Autumn duck herding has its finer points: duck farmers need to master these techniques

Watching the duck shed. To make it easier to move the duck grazing site, a shed can be built from bamboo strips large enough to hold a simple bed, with a rain cloth over the outside.

Brooding. Buy back ducklings about 40 days before the late rice harvest, spread soft rice straw on the indoor floor, and brood them in separate small pens, keeping the room temperature at 20°C-26°C. Ducks have the habit of huddling together to sleep, so at regular intervals they should be gently nudged apart by hand and started up once, to prevent the ducklings from being crushed to death.

Taming the ducks. When the ducklings reach 15 days of age, they can gradually be put into a small pool for training. At first the time in the pool should be suitably short, and afterward the time in the pool can be gradually extended. After the ducklings come ashore and return to the shed, they should be given supplementary feed in time. After the ducklings reach 30 days of age, they should first be grazed in small fields, and bamboo poles with things tied to them that move with the wind (such as colored cloth strips or plastic food bags, etc.) should be inserted around the small fields, to prevent the ducks from running outside the enclosed range.

Herding. Start from the plots harvested earlier and gradually move the grazing toward the rice fields harvested later. Water can also be let into the fields appropriately for the ducks to forage freely. The position of the duck shed should move with changes in the duck flock's grazing location. At night, drive the duck flock to spend the night around the shed, and give appropriate supplementary feed.

Precautions. Ducks should not be grazed in places with deep grass or large ridges, to avoid the flock being harmed by snakes, yellow weasels, and the like. In addition, autumn ducks lay many eggs, so a portion of robust individuals can be selected and kept to lay eggs through the winter, so as to obtain greater returns.