Comprehensive Technical Points for Raising Laying Ducks in Winter

To achieve high yields when raising laying ducks in winter, the following key points must be mastered:

Winter temperatures are low and daylight hours are short, so laying ducks have a low egg production rate or even stop laying. However, based on the author's many years of practical production experience, as long as winter management is done well, the laying rate of female ducks hatched in the spring of that year can still remain above 80%.

1. Cold prevention and warmth retention. The most suitable temperature for laying ducks is 13°C to 20°C, and it should not fall below 6°C at minimum. Therefore, in winter, work on heat preservation and cold prevention in the duck house must be done well. Be careful to plug wall cracks and close doors and windows, especially the north-facing windows, which must be sealed tightly. At night and when temperatures are low, add straw curtains over doors and windows, spread some dry rice straw or wheat straw on the ground, lay it thicker around the edges, and add fresh straw every evening before the ducks enter the house. At the same time, increase the stocking density to 8 to 9 ducks per sq m. In addition, the duck house should also be ventilated; each time the ducks are released to water, open the doors and windows as soon as the ducks leave the house, and close them again after the ducks return.

2. Adjust the daily ration. In winter, ducks have higher energy requirements, so appropriately increase the proportion of energy feed such as corn, while reducing protein content to 15% to 17%, and be sure to increase green feed such as Chinese cabbage and radish to ensure the ducks' vitamin needs.

3. Feed carefully. In winter, ducks should be given warm food and warm water to reduce loss of body heat. Feed 3 times a day, add 1 more "late-night snack" feeding at night, and provide sufficient drinking water. Generally, feed and water first, then give green feed. Feed changes should be made gradually, not too suddenly.

4. Scientific management. Release the ducks late in the morning and bring them in early in the evening. Reduce the number of times they are released to water and shorten the time in water; release them to water once each in the morning and afternoon when sunlight is abundant. Release them to water at least once every 3 days. Before releasing the ducks from the house each time, first open the windows and "stimulate the ducks," that is, rouse them so they slowly walk in circles inside the house, and release them to water only after about 80% of the ducks make loud calls. When the temperature is too low, stimulate the ducks frequently to increase activity, promote appetite, and improve cold resistance. When natural light is less than 15 hours, supplement light artificially in time. In addition, try to keep the duck house quiet and avoid startling the flock.

5. Strictly prevent disease. In winter, the duck body's defense capacity is reduced, and under poor feeding and management, disease occurs very easily, thus affecting egg production. Therefore, the duck house and activity area should be disinfected once a week. If disease is found, identify the cause promptly and treat symptomatically in time.

Tips for increasing the laying rate of laying ducks in winter:

First, sort the flock. Resolutely cull old, weak, sick, disabled, and low-yielding ducks to reduce deaths and feed consumption.

Second, strictly control room temperature. Cold prevention and warmth retention are crucial for overwintering laying duck flocks, and the temperature inside the shed must be kept above 5°C to ensure high yield. This requires that after feeding the ducks every night, the duck shed must be enclosed tightly and solidly. Around the outside of the shed, straw mats woven from rice straw or wheat straw can be used to enclose it solidly, and a layer of plastic film should be wrapped around the outside. In particular, the covering straw on the shed roof must not be less than 5 cm thick.

Third, use thick bedding. In the laying areas around the duck house, spread 30 cm thick clean, soft rice straw, wheat straw, and other bedding materials. After collecting eggs in the morning, the old straw in the nests can be scattered inside the duck house. Every evening before the ducks enter the house, add fresh straw to make laying nests. In this way, the bedding gradually accumulates and is removed once every several days, which both keeps them warm and saves labor.

Fourth, maintain nutrition. During the overwintering period, laying ducks must both resist cold and lay eggs, so energy consumption is very high. The proportion of energy feed such as corn must be appropriately increased, and the feeding amount should be increased by 10% to 15% compared with summer and autumn. Also provide sufficient green feed or regularly supplement vitamins A, D, and E. Adding 3% to 5% oil to the laying duck feed and providing chopped Chinese cabbage or radish greens and other green feed once at noon each day gives better results.

