Detailed explanation of fermented bed duck raising methods and technical key points

Fermented bed duck raising technology respects the rights and freedom of ducks, and according to the growth patterns of ducks, provides a good duck house with ample sunlight, good ventilation, no odor, and no flies. Starting from ducklings, appropriately feed brown rice, bamboo leaves, green grass and other roughage to promote gastrointestinal development, improve digestive and absorptive capacity, increase feed utilization rate, lower feed costs, increase weight gain speed, and extend the egg-laying years. Duck raisers should make full use of or prepare various nutrient agents, fermentation agents, and biological disinfectants, etc. This is an environmentally friendly new agricultural technology that satisfies the nutrition ducks need, prevents various diseases, maintains the healthy constitution of ducks, and provides humans with pollution-free eggs and meat.

I. Duck house construction

Choose a high-lying, quiet place far from roads to build a fermented bed duck farm. For the fermented bed duck house, the ground and the soil are connected, and straw should be spread on the ground. The fermented bed duck house, while maximizing the use of natural resources, also safeguards the physiological ecological environment of the ducks living inside the duck house. All facilities and utensils are designed according to the shape, habits, and senses of ducks, and the basic rights of ducks to survive are fully respected. A structure suitable for freedom and equality should be adopted. The ducks can move freely, and without human interference, they can fully express their natural instincts and grow healthily without worries.

Duck house structure for use in the south

According to the climate characteristics of various regions in China, the fermented bed duck house design drawings are divided into those for use in the south and those for use in the north.

The duck house faces due south, tilted slightly toward the east by 8 degrees. Low walls of about one meter are set on the north and south sides, and a high wall of about three meters is on the east side. Skylights are installed on the roof and can be moved open, or the entire south side of the roof can be made into a roof surface with transparent plastic material. The space is broad. One double-layer duck cage with an area of 10.5 m x 5.5 m = 57.75 sq m can house 624 ducks. The lower 2/3 of the south roof can be covered with galvanized sheets or plastic panels, and the upper 1/3 of the south roof is best left open year-round, covered with a movable roof or canvas, etc. during rain, snow, or heavy fog. Canvas can be used instead of part of the walls on the north and south sides of the duck house, and automatic openers and closers should be used when ventilation is needed. The height of the vents should be adjusted at any time according to the temperature. Because the above-ground structure of the duck house maintains a ratio of 2/3 shady side to 1/3 sunny side, it provides the most suitable habitat for microorganisms. Because the canopy is covered with galvanized sheets, which conduct heat relatively quickly, air convection can be formed, allowing cool breeze to flow into the duck house. The cool breeze brings fresh air to the ducks, allows the moisture on the bed surface to evaporate moderately, and keeps the bed surface dry at all times. Because some sand, soil, and pine needle powder, etc. are placed on the east and west sides above the bed surface, the ducks can fully absorb various mineral trace elements, etc. from the sand, soil, and pine needle powder.

Duck house structure for use in the north

The suitable temperature range for local ducks is 5-28 degrees, the suitable temperature for egg laying is 12 to 22 degrees, and the egg production rate is highest when the temperature inside the house is 13 to 18 degrees. In northern regions, the temperature required by laying ducks must be considered. The suitable growth temperature for meat ducks is 4-30, and the optimal growth temperature is 12-20 degrees. In cold regions, the entire north-side roof should use insulation material instead of galvanized sheets. And the south-side duck house structure should be changed to a vegetable greenhouse model, with a layer of plastic panels or solar panels fixed from the roof to the ground, absorbing more solar heat during the day, and at night covering the plastic panels with straw curtains or insulation quilts for warmth. Brick walls can be built on the east, west, and north sides, with a thickness of about 35 cm. Ventilation openings should be installed above the foundation of the north wall (90 cm long x 60 cm high), with more than three per room. It is advisable for the ventilation openings to be more than 1.5 m above the ducks' heads. When the temperature drops sharply and cold-proof and warmth-preserving work cannot keep up, meat ducks are often prone to externally contracted wind-cold, developing respiratory diseases characterized by symptoms such as coughing, sneezing, and difficulty breathing.

At the skylight positions, ventilation windows can all be installed. In spring, summer, and autumn, they should be opened as much as possible during the day, and closed at night when the temperature is low, to ensure a constant indoor temperature. In winter, the skylights should be opened during the day for ventilation, and closed at night for warmth preservation.

In addition, when laying the foundation, place insulation boards (about 5 cm thick) on the outer side of the foundation and then push soil inward. This prevents the soil layer from freezing inward in winter.

⟧ Two large greenhouse-style fermented bed duck sheds can first be designed as a dry-raising technology. The ducks remain on the fermented bed for life. Generally, a drinking water trough is designed 1 m outside the fermented bed, and the drinking water trough is also a place for the ducks to clean their bodies. The trick in designing the distance from the fermented bed surface to the drinking water trough is: when the ducks go from the bedding material to the drinking water trough, they must first pass through a slight upward slope 10 cm high. After the upward slope is a downward slope outward, and the length of this slope is about 100 cm before reaching the drinking water trough. The purpose of this design is that because ducks like to play in water and need an appropriate amount of exercise, if the drinking water trough is placed on or above the bedding material, the ducks will let a large amount of water flow onto the bedding material while playing in the water, which easily affects the normal decomposition and transformation of manure and urine by the fermented bed. The current design, however, places the drinking water trough about 1 m away from the bedding material, so after the ducks drink and play in the water, the water will not flow into the bedding material along this one-meter upward slope.