How to Raise Ducks? Key Technical Points Explained

Stocking time. According to the feed resources in the orchard, orchard@#@231@#@is divided into a period dominated by free-range stocking and a period dominated by confinement rearing. The most suitable stocking period is the peak season for the reproduction and growth of plants and animals in the orchard, generally from mid-April (after Qingming and before Guyu) to the end of October. At this time, the forage grass in the orchard grows luxuriantly, and there is plenty of residual byproduct from the fruit trees; the ducks can feed on various kinds of green grass, wild vegetables, and fallen flowers, leaves, and fruit as plant-based feed, as well as various insect eggs, pupae, crawling insects, and near-surface flying insects as animal-based feed. Adult ducks can be stocked year-round.

Site selection. Ducks move clumsily and cannot climb trees to peck for food, which provides a guarantee for low-fence grazing in orchards. Any orchard with good soil and water source conditions, and with tall trunks or old trees, such as apple, pear, apricot, hawthorn, persimmon, and walnut orchards, can be used for stocking. Stocked ducks can play a role in controlling weeds, and duck manure can provide a high-quality fertilizer source for the fruit trees. This is an effective measure for transforming orchards that are overgrown with weeds, extensively managed, seriously affected by pests, and either not bearing fruit at the proper age or low-yielding and low-efficiency into high-quality, high-efficiency orchards.

Shed construction. Orchard stocking is a new technology based on confinement rearing, and sheds are likewise needed for evening supplementary feeding, drinking water, and egg laying. Adapting to local conditions, plastic greenhouse duck sheds can be built by methods such as making use of hillsides and cliffs or renovating old buildings, without being far from the stocking orchard. The shed building area should be calculated at 6-7 ducks per sq m, and a certain activity area should be fenced off in front of the shed, with feed troughs and drinking water troughs placed within the area.