Little Duck’s Question

(1) Duckling feeding and management

The feeding and management of ducklings is commonly known as brooding, and it is a very important basic stage of duck raising. Therefore, scientific management is required to create suitable temperature, humidity, air, light, nutrition and a clean and quiet environment for ducklings to minimize the impact of severe stress.

1. Selection of ducklings

The brooding season must be carefully considered, especially the habitat mode of rice ducks. The best brooding season should be selected to achieve the best production. effects and economic benefits. The ducklings that rice ducks inhabit are mainly spring chicks and summer chicks, and there is no choice between autumn chicks and winter chicks.

①Spring chicks

Refers to ducklings hatched from March to May. In spring, the climate gradually warms up and there is sufficient sunshine, which is beneficial to the growth of ducklings, with high survival and fitness rates. In the middle duck stage, due to the suitable temperature, they can spend a long time outside the house, have good physical fitness, and grow and gain weight quickly. The first ducklings for rice ducks should choose spring chicks, and the end of brooding coincides with the planting of rice. However, spring chicks must pay attention to insulation work, and spring is rainy and humid, and the climate is changeable, making it easy for diseases to invade. During the breeding period in the hot summer, heatstroke prevention and shading must be done, so management must be careful and careful, and all aspects of work must be carried out. All done fully and perfectly.

②Summer chicks

Refers to ducklings hatched from June to August. At this time, the high temperature and humidity will cause the ducklings to have poor appetite and their growth and development will be affected. The productivity of the adult birds will be low, and the workload of heatstroke prevention and dehumidification will be heavy. However, summer chicks generally do not need heating and insulation. When used as commercial ducks for meat, as long as proper heatstroke prevention is done, the cost of raising them will not be very high.

③Autumn chicks and winter chicks

Autumn chicks refer to ducklings hatched from September to October. Winter chicks refer to ducklings hatched from November to December. It is not suitable for rice cultivation seasonally.

2. Brooding methods

According to the specific conditions of the existing duck house, a variety of brooding methods can be adopted. According to the specific situation of raising ducks in rice fields, the chicks should be raised in a centralized manner and then dispersed to the fields for grazing. Introducing several of the methods:

①Flat ground brooding

That is, laying thick bedding directly on the floor of the duck house, such as wood shavings, rough wood, dry grass, dry sand, etc. , brood on it, and regularly clean and replace the litter to keep it clean and dry. This method is simple and easy to implement, and the cost is not high, but it is not easy to control diseases and the brooding effect is average.

②Half ground and half net brooding

That is, 1/3 of the floor of the duck house is laid with an off-the-ground mesh surface, and the other floor is not covered with netting, only bedding material. All drinking water is placed on the net so that the ground inside the house remains dry. Note that the slope of the slope must be less than 250 degrees. This method is moderately cost-effective, easy to clean, and has ideal results, so it is commonly used.

③Carton brooding

Use an ordinary larger cardboard box to raise the ducklings in it. This method does not require a heat source for heating in warm weather, can self-warm the brood, greatly reduces the cost of insulation, is simple and easy to implement, and has low investment. However, care must be taken to maintain dryness, hygiene and ventilation. Holes are often drilled in the paper walls for ventilation. They need to be transferred in groups at the right time. As the ducklings gradually grow up, some ducks should be gradually moved out to other cartons or brooding houses to keep the stocking density at a moderate level and Gradually cool down. Therefore, the method is greatly affected by the weather, the work is complicated, and the number of broods is limited, so it is suitable for small-scale breeding.

3. Drinking water and feed

①Drinking water

Ducklings must drink water within 24 hours after hatching. The general method is to put the ducklings Put the ducklings into a shallow water basin with a depth of 1 cm for a few minutes to allow the ducklings to wet their feet and drink water, which is commonly known as "drinking". The water quality must be fresh, clean, and the water temperature should be close to room temperature. As the ducklings grow older, the amount of water they drink increases. Drinking utensils must be cleaned frequently and dirty drinking water must be replaced with fresh water.

