The Bashkir duck is a meat and egg breed, which, thanks to good productivity indicators, is highly valued in agriculture. Poultry is ideal for breeding, gives delicious meat and large eggs. The duck is unpretentious in nutrition, quickly gaining weight, so it becomes the favorite of many breeders. Attracts and its decorative appearance.
Origin history
The first Bashkir ducks accidentally appeared in 2001. Breeders of the Blagovarsky breeding plant in Bashkortostan tried to increase the productivity indicators of white Peking ducks. During the selection, chicks with dark feathers appeared, although their yellow color was originally expected.
Cubs were grown separately, grew up by real beauties. A random mutation in the offspring of "Peking" was officially fixed. Later, Bashkir ducks were distributed outside the region.
There are 2 main colors of ducks - black-breasted and khaki. The productivity of the first is an order of magnitude higher. Both birds are excellent for breeding in agriculture, for many breeders have become the main source of income.
The white Peking breed from which the Bashkir duck originated
Bashkir black white-breasted duck
Bashkir ducks khaki coloring
Characteristic features of the breed
The Bashkir ducks have a massive physique, colorful plumage and powerful legs. Representatives of khaki have gray-brown wings with white spots. Black-breasted duck - with dark feathers and a light breast.
The color of the birds is uneven. Saturated color is more focused on the back. In the area of the wings and lower limbs 1-3 tones lighter. By the color of the plumage, poultry is close to relatives from the wild, attracted by its decorative appearance.
Appearance
Bashkir ducks have a strong constitution, spreading wings that fit snugly against the hull. The ability to fly gives expression to the keel, the chest is squeezed forward significantly.
Light orange legs are massive and shortened, set wide. The gait of the bird is slow, rolling from side to side. One gets the impression that the Bashkir duck is never in a hurry.
The ducks head is flattened, the neck is shortened, but gracefully arched forward. The orange (ocher) beak is concave, for the convenience of capturing plant food on top there is a characteristic outgrowth.
There are no nerve endings in the lower extremities of ducks, which helps birds move on any surface without any discomfort.
Breed productivity
Adult males weigh 4 kg, females - not more than 3.5 kg. Ducks give dietary meat, where 100 g of the product contains only 2-4% fat. The output is 70% of the net weight. The meat is tasty and healthy, contains vitamin A and Omega-3 polyunsaturated fatty acids.
Born ducklings quickly gain weight. At the age of one month they reach 3.3 kg, which makes them attractive to many breeders. Meat is in demand not only in diet composition, but also in the absence of a specific smell.
Poultry have a high egg production. Khaki ducks carry 210-250 eggs a year, with black and white-breasted colors - 230-270 eggs. Each mass is 70-80 g, calorie content 185 Kcal per 100 g of product.
How to distinguish gender
Each breeder must distinguish ducks by sex, in order to fatten males for meat, and use females for egg production. Poultry differ in appearance, behavior, and habits.
Drains are noticeably larger, attractive in appearance. They have a deep blue head, feathers with a green (olive) tint, and the beak is bright orange. A characteristic feature of males is a white rim on the neck, a bright blue stripe on the wings.
Females are less attractive in appearance. They have feathers of light brown color with white spots along the entire body and on the head. The color is monotonous, the beak is gray-brown.
Other distinctive features of drakes and ducks in addition to external data:
- Males are especially active and pugnacious, while females behave calmly and calmly.
- Drakes always go behind the ducks, as if letting them go forward.
- Males do not know how to quack; any emotions express a characteristic hiss.
- In drakes, the feathers on the tail are twisted, in ducks - directly sticking out.
We offer you to watch a video where a novice Bashkir duck breeder will tell you how to distinguish a drake from a duck:
Varieties
There are several varieties of Bashkir ducks. Classification signs are the color of plumage, annual egg production.
Description of species:
- Blue. Productivity indicator - 130 eggs in 6 months.
- Gray. Weight - 3.5 kg, egg production - 115 eggs in 6 months.
- White. Ducks weigh 3.5 kg and carry 100 eggs in six months.
Conditions of detention
Bashkir ducks live in cages and pens, quickly adapt to new conditions. Under comfortable conditions, the indicator of egg production, meat productivity increases. A prerequisite is to maintain a constant temperature in the caddy, especially in winter. Poultry do not tolerate drafts, they need constant access to water.
Ducks do not need an artificial or natural pond to swim regularly. Water is necessary for wetting and cleaning feathers and drinking. Wings of birds do not get wet after bathing.
Feeding the Bashkir duck
Poultry unpretentious in food. They have a shortened stomach, an accelerated metabolism, so meals should be three times a day. 2-3 kg of feed is needed per 1 kg of growth. By 2-3 months, birds weigh 2.5-3 kg and are ready for slaughter.
The basis of the diet is a grain mixture, silage, hay, dried grass, chopped vegetables, boiled root crops. To avoid vitamin deficiency include in the menu compound feed, mineral supplements. Mandatory presence of crushed chalk, gravel or sand.
