A Brief Analysis of High-Efficiency Fattening Techniques for Mallard Ducks

The mallard duck is a new type of specialty poultry duck breed developed through domestication from wild water ducks in the United States. Wild duck meat has the nutritional characteristics of tender meat, delicious taste, high protein, low fat and low cholesterol. Guangzhou consumes 5 million birds annually, Shanghai 4 million, and the whole country consumes more than 200 million birds each year, with 30 million exported annually to Japan and Europe, each selling for 20-30 yuan. Farmers with insulated poultry houses can raise them in winter and market them at New Year and Spring Festival.

1. Selection of ducklings. Choose healthy ducklings with strong physique, large and spirited eyes, lively posture, glossy down, strong disease resistance, and strong struggling strength when held in the hand.

2. Rearing of ducklings. The duck house must be strictly disinfected before the ducklings arrive and pre-warmed 1 day in advance. Temperature: 33°C on the first day of brooding, then decrease by 0.5°C per day until heating is stopped. Humidity: relative humidity 60%-65%. Lighting: keep 24 hours for ducklings 1-3 days old; 16 hours for 4-14 days old. Density: 20-25 birds/sq m for 0-7 days old, 15-20 birds/sq m for 8-14 days old, 10-15 birds/sq m for 15-21 days old, 5-10 birds/sq m for 22-30 days old. Drinking water: half an hour after the ducklings enter the brooding room, give warm water with penicillin (2000 units/bird), preferably at 20-23°C. In the first week, give warm boiled water, which must be clean and hygienic. First feeding: ducklings can be fed 2 hours after drinking water. Use millet cooked to eight-tenths done, broken rice, or duckling complete feed soaked in boiled water, scattered on plastic sheeting to entice feeding. According to the wild duck's habit of liking liquid feed, start mixing thin feed with water as appropriate from 7 days old. Feed 6 times daily for 1-2 weeks, and 4 times daily after 2 weeks. Reference feeding amounts: 8 grams at 1 day old; 20 grams at 5 days old; 50 grams at 15 days old; 90 grams at 30 days old.

3. Feeding during the duckling fattening period. The fattening period for wild ducks is 31-70 days old. During this period, feed special feed for domestic ducks or a self-mixed compound feed. Formula: corn 40%, soybean meal and peanut meal 14%, wheat, sorghum and barley 22.8%, bran 18%, fish meal 4%, bone meal 1%, salt 0.2%, plus poultry multivitamins and trace elements (use according to instructions), and give an appropriate amount of green feed, feeding 3-4 times daily with free access to drinking water. At 50 days old, raise the energy feed level and carry out force-feeding for fattening, so that they quickly gain meat and accumulate fat in a short period. Generally, at 70 days old, body weight can reach 1.2-1.5 kg, and they can be marketed and sold.

4. Disease prevention and control. At 7 days old, use duck plague viral hepatitis vaccine for the first immunization, and carry out the second immunization 7 days later; at 20 days old, use duck plague vaccine for the first immunization, and carry out the second immunization 30 days later.