Spring ducklings suffer few diseases and are easy to keep alive: key points for brooding spring meat ducks

    Raising ducklings in spring means fewer diseases, easy survival, fast growth and easy management, making it the most suitable brooding season of the year. The following points must be mastered when brooding spring meat ducks.

Ducklings

    1. Avoid sudden changes between cold and heat.Spring weather is changeable, so keep the brooding period warm. Never let the temperature swing sharply up and down. The suitable temperatures for ducklings are: 30°C at 1-3 days of age, 25°C at 4-7 days of age, and normal-temperature rearing after 3 weeks of age.

    2. Give water before feed.After ducklings hatch for 24 hours, give water first, then feed, and add an appropriate amount of vitamin C and glucose to the first water to help cleanse the digestive tract and promote the passage of meconium. Provide nutrition: after drinking, ducklings show signs of wanting to eat. At first, scatter half-cooked rice on a clean mat and let the ducklings peck freely, feeding them to about 70-80% full each time, 6-8 times a day; after 1 week of age, feed 4-6 times a day; after 3 weeks of age, feed 3-5 times a day. At the same time, appropriately add some fish, shrimp, earthworms, loach, etc., chop them and mix them into the feed; they can also be simmered into a soup paste and mixed into the feed.

    3. Maintain suitable density.Stocking density is related to the air in the brooding room and the health of the duck flock. Divide the flock in good time and strictly prevent piling up. Suitable density of ducklings per square meter: 25-30 within 1 week of age, 15-20 at 2 weeks of age, and 5-7 at 3 weeks of age and above. Large-scale duck farms (households) can divide ducks into several small groups according to size, strength and age, with 200-300 per group being suitable, and adjust once a week.

    4. Supplement light reasonably.Provide all-day light within 3 days of age; after 4 days of age, gradually reduce night lighting time and transition to rearing under natural light.

    5. Train them to enter water and graze.For ducklings raised on the ground, start training them to enter water at 5 days of age. Spread a plastic film outdoors, raise the edges, pour clear water in the middle to a depth of about 2 cm (the water temperature should not be too low), and put the ducklings in. At first, let the ducks enter water 1-2 times a day for about 5 minutes each time; after one week, increase to 3-4 times a day, 5-10 minutes each time, gradually extending the time. After each time out of the water, let the ducklings preen their feathers in a windless, warm place, and after the feathers are dry, drive them back into the house. Once the ducklings can freely enter water, they can be trained to graze near the duck house. Start with 20-30 minutes each time, then slowly extend it, but do not exceed 2 hours each time; grazing once in the morning and once in the afternoon each day is suitable.

    6. Pay attention to hygiene and epidemic prevention.After ducklings reach 1 week of age, vaccinate against duck plague and fowl cholera; at 10-20 days of age, inject duck viral hepatitis serum once; at 60 days of age, carry out another duck plague vaccine immunization.