A duck is a waterfowl, its body needs a special diet. Modern feeds do an excellent job of this task. They possess all the necessary nutrients and vitamins for the poultry. However, there are several subtleties in organizing a duck nutrition plan that need to be considered.
Types of feed for domestic ducks
In order for the duck to receive all the necessary set of nutritious and beneficial microelements, it needs to add enough protein and carbohydrates to its food. If a wild duck satisfies its need for proteins by eating worms and larvae, then poultry needs additional feeding.
Carbohydrates, which allow the bird to maintain vitality and good immunity, the domestic duck receives when using various compound feeds, which can conditionally be divided into:
- cereal feed and waste from agricultural processed raw materials;
- roots;
- animal feed;
- vitamin and mineral feed.
Cereal feed
Cereals from cereals can be whole or crushed and represent the basis of the calorie diet of domestic duck. It is well digestible and allows the bird to get enough. Cereals from barley, corn, oats and millet contain up to 70% starch and 12% pure protein. The remainder is minerals and fat.
Waste from agricultural raw materials ducks use in the form of meal, cake or bran. The presence of potassium and magnesium in their composition allows you to positively affect the bone system of the bird.
Root crops and succulent feed
In addition to feed, it is necessary to periodically add root crops to the diet of domestic ducks. Be sure to have carrots, potatoes, beets, pumpkin pulp and a small amount of swede. Before feeding the birds, potatoes and beets must be boiled. Boiled vegetables must be mashed and mixed with chopped cereal feed.
Carrots, pumpkin pulp and rutabaga can be served fresh. As a rule, a vegetable diet is especially relevant in the summer. It is recommended to periodically release poultry to the pond, where they can enjoy plenty of aquatic plants and algae, which are the main source of energy.
Animal feed
It is no secret that the wild duck does not disdain to eat small fish and insects. Consequently, home-grown poultry need complementary foods of animal origin. The solution to this problem will be fishmeal. The composition of this product is almost identical to the composition of fish, in addition, it has additionally added vitamins in the form of calcium and phosphorus.
It is necessary to strictly monitor how much of this feed is introduced into the diet. The optimal norm is 7% of the total mass of food given. An alternative to fish is meat and bone meal. It is not so rich in vitamins, but it will serve as an excellent lure and a source of carbohydrates.
Yeast in the diet of ducks
Baking or brewer's yeast, the composition of which is rich in vitamin B, is added to the diet for domestic ducks. It is permissible to add both dry and raw yeast to food. However, brewer's yeast is recommended to be fed only to birds that have reached the age of ten days. While baker's yeast can be introduced into the diet from birth.
Vitamin feed and mineral nutrition
This type of feed is aimed at obtaining minerals and carotene, necessary to maintain the work of internal organs and the proper development of the bird's body. Plants such as clover, nettle, cabbage, quinoa, carrot tops can be safely added to the diet of domestic duck.
As a rule, vitamin feed is given to ducks in an unprocessed form. It is recommended only to finely chop the greens and mix with another feed. Egg shells, which contain a large percentage of calcium, are used as a mineral supplement. The shell is carefully ground and mixed in the main feed of domestic duck.
What can not be fed ducks?
Despite the general misconception, ducks are not recommended to eat bread, especially in large quantities. In no case should you feed homemade ducks raw bread, especially with mold. Such food causes poultry dysbiosis and upset gastrointestinal tract. Serve it only in the form of crackers and in moderation.
Care must be taken by the bird to consume vegetables such as cucumber and zucchini. Their excessive use provokes the elimination of calcium. You should completely abandon the idea of feeding ducks with potato peelings, watermelon and other fruit peels. Perhaps, only the chicken’s organism, but not the duck’s, can cope with such a dense food.
What to feed at different times of the year?
In winter
Feeding domestic ducks in the winter is limited to three meals. This is quite enough, because in cold weather, ducks rarely appear on the street, and, accordingly, do not have the ability to lose “eaten” kilograms.
In the first and second meals, it is advisable to feed the birds a wet mash, which includes pre-boiled crops, vegetables, oilcake, as well as mineral and protein supplements.
By evening it is advisable to feed the ducks with grain feed. Since it is well absorbed and digested for a long time, the birds will sleep peacefully all night. Due to hunger, birds sometimes begin to eat hay, which is used as bedding.
In spring and summer
Provided that the ducks have to regularly be in the pen, and there is no possibility to walk freely, feeding is recommended at least four times a day. The first two meals consist of the aforementioned wet mash, the remaining - from dry feed and cereal crops. During the entire warm season, it is recommended to monitor the sufficient consumption by ducks of fresh root crops and greens.
