Duck breeds for home breeding
According to the ability to increase body weight, egg production and the quality of plumage, domestic ducks are divided into meat, egg and those raised for feathers and down. Popular breeds of ducks for home breeding most often have a meat or meat-and-meat orientation. There are also intermediate varieties with good egg production and meat productivity. Recently, poultry farmers have been paying maximum attention to broilers in the morning - early maturing, with excellent lean meat and decent weight.
All existing breeds, breed lines and crosses are descendants of the common mallard, domesticated and refined in Europe and Asia, and musk ducks, whose homeland is the American continent. Despite the difference in location, natural habitat conditions, these species of ducks have shown themselves best when kept in conditions of large and very small farms.
A description of the breeds of ducks, their wild and domesticated varieties, as well as promising crosses will help the poultry breeder navigate the proposed variety and create a highly productive herd in his backyard.
Read also the article:laying hens the best breeds for the house
Indoor or musky ducks
Muscovy ducks come in a variety of colors. Unlike ordinary poultry, they do not gain weight so quickly, but their meat is low in fat, tender texture and excellent taste.
Purebred "American" males can grow up to 5 kg in weight, and females, which are almost twice as light, are well known as excellent brooders.
Meat quality Indo-duck attracted the attention of breeders to them. Today, among poultry farmers, interspecific hybrids of European musk and meat ducks are very popular.
Peking duck
Among the breeds of ducks for domestic breeding, birds from the Middle Kingdom can be considered one of the most ancient. Peking duck became famous more than three centuries ago and has not lost its relevance to this day. Early maturing, with excellent quality meat, hardy and non-capricious birds are happily raised both on large farms and in private farmsteads, and are also the progenitors of many modern breed lines and hybrids of meat ducks. One of them is the well-known mulard today, who are not only the record holders in terms of live weight gain, but also give a fatty gourmet liver.
Thoroughbred representatives of the Peking breed are white ducks with a strong constitution, outstanding meat orientation, yellow-orange beak, legs wide apart.The birds have a long back, bulging chest, a raised tail, strong wings and dark bluish eyes.
Peking ducks are extremely early maturing. By one and a half or two months, young individuals are gaining up to 2.5 kg of weight. By the time of slaughter, with proper feeding, drakes weigh about 4 kg, and females are only 500 grams less.
The meat yield from the carcass reaches 66%, however, these meat ducks easily increase not only muscle mass, but also fat, which must be taken into account when drawing up a diet.
Moscow white duck
Crossbreeding of Peking ducks with representatives of other breeds and species gives excellent results, which has been repeatedly confirmed by domestic and foreign breeders. A worthy example is the Moscow white ducks, obtained from parental pairs of Peking birds and individuals of the Khaki Campbell breed.
Domestic breeding ducks in many ways resemble Peking ancestors, while showing the best egg production, which is maintained in layers for several years. This quality is very useful for home breeding duck breeds. The bird perfectly masters in different climatic conditions, is unpretentious to feed and gains weight, no less than eminent ancestors.
Rouen duck breed
The French have long favored meat breeds of ducks. The old variety, bred in the vicinity of Rouen on the basis of local livestock and wild mallards, was named after the city and is still popular with poultry farmers. The French duck retained the natural color of the plumage, but at the same time it strikingly differs from wild birds in its fatness and the most delicate taste of meat. Adults grow up to 5 kg and compete on a par with Peking and other meat ducks. Therefore, the Rouen breed bird is still involved in breeding work and is used to obtain highly productive meat and meat-bearing crosses.
Gray Ukrainian duck
In addition to Peking ducks, the most common in the territory of the former USSR, white Moscow birds and Indo-Ducks imported in the late 80s, Ukrainian ducks of various varieties are still popular in Russia. Most often they talk about a gray duck of meat orientation with well-developed muscle mass, thin bones and good meat-and-meat indicators.
The bird of this breed clearly shows differences in the coloration of males and females. Drakes can weigh up to 3.5 kilograms, while ducks can weigh up to 3 kilograms. The average number of eggs laid is 120, record-holder laying hens can produce up to 250 eggs annually.
Black white duck
Another domestic waterfowl of Ukrainian selection is the white-breasted black duck, obtained on the basis of the local livestock, the Peking breed and birds of the meat-and-meat variety of khaki-campbell.
The name speaks volumes about the appearance of this duck breed worthy of domestic breeding. Ducks have black plumage, and a white feather is spotted in the chest and base of a wide, strong neck. The beak of these Ukrainian ducks, like the eyes and legs, is also black. Males and females have strong wings adhering to the body, short strong legs.
