How to prevent and control the feather pecking of farmed meat ducks

Meat duck feather pecking refers to the bad behavior of one or more ducks in the group pecking or pecking at the feathers of other individuals during the feeding process. Most of the pecking sites are the back and wing tips, which often cause sparse and incomplete feathers, bleeding hair follicles, and even skin tearing, and feathers are often eaten after being pecked out by the roots. The occurrence of feather pecking behavior made the ducks agitated and lost their appetite, which seriously affected the normal growth of ducks.

First, improve the feeding environment and strengthen feeding management. Reduce feeding density and improve ventilation and light intensity. When caged, the height of the cage should be 100cm to 120cm for cleaning. To meet the temperature required by meat ducks of different ages, the relative humidity is maintained at 60%-70%, the ventilation is good, the light is not too strong, and keep the duck house clean and dry.

Second, the newborn ducklings cut off their beaks in time. If the edge of newborn ducklings is broken at the age of 8 ~ 10 days, the occurrence of pecking habit can be avoided completely.

Third, scientific preparation of full-price feed. It is necessary to feed high-quality full-price compound feed to provide enough protein, vitamins, inorganic salts, etc., and feed regularly. For feather pecking caused by lack of protein, calcium and phosphorus, 5% bean cake or 3% fish meal, 2%-4% bone meal or shell meal can be added. For feather pecking caused by lack of salt, 1%-2% salt can be added to the feed and fed for 2-3 days. For feather pecking caused by sulfur deficiency, zinc sulfate or calcium sulfate can be supplemented, 1 to 4 grams per day. Proper addition of green feed or increased feeding of feather pecking spirit and feather powder can prevent feather pecking. You can also feed some green vegetables or grass to increase the content of crude fiber in the gastrointestinal tract and prevent ducks from pecking feathers due to lack of satiety.

Fourth, in summer, mosquitoes and flies should be regularly killed in duck houses, but attention should be paid to drug concentration and usage to avoid duck poisoning; proper feeding of vitamin B12 or compound vitamin B in drinking water or feed can prevent pecking caused by feathering.

Fifth, timely treatment. Timely isolation of pecking meat ducks to avoid further spread of pecking behavior; for injured meat ducks, penicillin powder can be applied to the injured site, or 0.01% potassium permanganate solution can be used to wash the affected area. Let ducks exercise properly, and add an appropriate amount of 0.2%-0.3% natural gypsum powder to their feed, and each duck is fed with 1-4 grams per day, which will also have a good control effect.