Fifth, add night feed. In winter, days are short and nights are long, and nighttime temperatures are relatively low. Adding one feeding of warm feed at night can not only increase nutrition for laying ducks and help the ducks resist cold, but can also increase the laying rate by more than 10%. However, nighttime supplementary feeding should note two points: first, warm drinking water must be provided; second, the night feed should mainly be high-energy feed such as corn, and protein should not be too high.

Sixth, feed and drink warm. The winter climate is cold, and ducks consume more heat energy. Not only must sufficient feed be provided, but more importantly, hot feed and warm drink must be provided. Concentrate feed must be mixed with warm hot water, and the drinking water must also be warm hot water, with the best temperature being about 38°C. Never let them drink ice or snow water.

Seventh, supplement light. Natural light is scarce in winter, and reduced endocrine gland activity in the duck pituitary gland leads to a sharp drop in the laying rate, so artificial light supplementation is necessary. Generally, the daily light period should be no less than 16 hours. One 60-watt bulb can be installed per 30 sq m inside the duck shed, with the bulb 2 m above the ducks' backs, fitted with a top shade, and switched on at fixed times morning and evening. Practice has shown that light supplementation can increase egg production by 20% compared with no light supplementation.

Eighth, increase stocking density. For overwintering duck flocks, a density of 8 to 9 ducks per sq m is best, which helps the flock keep itself warm.

Finally, strengthen disease prevention and control. Once sick ducks are found, isolate them promptly, diagnose and treat them, and carry out emergency disinfection of the duck house.

Beware of ducks "going off lay" in early winter

Laying ducks "going off lay" refers to female ducks raised in spring entering the laying period in November, when temperatures gradually turn cold. Too great a difference between day and night temperatures, or insufficient nutrition, causes ducks that have just started laying to stop laying and "take a vacation." If laying ducks "go off lay" and begin molting, then after molting they will not lay again until the next spring. If "going off lay" can be controlled during this period, the laying period can be greatly extended and the economic benefits of duck raising improved. 

When ducks show signs of "going off lay," such as eggs becoming smaller, eggshells becoming thinner, delayed laying time, wet feathers after drinking water and coming ashore, and trying to burrow into the duck house, the following measures should be taken promptly:

Adjust the duck flock

In early winter, promptly cull old, weak, sick, and disabled ducks from the flock, keeping female ducks with good production performance and strong physique. At the same time, appropriately keep more male ducks so they chase each other and increase the flock's amount of exercise.

Increase protein feed

Appropriately increase the proportion of corn, broad beans, and soybean cake, control the ducks' feed intake, and increase the nutrient concentration of the feed.

Prevent cold and keep warm

Plug holes in the duck shed, hang straw curtains on doors and windows, and spread thick dry soft thatch, rice straw, and similar materials on the shed floor to ensure the ducks' abdomens are not exposed to cold. At the same time, also do related sanitation and epidemic prevention work well to ensure the health of the laying ducks.

Supplement light

Laying ducks need 16 hours of light per day during the laying period. In winter, days are short and nights are long, so light is clearly insufficient. Therefore, install 40-watt to 60-watt bulbs inside the duck shed (one bulb per 20 sq m), with the bulbs 2 m above the ducks' backs, and fit lampshades so the light is concentrated on the ducks' bodies. The light should be even, and the lights should be on for 3 hours to 4 hours every evening.

"Driving the shed"

"Driving the shed" can enhance laying ducks' cold resistance and digestive capacity and prevent them from stopping laying. The method is to gently call out inside the duck shed to make the flock start moving and slowly walk in circles in the same direction, generally 4 to 5 circles each time, once every 1 hour, 2 to 3 times per day. Especially before driving the ducks to water, "driving the shed" should also be done. When more than 80% of the ducks quack loudly, the shed can be opened and the ducks released to water, so as to improve the flock's ability to adapt to the temperature outside the shed and the water temperature.

Add cod liver oil

Because cod liver oil is rich in vitamins A and D, it is beneficial for enhancing ducks' immunity and stabilizing the laying rate. Specific feeding method: feed each duck 1 milliliter per day. First mix the cod liver oil into 1.5 kg of bran, then mix it evenly into the feed. After feeding for 3 days to 5 days, if laying is normal and feathers are glossy, feeding can be stopped; long-term feeding will affect economic benefits.