Feeding and Management of Mallard Duck in breeding period

The breeding period mainly refers to the period from the end of the breeding period (15 days) to the slaughtering and listing of 84 days old. According to its growth law, this stage can be divided into three stages: early growth stage (16-35 days), late growth stage (36-70 days) and maintenance period (71-84 days). During the breeding period, each commercial duck consumes about 77.5 kg of feed.

1. The early growth period is the key period for the weight growth of mallard ducks, and the quality of feeding and management in this period has a direct impact on the final production performance. In late spring and early summer, after the ducklings were transferred from the nursery to the breeding house, the ambient temperature changed greatly. in order to avoid the contact between the ducklings and the cold ground at night, bedding grass must be laid in the breeding house. Bedding grass must be dry, soft and replaced regularly. In terms of feed, in order to meet the needs of rapid body weight growth, diets with high levels of energy and protein must be provided. where possible, formula feed should be added with appropriate amount of dried grass powder to increase the content of crude fiber in the diet. so as to promote the development of digestive organs and maintenance of digestive function of young ducklings. With the acceleration of the growth rate of ducklings, the density should be adjusted in time. The following data can be referred to when adjusting: 8 birds per square meter at the age of 2 weeks, 6 birds per square meter at the age of 3 weeks, 6 birds per square meter at the age of 4 weeks, and 5 birds per square meter at the age of 5 weeks. two。 The growth rate in the late growth stage was slower than that in the earlier stage, so the dietary protein and energy levels could be appropriately reduced in order to reduce the feeding cost. The specific methods are: reduce the content of corn and soybean cake in the diet, appropriately increase the amount of bran, feed conversion should be carried out slowly, generally controlled at 20% of the original formula every day. In the later stage of growth, the suitable feeding density is 3 to 4 birds per square meter. 3. The main feature of the maintenance period (molting period) is slow growth, and its nutrient intake is mainly used to maintain body weight and molting, and the duration and completion of molting have a direct impact on the age of slaughtering and carcass quality (commodity grade). Therefore, the feeding management in this period can not be relaxed. The measures that can be taken are as follows: ⑴ ensures the temperature of the growing environment of ducklings (13-25 ℃). Too high or too low temperature will increase the consumption of materials such as maintaining weight and body temperature, and too high temperature can also cause hair removal. ⑵ ensures the content and quality of protein, especially the content of sulfur amino acids in protein, so as to meet the needs of feather growth for sulfur amino acids. ⑶ ensures the concentration of copper, zinc, manganese and other metal ions related to feather growth in the diet. With the completion of molting and feather growth, the wild nature of flight and flight of mallard ducks is becoming more and more obvious. Therefore, in the duck house where ducks are raised, the outdoor playground must be covered with nylon or welded mesh to prevent the ducks from escaping.