From bread, birds quickly gain weight, so give it to the Bashkir ducks in small quantities, especially before slaughter.
Be sure to control birds' access to water. During the day, the duck drinks up to 2 liters. The water should be fresh, regularly refresh drinking bowls. If mold or algae develops, clean and sanitize them.
The bird needs a mode:
- before lunch - wet cereal mixes, compound feed;
- after lunch - dry food, silage and hay.
Each time, give the ducks a fresh serving of food. Stagnant and soured feeds cause digestive problems, dysbiosis, intestinal infections, can lead to the death of poultry.
About the rules for feeding ducks at home, read here.
Home Improvement
When arranging a house, avoid moisture and drafts. Install the structure at a height of 0.3 m above the ground. So the floor in the house will be warmer, and rodents and harmful insects will not get to poultry.
Basic requirements for the housing of Bashkir ducks:
- Install nests away from the entrance, since the bird is very afraid of drafts, it often gets sick.
- For the manufacture of nests, use wooden crates and boxes, discard plastic structures.
- Set the feeders in the poultry yard, otherwise sloppy ducks sprinkle food indoors. In this case, damp agitators become moldy and can cause illness in the house.
- To prevent the ducks from spilling water, firmly fix the drinkers. Make sure each bird has a separate drinking container.
- For high fertility, adjust the lighting. For the premises of 10 square meters. m necessary power - 50 watts. For high egg production, daylight hours should be 14 hours.
- Ensure high-quality ventilation of the room, otherwise with stale air bacteria multiply, the fertility of ducks decreases.
Care Features
Clean the house daily. In a dirty room, birds often get sick. Each time, give the ducks a fresh portion of food, update the drinkers. Cleanliness is the key to the health and fertility of poultry.
Set up a fodder enclosure near the house. Inoculate it with clover and alfalfa; nearby, organize an artificial pond with fresh grass on the shore. Graze birds daily so that they gain weight faster.
In winter, lay a bed of straw, sawdust or peat on the floor so that the birds do not freeze. Watch the cleanliness and dryness of the litter, otherwise the Bashkir duck becomes lethargic, eats poorly, often gets sick.
Home breeding
To get hatching eggs, 3-4 ducks per 1 drake. With more females, the eggs remain unfertilized. When mating vapors in water, productivity indicators increase.
If the drake is large, 2-3 ducks are enough for mating.
The eggs of different laying ducks are different in size, they are the same for one female. The appearance of the breed determines the quality of the breed. Small eggs are not used for the incubator, and the laying hen is considered defective.
Incubator or mother hen
Breeders argue that eggs are best left under layers. The Bashkir ducks have a well-developed maternal instinct, but it all depends on the mood of the bird. Suddenly, laying hens can get up from the nest and the eggs freeze. To prevent this from happening, a duck of another breed with a developed maternal instinct is taken.
The number of eggs laid depends on the size of the laying hen, ranging from 10 to 17 pieces. Do not use the chicken for perching, as it hatches eggs for 21 days and ducks for 28 days. The chicken leaves the nest ahead of schedule, and the duck eggs freeze without hatching. Turkeys are also not suitable for perch.
General recommendations when using an incubator:
- For laying use 5-day eggs.
- Keep them at a temperature of 9-13 degrees, regularly turn over.
- Sift eggs with chipped, deformed shells.
- For disinfection, treat them with a light pink solution of potassium permanganate.
- Put in the incubator, set the temperature to 38 degrees, humidity - 70%.
- In the second week, reduce humidity to 60%, temperature - to 37.8 degrees.
- Turn eggs every 3-4 hours.
- From 15 to 25 day 2 times a day, open the incubator for 10-20 minutes.
If you are new to duck incubation, then read our other article.
Secrets of growing young animals
After hatching, the ducklings are in a specially prepared room with constant lighting and a temperature of 30 degrees. The first 5 days they adapt to new living conditions, so the temperature regime must not be violated. In the third week, the optimum temperature is 22 degrees, in the fourth - 18-20 degrees.
If the ducklings drink a lot, are listless, keep their wings open, and keep their mouth ajar, lower the temperature in the room. Same thing with lighting. The first 7 days are round-the-clock, then each light day is reduced by 1 hour to the norm of an adult - 9 hours.
Ventilate the house daily (but do not create drafts), maintain a humidity level of 60-75%. Check the dryness and cleanliness of the litter, change it once every 2 days. As it gets dirty, more often.
At the age of 2 weeks, let the chicks out into the fresh air. Make sure that large animals do not enter the area. Provide shady and sunny areas in the enclosure so that the birds do not overheat or freeze. Release the young animals to adults when the whole body is covered with feathers.
Feeding ducklings
Young growth is unpretentious in food. The daily diet is not much different from the nutrition of adults. The menu includes crops, fodder yeast, alfalfa, fishmeal, chopped dandelions and clover.
