How to raise ducks well in winter? Breeding techniques and management key points
Cold protection: The egg production of ducks is closely related to temperature. When the temperature is below 0°C, duck egg production drops sharply. To keep laying ducks at a relatively high egg production rate in winter, the temperature inside the shed should preferably be no lower than 6°C. Therefore, heating equipment should be added inside the shed. In addition, the bedding straw in the shed should be changed frequently, and laying ducks must not be allowed to spend the winter in damp, cold places.
Free-range management: In winter, laying ducks should be let out of the shed every day according to the weather so they can forage freely, play in the water and move around. However, when free-ranging, a sheltered spot must be chosen for grazing to prevent the ducks' feathers from being blown apart by the wind and becoming wet and chilled. At the same time, when the laying ducks are going to enter the water, they must first move on dry land for half an hour before being allowed into the water, to prevent the ducks from getting cramps after entering the water because it is too cold.
Supplementary lighting: Because winter has short days and long nights, artificial supplementary lighting should be provided for laying duck flocks whose peak laying period is scheduled in winter. Generally, a 60-watt light bulb with a lampshade can be hung about 2 m above the ground inside the shed, one for about every 30 sq m.
How to supplement feed to laying ducks in the early laying period
In grazing areas with relatively good wild feed conditions, after one supplementary feeding, the ducks' new feathers grow very quickly, their body condition improves, the yolk enlarges, and some ducks become more active in behavior, often leaving the flock to forage, and foraging for longer periods. If the feed in the grazing area is not abundant, the flock sometimes calls out loudly together, and additional feeding is necessary.
During the period when ducks are building up manure, in grazing areas with poor wild feed, they should be fed two meals, and the second supplementary feeding is usually at noon, feeding them as fully as at breakfast. After the second supplementary feeding, if a cold wave strikes, the flock will again call out in groups. In order to prevent a decline in the flock's body condition and egg production rate, a third meal should be added. Generally, the morning meal is fed from 6:00 to 6:30, the midday meal at noon, and the evening meal at night. Under normal circumstances, when the egg production rate reaches 20%-30%, use Luan Yan Kuai Zhi or Luan Yan Kang once to eliminate salpingitis. Only when the egg production rate reaches 50% should they be fed four meals a day. This has a significant effect on increasing the flock's egg production rate, can increase the daily egg number by more than 10%, and within three or four days the egg production rate can reach 80%-90%.