Recently, mulard ducks have become more and more popular with Russian farmers and homeowners involved in poultry farming. Reviews about this hybrid exist only excellent. And this despite the fact that he is not able to give offspring.
Moulard ducks are a mixture of two widespread breeds - musky and Peking. The bird is highly productive and very easy to care for. But, of course, you should still follow certain technologies when breeding it. Below in the article we will deal with what mulard ducks are (reviews and photos, description) and how to properly care for them.
Breed benefits
Musk ducks are valued by farmers primarily for their cleanliness and relatively calm disposition. The meat of a bird of this breed is tasty and completely non-greasy. However, musky ducks have one rather serious drawback: they gain weight very slowly. The Peking breed is well known to all owners of household plots. It is this duck that is bred in most cases in villages and suburban areas. The main advantage of this breed is a quick weight gain. However, without exception, farmers consider Peking ducks to be extremely unscrupulous and too loud. In addition, the meat of them, according to the vast majority of owners of poultry houses, is too fat.
Mullard ducks combine all the positive characteristics of the parent breeds and are completely devoid of their shortcomings. According to many homeowner owners, with proper care, this bird gains weight faster than even precocious Peking. Accuracy is also what moulard ducks are characterized by. Farmers have good reviews of this bird, including because it is completely quiet. In addition, the mulard also has unusually tasty meat - lean and juicy.
Short description
In appearance, mullards are similar at the same time to Peking ducks and musky. But their body weight is greater than that of each parent breed. Among other things, the characteristic features of mullards include:
- elongated massive body;
- yellow legs:
- long neck.
The color of this hybrid can be both dark and light. But most often, mulards have white plumage and a characteristic black “cap” on their heads.
Behavior features
According to all farmers, the hybrid is completely hassle-free. Although duck mularda (reviews of homestead owners allow us to judge them as one of the calmest breeds) can fly a little, they don’t need to cut their wings like musky. The weight of this bird is significant. And so, in any case, she will not be able to fly over the fence.
They contain muleards usually by the floor method. In household plots, these ducks are not left for the winter. They are not able to give offspring; keeping them for fattening for more than three months is inappropriate.
How profitable to grow
Mulard ducks of the breed deserved good reviews, and many summer residents and farmers would probably like to breed them. However, such chicks are, unfortunately, quite expensive. Not all farmers can afford to purchase them in large quantities. But if you wish, you can find a fairly simple way out of this situation.
Many farmers who want to grow mulard, for starters, simply acquire a few musky drakes and a dozen or two Peking ducks. Crossing these breeds at home, you can easily get your own quality muleards. The only thing you need to take care of if you bring this hybrid at home is to ensure that there are no musky ducks in the yard. Otherwise, the drakes of this breed on Peking simply will not pay attention.
The weight of a duck mulard, reviews about which in this regard is very good, is gaining almost instantly. Moreover, fodder, according to many homeowners, they spend quite rationally - on the growth of meat, not fat. By age 2-2.5 months. with proper care, these birds gain up to 3.5-3.6 kg. At this time, they usually kill them. Longer than these ducks, like any others, it is impractical to keep. The fact is that after three months the weight gain rate of this poultry slows down, but there it starts a lot. In addition, juvenile molting occurs in ducks at this time. If a bird is slaughtered after the end of this process, there will be many stumps on its carcass, as a result of which it will lose its presentation.
Ducks Mulard: reviews of farmers
Of course, the opinion about this breed, since it is very convenient in content and surpasses many other varieties in productivity, the poultry farmers have developed a very good one. The cost of breeding mulard pays off very quickly. Most farmers believe that this bird, in addition to unpretentiousness and productivity, has another important advantage. Since she has tasty meat, selling it is very simple. The carcasses of ducks of this breed are willingly bought by ordinary citizens, as well as cafes or restaurants.
How to equip a house
The room for ducks of this breed is suitable only for light and dry. In the barn you need to equip more windows. Three ducks should have at least 1 m 2 of free space. Experienced farmers advise covering the floor in the house with a rather thick layer of straw bedding. Insulate the shed and arrange ventilation in it only with year-round breeding of ducks in large quantities. In any case, the air temperature in the house should not fall below 16-18 ° C, and humidity - 60%.
Of course, in the barn should be placed feeders-troughs. Daily bathing is also what hybrids like mulards require. Cultivation (reviews of such ducks, as already mentioned, are good, including because of their unpretentiousness) of this breed is possible in the absence of a natural reservoir on the site. All that needs to be done to make the mulard feel comfortable is to install large containers filled with water in the paddock. That will be enough for the ducks. Actually, the paddock itself is equiped directly next to the house, they use a net-net as a fence.
Feeding Features
So, for the farm acquired ducks mularda. What to feed (reviews of these hybrids are good, including because they are not too gluttonous) young growth is, of course, the first question that farmers ask themselves. The answer is simple. In large farms and poultry farms, for the first time, ducklings are given special starting compound feeds. Owners of household plots feed babies most often just with cottage cheese and eggs. Also chicks are given porridge from millet and rice. Their experienced poultry farmers are advised to throw directly at ducklings. Thus, chicks can be easily taught to eat on their own. The fact is that ducks perceive moving food much better.
Three-day-old chicks can already begin to give greens. Later (after about 10 days), boiled potatoes are introduced into the diet of the kids. After a while, the menu includes vegetables and root vegetables. Beets are considered a very useful food for ducks of this breed. However, give it to the bird carefully. The fact is that this root crop weakens the intestines. Carrots can be fed in large quantities. And both fresh and boiled.
