Key Points of Duckling Rearing Technology and Detailed Explanation of Brooding Methods
Ducks are surely familiar to everyone, and we can often see them in daily life. They can be divided into adult ducks and young ducks, and young ducks are generally called ducklings. Nowadays many people like to buy ducklings to raise, but the rearing methods for ducklings are actually somewhat different from those for adult ducks.
Duckling Rearing Technology
1. Ensure ventilation and air exchange. Ducklings have a vigorous metabolism. If the concentration of carbon dioxide excreted by the ducks and harmful gases such as ammonia and hydrogen sulfide produced by the decomposition of manure and leftover feed is too high, it will harm the health of the ducklings, and in severe cases it will cause ammonia poisoning in ducklings and mass death. Therefore, the air in the brooding house must be kept circulating at all times, with reasonable ventilation and air exchange, to keep the indoor air fresh, remove excess indoor moisture, keep the duck house dry and clean, improve the living environment of the duck flock, and achieve the goal of promoting healthy and rapid growth of the ducks.
2. The suitable rearing density for ducklings is: 25-30 per sq m within 1 week, 15-20 at 2 weeks of age, and 5-7 at 3 weeks of age and above. For duck farms (households) with large rearing numbers, they can be divided into several small groups according to size, strength, age, etc., with 200-300 per group being appropriate, and adjusted once more after one week.
3. Disinfection of the brooding house. Before the ducklings enter the house, the brooding house must be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected. For the disinfection method, organic acid disinfectant solutions such as Nongle can be used, or 1-3% caustic alkali solution, 2-5% bleaching powder solution, or 3-5% hot cresol soap solution can be selected for disinfection; refer to the instructions for specific use. After disinfection, seal the brooding room and leave it empty for 2-3 weeks before receiving the ducklings. Feed troughs and drinkers can be cleaned and disinfected with 5% caustic soda solution, then rinsed clean with clear water and dried in the sun for later use.
Duckling Brooding Technology
1. Floor brooding. Spread 5-10 cm thick soft bedding on the floor of the brooding house, raise the ducklings directly on the bedding, and use underground (or above-ground) heating pipes, coal stoves, brooder umbrellas, or infrared light bulbs to raise the temperature in the brooding house. This method is simple and easy to carry out and requires little investment, but the utilization rate of the house is low, and the ducklings are in direct contact with manure, so their feathers are dirtier and they are susceptible to disease infection.
2. Wire-net brooding. This refers to setting up metal mesh, plastic mesh, or bamboo and wood slats 30-80 cm above the ground in the brooding house, raising the ducklings on the net, and letting the manure fall to the ground through the mesh openings or the gaps between the slats. In this way, the ducklings do not touch the ground, so the chance of disease infection is reduced, the utilization rate of the house is more than doubled compared with floor rearing, labor productivity is improved, and a large amount of bedding is saved; the disadvantage is that the one-time investment is relatively large.
How to Feed Ducklings
1. Drink water first, then start feeding. After hatching, ducklings have no sense of hunger. After 24 hours from hatching, the down of the ducklings has dried, they are lively and active, often making “quack quack” sounds, and begin to move around and peck at each other. At this time, they should be given water first and then start feeding. If the ducklings are listless, with eyes half open and half closed, and unwilling to move, then the time to start feeding has already passed. If ducklings start feeding too early, it is easy to damage the digestive organs and affect their health; if feeding starts too late, the nutritional supply cannot keep up, which is not conducive to growth and development. Therefore, the best time for ducklings to start feeding is between 14-24 hours after hatching.
2. They must drink water first before starting to feed. Adding an appropriate amount of glucose or vitamin C to the drinking water can promote gastrointestinal motility, clean the gastrointestinal tract, promote metabolism, accelerate the absorption of residual yolk, increase appetite, and strengthen the body. If 1‰ potassium permanganate is added to the drinking water, it can also play a role in disinfecting the gastrointestinal tract.
3. Grasp the feeding method and frequency. Ducklings have an underdeveloped digestive function, so when feeding ducklings, do not feed too much each time; feed only until they are six or seven tenths full. If they are fed too full at one time, it is easy to cause indigestion. Ducklings have a small gastrointestinal volume but digest quickly. If the feeding frequency is too low, the ducklings will remain hungry for a long time, which will affect their growth and development.
Pay Attention to Hygiene and Epidemic Prevention
1. Attention should be paid to hygiene and epidemic prevention work. The duck house should be cleaned frequently, kept clean and dry inside, with enhanced ventilation, frequent replacement of bedding straw, and timely removal of manure. Regular disinfection should be carried out, and the brooding house, brooding tools, feed troughs, and water troughs should all be disinfected frequently. At the same time, a sound hygiene and epidemic prevention system should be established, with disinfection pools set up at the entrances and exits of the farm, and vehicles and personnel must be disinfected before entering the house.
2. Regularly carry out immunization and vaccination work for the duck flock to prevent the spread of disease. Generally, ducklings within 2 weeks of age have the highest morbidity and mortality rates, so within 1 week of age, health-care drugs such as poultry multivitamins can be added to the drinking water to increase the resistance of the ducklings. In the daily management process, observation of the duck flock should be strengthened, such as of manure and mental state. If abnormalities are found, they should be dealt with promptly to ensure rapid and healthy growth of the ducklings, reduce the mortality rate, and improve the economic benefits of rearing.
When rearing ducklings, be sure to pay attention to temperature, and then site selection is also very important; be sure to choose a place with good ventilation. When rearing ducklings, attention should also be paid to density. Then do a good job in feeding and epidemic prevention work. Only after these are done well can the ducklings grow healthily.