Diet for increasing duck egg production
Good oviposition in domestic duck requires a certain diet. During the laying period, the bird needs to increase the intake of minerals and calcium. Every day, a layer should drink about one liter of water. And excessively wet food is not recommended.
Feed the bird during this period should be no more than four times a day with any feed, but with the addition of a yeast solution. To prepare it, it is necessary to dissolve the yeast in warm water, calculated at twenty grams per liter of liquid. Mix the resulting solution with the main feed.
Diet for domestic meat-grown ducks
Fattening duck for meat is carried out within two and a half months from the moment of its birth. At first, kids with appetite gobble up boiled eggs and cottage cheese with a minimum amount of fat. It is worth paying attention to the choice of products, since the duckling’s stomach is gentle and sensitive.
Before slaughter, in about fifteen days, a diet with a high protein content is introduced into the diet. It can be legumes, cottage cheese, potatoes and so on. When fattening from the diet exclude fish products and limit the physical activity of the bird.
Features of feeding ducks at different ages
A balanced diet helps the young body of a duckling to develop correctly, and therefore it is so important to pay attention to the preparation of his diet. First of all, what is worth focusing on is the age of the chick and the conditions of its maintenance. The fast-growing organism of a duckling requires adjusting the nutrition given, which will make up for the deficiency in the body of vitamins and minerals.
First 10 days
In the first hours after birth, the ducks are fed at least 6-7 times a day in small portions. The first seven days, it is necessary to provide the growing organism of the chick with protein. To do this, it is advisable to cook a mash of low-fat cottage cheese, milk and eggs. There must be grass, for example, nettle leaves, clover and dandelion. If the duckling has poor appetite, it is recommended to drink it with a weak manganese solution.
11 to 30 day
During this period, it is permissible to introduce cereal and cereal feed into the diet of poultry. They are subject to excellent assimilation (up to 90%) and allow you to cover the daily norm in protein. There is an increased need for mineral supplements. Therefore, chalk crumbs, fish and bone meal, eggshells are introduced into the diet, which are carefully mixed in equal proportions and added to the main feed.
From 31 to 50 day
The so-called young animals continue to be fed with grain and crushed feed. It is also necessary to provide the poultry with open access to the pond. An evening meal should be much more satisfying than two morning meals. This will provide the young chicks with a healthy sleep, they will not wake up from the hunger that torments them.
How to cook mixed feed yourself? Recipe
Preparing feed for domestic ducks is a great way not only to save money, but also to be sure of the quality of the product. Of the ingredients you need to get:
- cornmeal;
- wheat bran;
- greens (nettle leaves, clover, alfalfa, willow leaves).
It is recommended to prepare such a volume of compound feed that birds can eat during the day. This is due to the fact that the expiration date is fleeting, and the composition of the product begins to deteriorate quickly.
First of all, you need a capacity of 10 liters. The chopped greens are poured with boiling water and left to cool for 30 minutes. Then 0.5 kilograms of cornmeal and 1 kilogram of wheat bran are mixed with the mass. The resulting mass is thoroughly mixed. The result should be a dense and dense mass.
You can see the preparation of duck food in the video below:
Duck Water
The presence of clean drinking water in the diet of domestic duck is one of the main conditions for its proper and active development. The temperature regime should not be less than 20 degrees. The drinker should be picked up with high sides so that the birds do not have the temptation to get into it. Otherwise, the water will quickly become dirty. It is also not recommended to place the drinker next to the feeder.
It is recommended to add a small amount of potassium permanganate to the liquid in order to prevent the propagation of harmful microorganisms in the tank. If there are ducklings, you should regularly check the drinker for water. This is due to the fact that a growing body requires twice as much water as the food itself.
What do wild ducks eat?
Like other wild birds, ducks are perfectly adapted to their environment. Their feeding takes place at some shallow reservoir. Food enters their body by sucking a plant or insect out of the water. However, most of the diet is still plant foods.
But to feast on a small fish, a tadpole or a crustacean, a wild duck still will not refuse. It is not uncommon to see the sticking tail of a wild duck on the surface of a pond. Plunging under water, the bird obtains its own food. It can dive to a depth of 40-50 centimeters.
In winter, the bird eats only the stalks and seeds of a plant, since in cold weather there are almost no insects and fish. Ducks living near settlements receive most of their food from people.
Thanks to the tips and recommendations described in this article, you can easily make a diet for feeding domestic ducks, the proper nutrition of which at different periods of their lives will provide them with growth, development and health.