How can duck farming be profitable in 2017?

With the gradual development of the farming industry, duck meat with 0 additives and 0 pollution is increasingly popular among city people, but for farmers, how to use low costs to earn high returns is the issue farmers care about most, so how can ducks be raised profitably in 2017?

Rice-field duck farming is an extensive raising method, and in the rice-duck symbiotic planting and raising model, duck farming is only an auxiliary industry for the production of green, high-quality rice, mainly playing a role in biological control. Therefore, when choosing duck breeds, the key considerations are small and medium-sized excellent breeds with strong vitality, wide adaptability, tolerance of coarse feed, and strong resistance to stress. It is recommended to raise breeds dual-purpose for eggs and meat, such as the Ji'an Red-feathered Duck and the Cemma Duck.

Ji'an Red-feathered Duck

The Ji'an Red-feathered Duck has a short, round body and a thick, short neck. The male duck is moderate in size, compact, with a broad front chest and well-developed chest muscles. The female duck has a peach-shaped body, is compact, has large, protruding, bright eyes, and well-developed chest muscles. It has stable genetic performance, good production performance, tolerance of coarse feed, strong foraging ability, tender meat, a high lean meat rate, and feather growth synchronized with body weight gain, making it a high-quality raw material for processing pressed salted duck. According to rural surveys, mainly based on grazing, after 80-90 days of raising, body weight can reach 1000-1150 grams, during which 3-4 kg of rice grain is supplemented; after 28 days of fattening at a pressed salted duck factory, body weight reaches 1350-1400 grams (consuming 4 kg of rice grain), meeting the requirements for pressed salted duck processing. The Red-feathered Duck reaches the age at first laying at 112 days, reaches a laying rate of 5% at 134 days of age, 50% at 186 days, and adult female ducks have an average body weight of 1450 grams. This duck is suitable for various raising methods in rural areas of our province.

Shanma Duck

The Shanma Duck originated in the Longyan area of Fujian and is one of the excellent laying duck breeds in our country. The male duck has a broad chest and back and a relatively long body. The beak is yellow-green, and the iris is brown. The shanks and webs are orange-red; the back feathers are grayish-brown, and the abdomen is grayish-white. The female duck has a slender body, is well-proportioned and compact, and when standing and walking the trunk forms an angle of more than 450 degrees with the ground; the head is relatively small, the beak is bronze-colored, the iris is brown, the shanks and webs are orange-red, and the whole body is reddish-brown. According to measurements by the Provincial Institute of Animal Husbandry and Veterinary Medicine, the average birth weight of male and female ducks is 42.78 grams, the weight at 4 weeks is 553.10 grams, the weight at 90 days of age is 1330 grams, and the weight at 72 weeks of age (504 days of age) is 1515 grams. Adult male ducks weigh 1300 grams, and adult female ducks weigh 1500 grams. Female ducks begin laying at around 120 days of age, and produce 280-300 eggs by 500 days of age. The Shanma Duck has early laying, high egg production, and wide adaptability, and is suitable for various raising methods in rural areas.

Feeding and Management

Feeding and management of ducklings. The feeding and management of ducklings is commonly called brooding, and is a very important foundational stage in duck farming. Therefore, scientific management is required, creating suitable temperature, humidity, air, light, nutrition, and a clean and quiet environment for the ducklings, and minimizing the impact of harsh stress.

Selection of Ducklings

The brooding season must be carefully considered, especially for the rice-duck symbiotic model, where the best brooding season should be chosen to achieve the best production results and economic benefits. For rice-duck symbiosis, the ducklings are mainly spring ducklings and summer ducklings; autumn ducklings and winter ducklings are not chosen.

1. Spring ducklings

Refers to ducklings hatched from March to May. In spring the climate gradually warms, sunlight is abundant, and this is beneficial to duckling growth; the survival rate and robustness rate are high, and by the growing duck stage, because the temperature is suitable, outdoor activity time is long, the physique is good, and growth and weight gain are rapid. For rice-duck symbiosis, spring ducklings should be chosen, and the end of brooding just connects with rice transplanting. However, spring ducklings require attention to good insulation work, and spring is rainy and humid with changeable climate, making it easy for diseases to invade; during the growing period in the hot summer, work such as heat prevention and shading must be done well, so management must be careful and meticulous, with all aspects of the work done fully and thoroughly.

2. Summer ducklings

Refers to ducklings hatched from June to August. At this time, high temperature and high humidity mean ducklings have poor appetite, growth and development are affected, the productivity of adult birds is relatively low, and the workload for heat prevention and humidity reduction is large. However, summer ducklings generally do not need heating and insulation; when used as commercial meat ducks, as long as heat prevention is done properly, feeding costs will not be very high.

3. Autumn ducklings, winter ducklings

Autumn ducklings refer to ducklings hatched from September to October. Winter ducklings refer to ducklings hatched from November to December. They do not match rice planting in terms of season.

Brooding Methods

According to the specific conditions of the existing duck house, various brooding methods can be adopted. For the specific situation of rice-field duck farming, brooding should be concentrated first, and then the ducks should be dispersed to the fields for grazing. Several methods are introduced:

1. Flat floor brooding

That is, directly spreading thick bedding material on the floor of the duck house, such as wood shavings, coarse sawdust, dry straw, dry sand, etc., and brooding on it, regularly cleaning and replacing the bedding material to keep it clean and dry. This method is simple and easy to carry out, with low cost, but it is not easy to control disease, and the brooding effect is average.

2. Half-floor, half-net brooding

That is, 1/3 of the duck house floor is covered with a raised net surface, and the rest of the floor is not covered with netting, only with bedding material. All drinking water is placed on the netting, so that the floor inside the house remains dry. Note that the slope must be less than 250. This method has moderate cost and is conducive to cleaning work, with a relatively ideal effect, so it is relatively commonly used.

3. Cardboard box brooding

Use a relatively large ordinary hard cardboard box and raise the ducklings inside it. In warm weather, this method does not need a heat source for warming and can use self-warming brooding, greatly reducing insulation costs, and it is simple and easy to carry out with small investment. However, attention must be paid to keeping it dry, hygienic, and ventilated; holes are often punched in the cardboard walls for ventilation, and the flock must be divided and transferred in a timely manner. As the ducklings gradually grow, some ducks are gradually moved out to other cardboard boxes or brooding houses, so that the raising density is moderate and they gradually leave the warming period. Because this method is greatly affected by weather, the work is complicated, and the number of brooded ducklings is limited, it is suitable for small-scale farming.