Detailed Explanation of Common Technical Points for Duck Brooding
In the process of duck farming, farmers generally use three brooding methods: floor brooding, wire-net brooding, and multi-tier cage brooding. Below we briefly introduce these three methods.
Floor Brooding
Floor brooding involves spreading a 5 cm thick layer of soft litter on the floor of the brooding house and raising the ducklings directly on the litter, using underground (or above-ground) heating pipes, coal stoves, brooder umbrellas, or infrared bulbs to raise the temperature inside the brooding house. This method is simple and easy to carry out and requires low investment, but the utilization rate of the building is low, and since the ducklings are in direct contact with droppings, their feathers become dirty and they are prone to disease infection.
Wire-Net Brooding
Wire-net brooding refers to setting up metal netting, plastic netting, or bamboo or wooden slats 30—80 cm above the ground inside the brooding house and raising the ducklings on the netting, with droppings falling through the mesh or gaps between the slats onto the ground. With this method, the ducklings do not come into contact with the ground, so the chance of disease infection is reduced, the utilization rate of the building is more than doubled compared with floor rearing, labor productivity is improved, and a large amount of litter is saved; the drawback is that the one-time investment is relatively large.
Multi-Tier Cage Brooding
Multi-tier cage brooding refers to raising ducklings in specially made multi-tier metal cages or bamboo cages. This brooding method makes more effective use of building space and heat than flat-floor brooding. It has the advantages of wire-net brooding and can also improve labor productivity; its drawback is likewise the relatively large investment. At present, commercial meat ducks are mostly raised using wire-net brooding or multi-tier cage brooding, while meat-type breeding ducks are generally raised using floor brooding or wire-net brooding.