time, sometimes they are mixed, depending on the time of year and the age of the bird. We should not forget about the water, the duck loves it very much. The birds fed balanced feed feel better than their relatives and endure epidemics.
How can ducks not be fed and what foods are not tolerated by adult ducks and ducklings?
Feed from waste
For the birds to gain weight (fat or a layer of meat), ducks need special care. How much do ducks eat? The amount of feed additives depends on their quality. Only dry lures are not suitable for ducklings, while adult ducks can be replaced with grass in winter time.
Can ducks be fed corn? In fact, ducks can be fed with any products that other poultry consumes, but in limited quantities. Bran and cake are considered waste from enterprises. They are added to the bird feeder. Bran ducks are well tolerated.
Is it possible to feed young ducks only with cake? The percentage of feed additives from which young or adult individuals will not become ill is as follows:
- Meal from soy or canola. Waste from the processing of cotton or sunflower is suitable for feeding poultry. The proportion of healthy fats in such products is very large – up to 5%. Bran is rich in phosphorus and potassium, which are considered the most important additives in caring for ducklings.From the production of oil-containing products remains up to 40% of raw materials (average rate), and throwing it out is unprofitable. Why feed ducks bread if there are several bags of bran left at hand? Birds living in an artificial pond love these foods, they make up for the lack of phosphorus and calcium in the body.
- Potato waste. It turns out such complementary foods in the production of alcohol. They are added on the tenth day of the life of the chick, which is very useful and nutritious for the young organism of the duckling.
- Beet cake. Sugar production is not complete without a large amount of waste. Favorite food for ducks – cake, it allows you to feed even large flocks (a nutritious product due to the content of carbohydrates). It is allowed to mix from 1 g of oilcake to young animals after 20 days of life. Birds that live in a pond are content with nutritious meal up to 2 times a day. Little chicks do not eat oilcake; for them it is too heavy food.
- Beans. The high protein content makes bean products indispensable in feeding ducks. The duck group eats peas and beans, but in small quantities. You can’t add a lot of beans.
Birds that are often in a pond (open or artificial) or a pond need to provide clean water. Wild duck representative rarely eats corn or bread, so poultry can do without such a product. You can add warm food to bird feeders, but you cannot leave hot mixtures.Little ducklings are susceptible to any changes in the diet, therefore it is necessary to add waste gradually. Overfeeding chicks with corn or beans is not recommended. You can add a little flour or feed bread, but not get carried away by the abrupt change of food products that ducks are used to.
Green duck feeds
What kind of greens should a farmer choose? The bird should not be limited in green feeding, especially in the summer. You can change the additives, but the grass, which is considered the basis of proper nutrition, should not be completely removed. It eats greens and young growth, and a laying hen, and a drake (green food is especially important for adult birds). The video on duck breeding shows how birds like to eat grass.
By their nature, ducks are wild, freedom-loving birds that live near rivers or ponds. The grass they consume is easy to find. A flock is able to eat not only greens, but also fish (by the nature of its drake they are prey). The bird can be domesticated, but it will not change habits. If an adult female eats grass, then the young growth eats it. The farm will be able to abandon the fish, but not the healthy green food.
Food that e flock, birds use it as energy with which they can continue to sweep or build up mass. Feeding is a special process. You should think about it as soon as a person decides to start his own farm. Good feeding ensures healthy brood and active laying hens.