Be sure to include in the diet of ducklings products containing animal and vegetable protein. In the mixers of root vegetables and greens, you need to add the reverse and cottage cheese. Also, mineral and vitamin supplements must be present in the diet of mulard ducks. In addition to mishmash, the bird should receive steamed grain (wheat, corn) or boiled porridge. In order to save a little on feed, bran can be mixed into the duck's grain. Baker's yeast is also considered a very useful supplement for these birds. They need to be given in an amount of 1 g per head daily.
Drinking bowls for ducks should always be full. Firstly, this bird drinks a lot, and secondly, after eating, it rinses without fail to rinse the nose clogged with food.
Incubation Recommendations
Thus, muleards are relatively unpretentious in feeding. Breeding at home (reviews about the breed are good and because of the almost 100% survival of young animals) - this is also not too complicated. To obtain ducklings of this breed, you just need to cross Beijing ducks with musky drakes. Many farmers and owners of suburban areas believe that, if desired, can be done and vice versa. However, when crossing Beijing drakes and musky ducks, hybrids are less productive. This should be kept in mind.
If the mullard ducks are supposed to be bred in large quantities, of course, it is better not to lay eggs under the hens, but to incubate. To get young animals of this breed artificially, even a novice farmer can do. Incubating the chicks of this hybrid, according to many owners of household plots, is much easier than, for example, the same chickens. Good hatchability is also what moulard ducks are characterized by. The photo (reviews about this hybrid are also wonderful because its young growth is strong and healthy) of the chicks hatched in the incubator are presented below. As you can see, this process in many cases is quite successful. But, of course, you should not count on 100% hatchability in the incubator. If 60 healthy ducklings hatch from a hundred eggs laid, this is already a very good result.
Experienced farmers believe that April - June is the most favorable time for receiving chicks of mullards. The most suitable age of musky drakes and Peking is 7-10 months. Hatching eggs can be harvested within one week. Keep them in a cool place. Actually, the incubation itself is carried out in the usual mode for duck eggs.
How to care for hatched chicks
Breeding mullards, reviews of which are excellent, will be successful, of course, only subject to the technology for caring for young animals. After hatching, the ducklings are usually left in the incubator until dry. Then they are transferred to a box. Since dampness is contraindicated for small chicks, the trellised bottom is pre-equipped in it.
For a large number of ducklings, it is advisable to use a brooder instead of a box. The frame of this device can be assembled from timber, and the skin can be made of plywood and polycarbonate. Inside, you must place a special heating lamp for the brooder. You can buy it, for example, at a pet store. The lamp should be hung in such a way that the ducklings are not burned, and there would be at least one shaded corner inside the brooder.
Heated in a box arrange the same way. Only in this case use a conventional incandescent lamp. Of course, feeders and drinking bowls should be placed in a box or brooder.
Recommendations for the care of young animals
Three weeks after hatching, mulardiks can be transferred to the barn. When fattening for meat, this bird is usually kept outdoor. In the morning they let her out for a walk, and in the evening they drive her back into the barn. Mullard ducks, reviews of which are excellent including because of their unpretentiousness, like any other waterfowl, love to swim. Allowing them to swim and dabble in tanks installed in the paddock, however, is only possible from two months of age - after they are fully supported.
It is advisable to feed ducks 3 times a day - in the morning, at lunch and in the evening. The bird is killed in 2.5-3 months.
Foie gras fattening
We looked at basic information about birds such as mulard ducks (home breeding, reviews). The opinion about this hybrid is good not only because it has delicious meat. Gourmets are very appreciated and the liver of this bird. From it in restaurants they prepare a special dish called foie gras. In particular, it is popular in France. But in Russia this dish is also appreciated and is quite in demand. Fattening duck mullards to obtain a quality liver is made using special technology.
In the first three weeks of life, chicks are cared for in the usual way. Then the bird is placed in cages, the size of which must be such that it can not move much. They feed the young growth grown on the liver with food containing a very large amount of protein and starch. They include special mineral and vitamin supplements in the diet.
From the 8-10th day of life, ducks begin to be fed forcefully, pushing food into their throats with the help of a special screw with a tube. For a day, a mulard grown using this technology should receive at least 1.8 kg of grain. Forced feeding usually lasts 12-21 days. With this content, the liver of a bird grows 10 times larger than usual. However, she does not lose her excellent taste.
Thus, mulard ducks, reviews of which are positive, including because of their liver, are actually very profitable birds for breeding. Of course, keeping them using the technology described above is a rather complicated procedure and can be time-consuming. However, all efforts with this approach to business are usually rewarded handsomely. Mulard livers are rented to expensive restaurants, and it costs a lot.
Disease
Good health is also what mulard duck is characterized by. Reviews about this breed are good, including because it is very resistant to various infections. In this regard, mularda usually does not deliver any trouble to their masters. They tolerate even cold and serious temperature changes quite calmly.
Rarely, but still it happens that these ducks become ill with aspergillosis or cloacitis. In the first case, a solution of copper sulfate (inside) is used for treatment, in the second - iodine and zinc ointment.
Conclusion
As you can see, mularda ducks are grown at home (farmers' reviews in this case speak for themselves) of which the procedure is not too burdensome, the bird is actually productive in terms of meat content, and the liver is profitable. Of course, ducklings of this breed are expensive (about $ 1.5 apiece). However, considerable benefits can be obtained from their dilution. Especially if the ducklings will be incubated right on the farm.