To strengthen the immunity of young animals, add food waste, boiled potatoes, tops of carrots and beets, cabbage leaves to the menu. As you grow older, increase portions of crops, pre-crush into crumbs.
Be sure to include vitamins and valuable trace elements in your daily diet. Otherwise, the skeleton of the bird weakens even in 3-4 months (fall to the legs), and with a deficiency of amino acids feathers come out in shreds. The food should always be fresh, and the water in the drinkers should be clean.
The Bashkir duck reaches puberty by 2-2.5 months. After that, it noticeably loses weight and molts, which complicates the processing of carcasses (black stumps remain on it).
Diseases
Bashkir ducks have stable immunity. If you follow the rules of care and feeding, you can not worry about the health of birds. Poultry also get sick.
List of common diagnoses:
- Avitaminosis. The disease is associated with a deficiency of vitamins and minerals. The plumage thins, the ducks become lethargic, eat poorly, and do not gain weight.
- Cloacite. Inflammation of the mucosa of the cloaca against the background of a deficiency of vitamins A, E and D, trace elements.
- Oviduct prolapse. Severe diarrhea is replaced by prolonged constipation, digestion is disturbed.
Infectious diseases in the poultry yard should also be feared:
- Aspergillosis. Fungal disease. Most infected ducklings die, and the clinical outcome for adults is favorable.
- Bacillary white diarrhea. This is Salmonella infection. More often, newborn ducklings get sick, die 3 days after infection.
- Rhinitis. Runny nose infects the entire school, quickly transmitted from sick ducks to healthy ones.
- Typhoid Disease of adults, ducklings are extremely rare. Breeders isolate infected birds, slaughter.
- Viral hepatitis. Ducklings are prone to illness up to 2 weeks of life. Infection occurs from a sick individual - through feces, food and water.
- Coccidiosis The disease develops if the rules for keeping ducks are not observed, it is especially dangerous for babies up to 2 weeks of age.
Read more about common duck diseases here.
Disease prevention
Despite the strong immunity, it can also fail. To maintain duck health and stock numbers, follow these preventative measures:
- Disinfect the room before settling the ducklings.
- Provide dry, clean and fresh litter.
- Prevent vaccination of ducks by age.
- Relocate the sick duck in a timely manner, otherwise it will infect the entire jamb.
- Control the freshness of feed and drink, introduce new food ingredients by age.
Advantages and disadvantages
Many breeders use the breed of Bashkir ducks for breeding, and there is a reasonable explanation for this. Main advantages:
- high yield of hatching eggs;
- stable immunity;
- unpretentiousness in food;
- resistance to low temperatures;
- quick acclimatization;
- increased stamina;
- stress resistance;
- excellent reproductive qualities;
- diet meat, large eggs;
- decorative appearance of drakes;
- fast growth, weight gain.
Like other birds in the poultry yard, the Bashkir ducks also have their drawbacks:
- loudness;
- increased appetite;
- low maternal instinct;
- obesity against the background of gluttony;
- dysbiosis with poor-quality drinking;
- poor cold tolerance.
Watch the video from which you will find out whether it is worth getting and growing Bashkir ducks:
Reviews about Bashkir ducks
Elena, 42 years old, farmer, Krasnodar Territory. Bashkir ducks give dietary meat and large eggs. The breed is very successful, because it is unpretentious in food and has good immunity. In the summer I let go of the ducks to graze, and they all day seek food for themselves. She deliberately fenced off small bets, and they travel along the coast or bathe in the water. Ducklings are large, and by the age of 2 months they are ready for slaughter. If the male is killed 4 kg, the output is 3 kg of pure meat, not less. Compared to other breeds, these are good indicators.
Alexey, 46 years old, breeder, Kerch. I have several Bashkir ducks in the poultry yard. In general, there is a benefit from them, but there are many concerns. For example, drakes are very aggressive, often enter into a skirmish with males of other breeds.By themselves, the ducks are noisy, as if forever unsatisfied with something. There are no complaints regarding productivity indicators. Dietary meat, up to 70% in output. The eggs are large and very healthy. I use part of it at home, part of it goes for sale. There are always buyers, there are no problems with feeding either in winter or in summer.
Eugene, 37 years old, housewife, Izhevsk. I have many different ducks living in the poultry yard, but the Bashkir ones are my favorite. There is never a problem with them. Graze on their own, find food, never get lost, stick together. There is water - well, they will bathe. No water is also not a problem. The main thing is that the drinkers are full. Maternal instinct is well developed. We even had ducklings several times. Of course, young animals have to tinker with, but he quickly grows up and is ready for slaughter. The meat is tasty, the eggs are more chicken.
Hide
Add your review
Bashkir ducks are a meat-and-egg breed with good fertility. When choosing such birds, it is important to take care of the house, artificial pond and proper nutrition. In this case, the birds do not get sick, gain weight well, after slaughter you can get up to 70% of fresh meat. In the presence of an incubator, egg production is high.