② Start eating

Within 24-28 hours after the ducklings hatch, when all the ducklings drink water, let the ducklings start eating. It cannot exceed 36 hours at the latest. In the first few days after the ducklings start eating, the "feed less and eat more" system should be adopted, that is, they should be fed 7-8 times a day, with a small amount each time, but the ducklings must be ensured to be full. In the future, the ducklings will be allowed to eat and drink freely without artificial lighting at night.

③Feeding

Duck feed should be fresh, clean, nutritious, with moderate particle size, good palatability and easy to digest. When the ducklings are 10-15 days old, each duck is fed with 500 grams of complete feed, and a small amount of rice is added during the feeding process. Then, use rice plus rice, cracked corn and other cereal feeds to feed them until their weight is more than 75 grams, and then they can be put into the field.

4. General management

①Ventilation

At present, most open duck houses are ventilated based on regulating the temperature and humidity inside the house. For ventilation, ventilation is controlled by the number of doors and windows opened and closed and the length of opening and closing time. Windows should be located at a high location to prevent the wind from blowing on the duck body and to help eliminate hotter and lighter exhaust gases. At the same time, prevent wind and temperature fluctuations from causing colds and poor growth in ducklings.

②Density

Usually, the number of ducklings in a group is 400-1,000. When the ground is flat, there are about 20 ducklings per square meter in the first week of age and 14 in the second week of age. There should be no more than 10 animals after the third week of age; the density can be higher when raised on a flat surface with a ground net, and up to 1/3 more.

③Temperature

Ducklings must have a suitable temperature for their growth, and large rises and falls in indoor temperatures must be avoided.

1-3 days old, the temperature is 28-30C?; 4-6 days old, the temperature is 24-26C?; 7-10 days old, the temperature is 20-23C?; and so on after 11 days. In the early stage, when the indoor temperature is lower than 20C, infrared lamps or electric hot plates can be used for heating. Pay attention to prevent ducks from accumulating and evacuate them in time.

④Humidity

The appropriate relative humidity when filling chicks is 56-70%, which is close to the humidity in the machine when the ducklings hatch, which can prevent the ducklings from breathing dry air. Disperse a large amount of water in the body, affecting the normal function of the body.

⑤Lighting

After the ducklings start eating, their food intake is small and their feeding speed is slow. In order to ensure that the ducklings have enough time to eat and drink, usually in the first 3 days Use 24-hour lighting throughout the day, that is, increase artificial lighting at night, and the light intensity should be such that the ducklings can see the feed and drinking water.

⑥Immunization

The procedures and types of immunization are different in various regions, depending on the occurrence of local infectious diseases. It is best to have a poultry disease expert conduct an investigation, develop a vaccination plan and strictly implement it.

⑦Timely culling

Since duck farming in rice fields is mainly carried out under natural and extensive conditions, the ducks must be healthy. Ducks with poor health and poor growth should be eliminated in a timely manner.

(3) Management of ducks in rice fields

1. Time to enter the fields

Raising ducks in rice fields requires attention to the time to enter the fields. Ducklings hatch in 20 days and weigh about 100 Gram or more, it takes 15 days to throw rice seedlings and 12 days or more to transplant before it can be put into the field. Adult ducks should be appropriately delayed for 2-3 days before going to the fields.

2. Preparation of field breeding facilities

① Prepare about 2.5 kilograms of high-quality nylon net for each rice field. More should be prepared for irregular rice fields and narrow rice fields. A three-finger nylon net is used to form an anti-escape circle around the field. The height of the net is 60cm, and support poles are planted every 1.5-2 meters.

② Build a duck house in a corner of the field based on the size of one square meter for every 10 ducks. The top of the house needs to be covered to avoid the sun and rain, with stalls on three sides, but it must be ventilated. The bottom is laid flat with wooden boards or bamboo boards, and a water box 50-60cm deep, twice the size of the duck house, is dug under the house.

