Key Technical Points for High-Yield Management of Breeder Ducks in Confinement

?Mastering Timely Onset of Laying

There are several principles for determining the onset of laying: after commercial layer ducks or egg-type breeder ducks have been raised to 90-100 days of age, the flock becomes increasingly uniform in development, body weight reaches 1.3-1.5 kg, feathers are fully grown and glossy, calls are loud, and movements are lively. When the majority of female ducks show these signs, the concentrate feed in the diet can be gradually increased, coarse feed reduced, and animal-based feed supplemented in a timely manner. The crude protein level in the daily ration can be raised to 16%-18%, so that about 2 weeks after the onset of laying, the peak production is reached.

?Feeding a Complete Formula Feed to Meet Laying Needs

Confined laying ducks must be fed a complete formula feed so that nutrition meets the feeding standards for laying ducks. When formulating feed, ensure feed variety is diverse and relatively stable, and prepare complete formula feeds with different nutritional levels according to different climatic conditions and laying levels to meet the nutritional needs of laying. In summer, because temperatures are high, ducks reduce feed intake, and the protein level ingested by the flock consequently declines. To meet the nutritional needs of laying ducks, the protein content in the daily ration must be increased and the protein-to-energy ratio raised; the protein level can be increased by 1%-2%, reaching about 18%. At the same time, the amount of vitamin additives in the daily ration can be increased by 30%-50% of the original amount to supplement the insufficient vitamin requirements of confined laying ducks in summer. In winter, the energy level in the daily ration should be appropriately raised, with each kg of feed containing 12.0-12.5 megajoules of thermal energy, and supplementation of amino acids and vitamins should be increased to ensure the nutritional needs of laying.

?Strengthening Feeding Management

Feeding management within the pen. When the laying rate of female ducks reaches 30%-50%, feed 4 times a day; when the laying rate is above 50%, feed 5 times a day. The last feeding at night should be slightly larger in amount, with no leftover feed as the appropriate level. Sufficient sand grains should also be provided near the pen for the flock to consume freely. During the feeding process, keeping the laying duck flock too fat or too thin is unfavorable for laying. After the flock eats, in spring and autumn they can be let into the pond for bathing 2-3 times a day, with each entry lasting 15-30 minutes; in summer, the number of times they go into the water daily is unlimited, but heatstroke must be prevented. After coming ashore, they should be allowed to dry their feathers before being driven back into the pen to rest. On rainy days or winter windy and rainy days when they cannot go out for activity, the ducks should be shouted at 6-8 times a day inside the pen, 2-3 minutes each time, so that the flock gets appropriate exercise. Laying ducks are very sensitive to environmental changes; after being startled, they easily develop crowding, flapping, screaming and other restless phenomena, leading to reduced laying or soft-shelled eggs. If the flock is startled, the keeper should immediately call to the flock so that it calms down as quickly as possible.

Winter management. The suitable temperature inside the duck house is 10-20 degrees C. Below 0 degrees C, the laying rate of ducks drops substantially; when the temperature rises above 28 degrees C, the flock's feed intake decreases, and if heat prevention and cooling work is not done well, the ducks will stop laying and molt. In winter, to reduce heat loss from the duck house and prevent invasion by cold north winds, the north-facing windows can be sealed with bricks and mud. In cold regions, heating equipment should be installed inside the duck house in winter to raise the house temperature; when feeding, give warm water and warm feed, and appropriately raise the energy level in the laying duck daily ration, increase fresh feed and green feed, to ensure the nutritional needs of laying. In addition, the time the flock stays in the exercise yard should be reduced.

Reasonable lighting. To prevent disturbance and rodent damage and to let laying ducks rest and lay better at night, lighting equipment must be provided. Each duck house should be equipped with 6 electric lamps of 40-60 watts for nighttime lighting, but the light intensity should be roughly the same; too bright or too dark will make the flock restless, and an illuminance of 3-3.5 watts per sq m is required. Turn on the lights in the morning and evening so that artificial light connects with daylight, maintaining 14-16 hours per day. Supplemental lighting time must not be suddenly long or short, or turned on and off intermittently; otherwise, adverse consequences will result. In cold winter, after artificial supplemental lighting is implemented, as long as nutrition is strengthened at the same time and warmth is attended to, ducks can likewise achieve a considerable laying rate.

?Artificial Forced Molting

The complete natural molting process of laying ducks takes 3-4 months. To shorten the molting and laying-rest period, reduce feeding costs, and improve the laying rate and hatching-egg quality, female ducks must be subjected to artificial forced molting.

Methods of forced molting. When the laying rate of female ducks drops to 20-30%, and the primary wing feathers of some female ducks have begun to fall off, forced molting can be carried out. On the 1st day, the flock is changed from grazing to confinement; those originally confined are changed to house feeding, bathing in water is stopped, and nighttime lighting is stopped; on the 2nd day, concentrate feed is halved and animal-based feed is stopped; on the 3rd day, feed reduction continues and grain feed is stopped, to promote cessation of laying and molting; on the 4th day, drinking water is stopped; on the 5th day, in the early morning or at dusk, use the hands to quickly pull out the primary wing feathers and tail feathers that have not yet fallen off; if they are easy to pull out and the feather roots are already dry and withered with no bleeding, they can be pulled out one by one and all removed in one go; otherwise, they should be pulled again after 2-3 days.

Feeding management during molting. Before forced molting, first conduct an individual nutrition and health survey of the flock, and promptly cull sick, weak, thin and small ducks, so as to avoid excessive deaths and unnecessary economic losses during artificial forced molting. Second, 1-2 weeks before artificial forced molting, give booster vaccinations against duck plague, fowl cholera and other vaccines to flocks that have not received various epidemic-prevention injections, and carry out deworming and delousing, so as to adapt to the stress caused by artificial forced molting and maintain the health of the flock for the next laying year. During the molting period, apart from partial or complete restriction of drinking water and food for the first 5-10 days, normal feed and water supply should then be restored, especially animal protein feeds rich in sulfur-containing amino acids such as methionine and cystine, such as fish meal and feather meal. In addition, some vitamins and commonly used trace elements should be added to the daily ration, especially appropriate supplementation of minerals rich in calcium. However, the calcium content in the daily ration should be 70%-80% lower than during the laying period; about 0.8% calcium in the daily ration is sufficient. During the molting period, males and females should be raised separately, and feeding management and disease prevention should be strengthened separately.