Duck breeding has become especially popular lately as it is a lucrative business that generates good income. But it is worth remembering that the cultivation of these birds is not an easy task, requiring considerable effort and dedication. The most important thing that future poultry farmers need to learn about is how to feed domestic ducks at home. Because a healthy and balanced diet of ducks is the key to good health.

Feeding ducks according to the season

Connoisseurs of their craft know firsthand what they feed domestic ducks in summer and winter. The diet is slightly different, depending on what kind of food is now freely available. No one argues that the best time of the year for breeding any living creature is summer, especially if the poultry farmer lives in the private sector and has access to vegetation and aquatic environment.

In the summer season, there are three types of duck feeding. So, what do domestic ducks eat:

  • The most profitable and best way for any poultry farmer to feed adult ducks (for example, mulard) in the summer season is to release them into a natural reservoir. It is clear that this requires free access to nature and the aquatic environment: a shallow river, lake or pond. At the same time, bird watching remains one of the main tasks, since they can scatter or fall into the hands of intruders. Ducks will happily frolic in the water, because this is their native environment, where they can easily find food. When free-roaming, it is important to ensure that the ducks do not go to bed hungry. The correct move is to lightly fill the feeders and feed the birds before bed.
  • In the event that the owner does not have the opportunity to let his pets go into the open space, you need to give the opportunity to eat any type of wild greens at least once a day: spurge, Chinese cabbage and others. You shouldn't think about what herbs ducks like, because any edible greens will do. But the birds themselves, in most cases, prefer cabbage leaves: Peking cabbage or white cabbage. This is very important, because it is through the use of greens that they compensate for the lack of minerals and trace elements.
  • If there is an opportunity to walk on an open lawn, there is no need to rack your brains over feeding ducks. They easily find gape insects, grab them by the wing and eat them. In the meantime, eating grass and other food. The mash or any food preferred by the owners is served 2 times a day, after waking up and before bed, in a reduced proportion.

If you provide white ducks (especially broilers) with enough greens, they will begin to gain weight before our eyes, look healthy and feel great. If other conditions of detention have not been violated, then by the time of slaughter the birds will be well-fed.

In the winter season, there is a natural shortage of greens and small animals, so its absence is compensated for by other ingredients. Ducks eat twice a day: in the evening and in the morning. At the same time, poultry farmers choose different feeding options. Some people prefer to throw dry food, which consists of cereals, dust, seeds, bone meal and fish.Others, in turn, prefer wet food - a mash made from silage, boiled potatoes and steamed hay.

Interesting! In the winter-autumn period, the fat reserves of ducks and drakes are deposited, so they cannot gain weight in the same way as in summer. But this does not give a reason to reduce the amount of food.

Diet of ducklings of different ages at home

Ducklings' nutritional norms at home, depending on age, are presented in the table. Values ​​are in grams based on daily intake per chick.

Type of feedFrom birth to 11 days12 to 19 daysFrom three weeks to a month4 to 8 weeksup to 3 months
Combined feed254020absentabsent
Crushed barleyabsent40109204204
Vegetation163061104149
Branabsent206079104
Fish oil0.41.51.51.51.5
Crushed chalk1.51.51.51.51.5
Small seashells0.41.51.51.51.5

The recipe for each age is different:The most significant aspect when choosing food for ducks is their age.

  • for example, for ten-day-old ducklings, it is recommended to give hard-boiled eggs, a little greenery, a small amount of mash;
  • after 10 days and up to a month, ducklings are recommended to add millet, a mixture of other cereals, curd mass, fishmeal, yeast, of course, pieces of shells and sand to the diet, which help digestion;
  • after a month or more, the diet undergoes not very significant changes, only the number of servings given out changes.

Diy duck food, composition of feed

Many poultry farmers prefer to make their own food for their pets, as this ensures that it is environmentally friendly. Moreover, it is possible to ensure that the required amount of trace elements enters their body.

Variety is important in duck nutrition

What do ducks eat with great pleasure and what ingredients can be added to the mash? There are no particular restrictions, but it is important to maintain diversity so that all the necessary elements enter the bird's body.

The formula for the combo feed is not complicated. There is a wide variety of ingredients that can be used to feed ducks.