③ Several high-yield ditches 35cm wide and 30cm deep are dug in the rice fields and are always filled with water for the ducks to play in the water during the duck herding period.

3. The stocking density for large ducks is about 15 birds per acre, and the stocking density for young ducks can be increased appropriately according to the situation.

4. Ducks do not have the habit of grazing during the brooding period, and they should be trained to feed before going to the fields. Ducks are kept in rice fields and mainly feed on weeds, insects, aquatic animals and other food in the rice fields. After first being trained to eat millet that falls on the ground, the ducks will scatter the millet into shallow water and let the ducks peck at it. After several times, it will form a conditioned reflex. After that, it will actively look for food when placed in the rice field.

5. Each duck should be fed with 50-100 grams of rice, corn, forage grass and other feeds every day. Pay attention to feeding at regular times and at fixed points. Just pay attention to increasing or decreasing the feeding amount according to the situation. Do not overfeed or Too little. Avoid feeding moldy, smelly feed and smelly, maggot-infested animal feed.

6. Arrange grazing time reasonably.

① Determine grazing time based on air temperature and water temperature. The ventilation level of grazing in rice fields is not as good as that of rivers and ponds. Because the water is shallow, it is easy to be heated by the sun. When the temperature exceeds 30C, it is not suitable to go to the fields to graze ducks. Especially in the hot summer, it should be done before 9 a.m. and when it is cool in the afternoon.

② Grazing in appropriate turns. It is not advisable to graze the same rice field multiple times. It is appropriate to let it rest for a few days before grazing. It is best to match the different growing and harvesting periods of rice fields.

③After the rice is harvested, there are a large number of grains left in the field, and grazing can be concentrated at this time.

7. Rice ducks roost, and ducks are kept there for a long time in the hot summer. Therefore, on the basis of preventing rodent damage, the duck house should be kept ventilated and a shelter should be installed. Shade branches or a small pergola. The yield ditch should be filled with water to allow the ducks to splash around more and prevent heatstroke and cool down.

8. Combine duck breeding with insect control. First, find out the insect situation. If the insect infestation is severe, reduce the feed supply, let the ducks be in a semi-starved state, eat a large amount of pests, and give full play to the purpose of pest control.

9. Before spraying rice, lure ducks into the duck house.

10. Post-production management.

① Harvest ducks when the rice is milky to prevent ducks from eating the rice ears. In order to facilitate the collection of ducks, the ducks should develop the habit of gathering when they hear certain sounds during daily feeding.

②The recovered ducks can be taken back to your home or enclosed in a field house.

3. Prevent epidemics of common duck diseases

Ducks raised in rice fields are raised in an open environment and are prone to infection and spread of diseases. Great attention should be paid to duck epidemic prevention.

1. Duck plague

Meat duck, 7 days old, chicken embryo 100 million attenuated vaccine, 0.2-0.5ml/feather meat injection. Antibodies can be produced after 7 days and protect the meat ducks until they are put on the market.

2. Duck viral hepatitis immunity

Ducklings: 1-3 days old, chicken embryonated attenuated vaccine, 0.5ml/bird, injected subcutaneously in the neck, antibodies will be produced after 2 days. High levels were reached in 5 days.

3. Duck cholera vaccination program:

The vaccine for duck cholera is avian Pasteurella vaccine, such as 731 attenuated vaccine, which is inoculated into ducks over 2 days old. The immunity period Up to three and a half months. Avian cholera aluminum hydroxide gel seedlings are used for ducks over 2 months old.

Each duck is injected intramuscularly with 2ml, and then injected again every 10 days. The immunity period is 3 months. Foul cholera oil emulsion inactivated vaccine is used for ducks over 2 months old. Each duck is injected with 1ml subcutaneously. The immunity period is 6 months. It has also been reported that a vaccine made from duck Pasteurella A can produce 4-5 months of immunity by intramuscular injection of 2 ml into each duck.

IV. Precautions

1. It is recommended to use low-toxic, high-efficiency, low-residue pesticides to prevent and control rice diseases and insect pests, and avoid using pesticides as much as possible.

