Any owner will be happy to keep a duck breed in his house that is characterized by high egg productivity, fast weight gain and unpretentious maintenance. Cherry Valley ducks fully meet the above requirements. They can be attributed to birds of combined productivity. From these ducks, you can successfully get both meat and eggs.
History
Cherry Valley ducks appeared in England. Peking duck breeding birds were taken as a basis. Characteristic of the paternal line (151):
- egg production - 120 eggs;
- the weight of young animals at seven weeks is 3.4 kg;
- mass of adults: females - 3.5 kg, males - 4 kg.
Maternal Feature (102):
- egg production - 150 eggs;
- the weight of young animals at seven weeks is 2.9 kg;
- mass of adults: females - 3.4 kg, male - 3.7 kg.
This two-line cross incorporates the best qualities of both lines. He gained popularity among poultry farmers in many countries of the world. The breed came to the post-Soviet space in 1972. She has not lost her popularity today. They are happy to purchase it both for a private farmstead, and for large poultry farms.
The appearance of the breed
Cherry Valley ducks look very much like Peking ducks. They have a powerful physique, vertical torso. The wings are short, tightly pressed to the body, short legs, thick neck. Bright orange beak and white plumage (overwhelmingly).
Cherry Valley Ducks: Feature
This is perhaps one of the most popular and precocious meat breeds. Ducklings in two months gain weight up to 3 kg. The yield of meat is an average of 65%. Slaughter yield reaches 80%.
Despite the fact that this breed of cherry-duck ducks has a meat type of productivity, it inherited a high egg production from the maternal line - up to 150 eggs in seven months. Duck start scampering at 6 months. They are perfect for those poultry farmers who themselves want to breed a bird.
Content
Cherry Valley duck (photo you can see in the text) does not require special conditions of detention. The bird is unpretentious and pays for food very well. For summer poultry keeping, a spacious shed with bedding for the night is enough (the main thing is that there are no drafts), free grazing and access to water during the day.
In winter, a warmed room is required, the ideal temperature for the content is +10 ... + 14 ° C (in any case, not lower than +6 ° C). With a decrease in degrees, the bird stops trotting and dramatically loses weight. In order to maintain weight gain and maintain good egg production, the bird lengthens daylight using artificial lighting . Its total duration should not be less than 10-12 hours.
Ducklings are very hardy, the survival rate is high. The most important thing is to control their feeding for the first couple of days so that all the kids can glue the food together. A properly selected diet from the first days of a bird’s life will help to obtain the desired result.
Ducks are fed both plant and animal feed. Loose mixers are included in the diet, they are prepared in milk or water. Dressed with hard -boiled eggs, millet porridge. Grain and greens are gradually introduced. From greens, ducklings, onions, clovers, dandelions, sow thistles are useful for ducklings. At the age of a month, young animals are released into the reservoir (if any).
On a free range, the bird itself produces greenery from a reservoir. Animal feed in the form of insects, small fish, tadpoles, and worms is also added here. But on a free range without feeding grain, bran and other feed, the bird will not quickly gain its weight.
We must not forget that a well-selected and balanced food will help ducklings in time to gain the necessary live weight.
Benefits
The Cherry Valley duck breed is distinguished by a number of qualities that distinguish it from the variety of other duck breeds :
- intensive growth of ducklings (by 2 months young growth is gaining 80% of the mass of an adult);
- high egg productivity - up to 150 eggs;
- the safety of young animals 96%;
- safety of adults 98%;
- unpretentious to the conditions of detention.
Today, in private and small farms, there is a clear tendency to breed poultry, which can gain weight in 45-50 days. Cherry Valley meets these requirements, and this is precisely the secret of such a demand for the breed.
The demand level is affected by the fact that a lot of specialized farms are engaged in their breeding. Private owners and farmers always have reliable suppliers of quality Cherry Valley duck stock.