Tips from experienced poultry farmers:

  1. When breeding ducks for eggs, it is very important to give preference to greens when preparing mash. This will make it possible to saturate the body of birds with vitamins E and B, which affects the quality of eggs. But greens cannot be the basis of the whole mixture. The mash itself must be made from grain crops.
  2. Periodic feeding is typical for slaughter ducks, so it is worth preparing for the fact that different nutrition is needed for different age categories. After the duckling has passed the age of intensive growth, you can begin to focus on squirrel. A week before the start of slaughter, you can increase the body fat by diluting the diet with legumes, dairy products.
  3. When making a mash, in no case should you make a mash, a paste that will make breathing difficult for birds. It is not recommended to bring food to a mushy state.
  4. If the choice was made in favor of dry feeding, the birds should always have water. This is not very convenient, because they will want to drink constantly and the owner of the livestock will have to carefully monitor the drinkers. Wet food will consume much less water.
  5. Dry food can be diluted with fresh shredded vegetables or plants. In this case, its composition will be closer to wet.

Important! For the most rapid weight gain and growth of ducklings and ducks, it is advised to focus on yeast, which must go through the park process.

A very important question that poultry farmers ask is what kind of compound feed to choose. It is worth mentioning that a combo feed is a mixture of additives and small feeds. Complete feed is full of biologically active minerals. Possessing a pleasant smell and taste, it is well eaten and absorbed by birds.

If the poultry farmer wants to replenish the protein, amino acids and fats of poultry, then concentrate feed is suitable for this. For full development, replenishment of all vitamins and minerals, it is recommended to add protein and vitamin supplements to the main feed. But using them as a main food is highly discouraged.

Important! When thinking about what to feed the ducks, the poultry farmer should remember that any purchased feed must be certified so that the bird does not suffer from a poor quality product.

Many experienced poultry farmers practice feeding with waste and bran, which is very beneficial and beneficial for ducks. This includes beet cake, vinasse, and other production wastes that are very fond of birds. Brewer's yeast or baker's yeast is an equally successful option that feeds birds with vitamin B.

Novice poultry farmers, of course, are interested in the question, do domestic ducks eat fish? The answer to this question is yes. In their natural environment, swimming in the reservoir, adults catch and eat fry and even small frogs. That is, their digestive organs are quite capable of digesting fish products. But when adding fish to feed, the owner of the livestock must make sure that there are no bones in the fish.

How and how to feed duck for meat for fast growth

It is very important for poultry farmers who want their ducks to reach a lot of weight, to adhere to a diet that contains cereals. Birds will rapidly gain weight, while enriching themselves with the necessary trace elements. It is customary to use cereals in poultry farming, which has become a certain tradition. In percentage terms, cereals always occupy more than half of the diet.

Feeding the young

These cultures have their advantages, which bring considerable benefits:

  • Corn has always been considered a high energy carrier. When it is digested, there is no surplus left in the body of the ducks, it easily saturates the bird.
  • Wheat grains are no less useful, but they go a little behind. The nutritional value is due to its high protein content. Wheat is essential for fast growth.
  • Barley is good for fiber, but it should be given with caution. Ducks do not digest barley-based foods poorly. Therefore, in the mash, the grains should occupy no more than a quarter of the mass.
  • Oats are very useful because they are high in fat. In most cases, it is used for fattening meat. After eating it, duck meat becomes especially spicy and tasty.

Note!By sticking to a higher percentage of grain crops, you can ensure that the birds grow quickly, while gaining sufficient mass in a short time.

Can ducks be fed bread? No you can not! Because the bakery product swells inside the duck, gets stuck in the esophagus, and can lead to dangerous diseases.

Features of feeding muscovy ducks

Muscovy ducks are not very whimsical creatures, but at the same time they need the same careful care as ducks. Therefore, it is recommended to feed them with high-quality food, plenty of greens, and do not skimp on water.

The most common and applicable recipe for duck mash contains the following ingredients:

  • whole wheat - 200 grams;
  • ground corn - 80 grams;
  • oats - 350 grams;
  • wheat bran - 35 grams;
  • feed chalk - 17 grams;
  • crushed shell - 24 grams;
  • fish flour - 14 grams;
  • premixes - 16 grams;
  • table salt - 0.6 grams.

All of the above gets mixed up. If the dosage is observed, the total weight of the feed reaches a little more than half a kilogram. Can be slightly diluted with water for ease of consumption.

Important! The water given to the ducks must be clean. It is advisable to use a well because they do not tolerate dirty or with any impurities.

It is very important to know some of the nuances when keeping ducks and follow the obvious rules. For example, knowing if ducks can be given bread and if duckweed is food for ducks.For better development of birds, it is recommended to focus on protein and cereal food, which contributes to the speedy and high-quality growth of the bird.

It is very important that, in addition to normal food, pieces of small shells and sand, as well as crushed egg shells, are present in a separate feeder. These supplements aid the digestion of birds.

Keeping ducks is not the easiest thing, but at the same time it is profitable. It is important to remember that this bird can find its own food on its own, if you provide it with water or at least meadow space. They should be monitored, given only certified and quality food, so that they grow up healthy and delight their owners with delicious meat at the end of the season.