2. When constructing duck houses in the field, prevention of rodent infestation should be considered.

3. During the application of pesticides in rice fields, ducks should be collected and released in time. After a safe interval, ducks should be released in the fields. During the safety interval of pesticide application in rice fields, duck drinking water and rice field water should be separated to prevent duck poisoning and duck product contamination.

4. Ducks cannot be kept in places where duck plague has occurred or where ducks carrying infectious diseases have passed, as well as water surfaces and rice fields contaminated by mineral oil. Ducklings have poor adaptability to the natural environment and weak resistance. They are often infected with colds, duck viral hepatitis, coccidiosis, aspergillosis, diarrhea and other diseases, which affect the survival rate of ducklings. Therefore, it is necessary to strengthen the protection of ducklings. Disease prevention and control to ensure the healthy growth of ducklings.

1． cold. Mostly caused by the weather being hot and cold, wind chill or excessive moisture in the bedding, sick ducks will have clear fluid flowing from their noses, difficulty breathing, coughing, and tearing. To prevent ducklings from catching colds, they must keep warm, prevent sudden colds, keep the duck house dry, and treat them in time. The methods are: ① Take 0.2 grams of compound aspirin per duck, mix it into the feed and feed it twice a day for 3 consecutive days. ② Inject 0.2-0.5 ml of Ankipyrin intramuscularly into each duck. ③Inject 10,000 units of penicillin or streptomycin into each duck intramuscularly for 3 days.

2． Viral hepatitis in ducklings. This disease mostly occurs in ducklings under 3 weeks old, and the mortality rate is quite high. Its main characteristics are cramps all over the body and head tilted back, so it is called "back and neck disease". The feet are spasmodically kicked repeatedly, and sometimes spin on the ground. In acute cases, no obvious symptoms are often seen, and death occurs as soon as back of the neck and clenched legs appear. Prevention and treatment methods: In areas where the disease is common, it is best to use the egg yolk homogenate of the immune duck for newborn ducklings and then inject it subcutaneously. Use 0.25-1 ml per duck, which can also reduce mortality and control the epidemic.

3. Coccidiosis. The main symptom is loose stools and bloody stools first. Coccidiosis has a high mortality rate and is more harmful to ducklings. Prevention and control methods: Improve environmental sanitation, try to prevent ducklings from eating feed and drinking water contaminated by the feces of sick ducks, and keep the duck house clean and dry. Once symptoms occur, medication should be administered promptly. Prevention and control methods: ① You can mix 0.1% sulfamethine into the feed and feed it continuously for 3-5 days. ② Mix in 0.02% of cotrimoxazole and feed for 3-5 days. ③ Mix in 0.04% of Trichosporin and feed for 5 days. ④ Mix in 0.01% insecticide or salocidin and feed it for 6 days. ⑤ Mix in 0.02% chlorpheniramine and feed it for 6 days.

4. Aspergillosis. The main symptoms are difficulty breathing, wheezing, and sometimes a peculiar "noisy" sound. After the death of the sick duck, it was found that there were small gray-white gas nodules in the air sacs and lungs, such as millet grains. This disease mostly occurs in rainy and humid areas in the south. In severe cases, the mortality rate of ducklings can reach 100%. Prevention and treatment methods: Pay attention to moisture-proof, keep the duck house dry, and never use moldy bedding and feed. There is currently no specific drug to treat aspergillosis. Generally, nystatin can be mixed into the feed and fed, twice a day, 5 ml per duck each time, for 3 days; or griseofulvin, 500 ml per duck, 2 times a day, for 3 days. It has certain curative effect.

5. The duckling has diarrhea. Diarrhea is a common disease in ducklings. Indigestion and many other diseases can cause diarrhea. Prevention and treatment methods: Prescribe medicine to treat some diseases. For general diarrhea symptoms, good curative effects can be obtained by mixing 0.03%-0.40% oxytetracycline or 0.02%-0.03% furazolidine into the feed.