Raising Ducks-How To Get The Most From This Entertaining Hobby
Raising Ducks-How To Get The Most From This Entertaining Hobby
Besides sheer entertainment that ducks provide, there are other advantages to raising ducks as well. Ducks can lay more eggs per year than most chickens, and for a longer period. Duck eggs weigh 5-8 ounces more per dozen than chicken eggs.
Ducks are hardier than chickens, making them less susceptible to diease and inclement weather conditions. Housing requirements are less than chickens require, and they are better foragers than chickens, making them more, shall we say, fuel efficient.
When ducks and chickens are fed and managed the same way, the eggs are virtually indistinguishable from one another. Egg flavor and quality of both chicken and duck eggs are a direct result of the diet of the birds that laid them.
Raising ducks is an interesting and rewarding hobby, but first time enthusiasts should ask themselves for what purpose are they raising ducks ?
If you raise your own vegetables, ducks are one of the best tools to have in your arsenal. Ducks are absolutely deadly on Japanese beetles, June bugs, grubs, and grasshoppers. In fact most garden pests are a potential meal for ducks.
Choosing A Breed
If you are interested in ducks for fun and not concerned with raising them for a source of meat and eggs, Call ducks may be your best choice. They are a small breed, liken to bantam chickens as far as their size, but are not particularly useful for egg and meat production. They are normally kept only as an ornamental bird.
If your main reason for keeping and raising ducks is strictly for meat production, you should look into Pekin ducks, which are the most common breed of ducks grown and marketed by commercial duck growers in the United States. Pekin ducks can grow to 6 - 7 pounds in 7 to 9 weeks if they are fed a proper diet. Other breeds to consider are Muscovy, Rouen, and Aylesbury.
Choosing a duck breed for egg production will lead to fewer choices if quantities of eggs laid are a priority. It's true that most people cannot tell the difference between a chicken and a duck egg as far as taste is concerned, but there is a differential in the egg laying production of the duck breeds. By far the two best layers of duck breeds are Indian Runners and Khaki Campbells. Each are capable of laying over 300 eggs per hen a year.
Artificially Brooding Duck Hatching Eggs
When hatching duck eggs in an incubator, remove the ducklings when they are completely dry and place them under a heat lamp or a brooder stove. Restrict them to an area close to the brooder and the feed and water supply for the first few days after hatching.
Maintain a temperature between 85F and 90F in the brooder when the ducklings are first placed inside. Pay close attention and observe their behavior, if they begin to huddle up to each other and are noisy, the temperature is too low. Temperatures too high will cause the ducklings to pant and attempt to escape the heat. Reduce the brooder temperature gradually so by the time they are feathered the heat can be eliminated. Keep the floor covered in a 3 or 4 inch layer of clean shavings or straw.
Start the ducklings on a commercial duck or chick starter mash as soon as they are placed in the brooder. Feeding should be on a surface that will not allow the young birds to slip and damage their legs. Waterers must be cleaned on a daily basis. A mash that contains around 20 percent protein is an excellent choice. The feed must be kept dry, wet or moldy feed must be discarded. After 2 weeks a pelleted or mash growing ration can be fed to the young birds.
Raising ducks can be rewarding and enjoyable for a number of reasons. More people every day are discovering the benefits and rewards of raising their own backyard animals and vegetables. Besides the health benefits of fresh eggs, meat, and vegetables, the joy of getting back to natureis another reason backyard animals and gardens are becoming so popular.
The author's website features more information on raising ducks and has a large selection of duck hatching eggs for sale.
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