Compared to Peking white ducks, this bird matures longer, reaching a maximum weight of 4 kg only by six months. Most often, meat ducks are slaughtered at the age of 2.5–3 months, when the carcass weighs about 2.5 kg, and the meat is most tasty.
Birds of this breed can get fat, which must be taken into account when organizing maintenance and feeding. Laying hen produces up to 130 large 80-gram eggs per year.
Bashkir duck
The leaders in obtaining new breeds of ducks and crosses for domestic and industrial breeding in Russia today are the breeders of the Blagovarsky breeding plant in Bashkiria. Thanks to their work, the "Bashkir duck" has become a recognizable brand not only in our country, but also abroad.
On the basis of the Peking ducks with the manifested gene of "wild" plumage, a breed of Colored Bashkir ducks was created here.This is a highly productive early maturing bird of meat orientation, which has two color options: khaki or brown and black with white breasts.
A characteristic feature of Bashkir ducks is the low fat content of meat compared to the Peking or Blagovar breed.
Another well-known cross of ducks, Blagovarsky, was obtained at the Bashkir breeding farm "Blagovarsky". This is a universal meat-and-egg poultry, growing up to 3.4 kg by seven weeks and at the same time capable of producing up to 240 pieces of high-grade eggs per year.
The ducklings of this cross are distinguished by excellent vitality and unpretentiousness. They grow well both in industrial-type farms and in private farmsteads.
Ducks Blue Favorite
An interesting breed for home breeding is the Blue Favorite duck. This variety was obtained by breeders of the same Bashkir enterprise. Individuals of the local Colored Bashkir duck became the ancestors of this beautiful bird with unusual plumage. The steel blue-gray color is not the only characteristic feature of birds. Large meat ducks easily grow up to 5 kg of live weight, while their meat quality is better than that of their ancestors and the famous Peking ducks.
Young ducks Favorite are distinguished by their excellent endurance and vitality. The bird grows superbly and, with a well-chosen diet, reaches 3.6 kg of weight by two months. In a private backyard, poultry farmers can receive 140 eggs per year from layers. According to the description of the breed of ducks and the already available reviews, the bird is promising for both industrial and private farming.
Ducks Agidel
The Agidel ducks bred in Bashkiria are the descendants of the Blagovarsky meat cross, Super M birds and the Indian runner duck egg breed. With an appearance that speaks of the meat orientation of the cross, the birds are distinguished not only by excellent feeding data, but also by surprisingly high egg performance.
The Agidel ducks have a long massive body, dense white plumage and a wonderful livable character. This breed of ducks, already at the age of 7 weeks, demonstrates a weight of about 3 kilograms, while a hen is capable of delivering up to 240 large eggs in a year, weighing at least 90 grams.
The meat of this duck breed is of the highest quality, not inferior to mulard or other meat poultry of foreign selection.
Unlike broiler ducks, whose meat productivity largely depends on the receipt of protein feed, the Bashkir duck grows on a diet available in any, even a modest personal farm. Birds perfectly eat any green plants, grains, hay and cereal waste.
Domestic duck Mulard
Due to low-fat meat, early maturity and record meat productivity among waterfowl poultry, mulards are becoming more and more popular both among amateur poultry farmers and at huge industrial fattening complexes. Meanwhile home duck Mulard cannot rightfully be called a breed. It is an interspecific hybrid obtained from crossing Peking or other Eurasian ducks and American Indo-ducks.
A pair for a musky duck when obtaining a hybrid offspring can be either a Peking bird, or Rouen ducks, as well as individuals of other meat breeds. Mulard are called broiler ducks because of their excellent feeding qualities, similar to meat breeds of chickens. At the same time, the bird behaves ideally both when growing on large farms and on personal backyards. Domestic mulard ducks are peaceful, calm and picky.
For four months of keeping, the weight of the bird can reach up to 7 kilograms. Females in industrial complexes are often raised for meat, and drakes provide an excellent liver for making foie gras.
Since such a hybrid generation does not produce offspring, the parent flock is not formed from the bird, and they do not get an egg from mulard.
Hybridization has helped poultry farmers solve two major problems for musk and Peking ducks.The first, possessing lean meat, cleanliness and quiet disposition, fatten up relatively slowly and are not too heavy. Peking birds are larger, but quickly gaining weight, they can gain fat and lose meat quality.
Domestic mularda ducks are ideal for rearing, as they are early maturing and produce delicious meat at the same time.
Duck Star 53
Heavy duck broiler for meat production was received by breeders of the French company Grimaud freres selection. This is a highly productive cross, intended for feeding on meat and for obtaining foie gras liver.
Duck star 53 has a high growth rate and active weight gain. The bird has white dense plumage, a strong constitution and a wide massive chest. By 50 days of age, the live weight of the ducklings is 3.7 kg. The meat breast, the most valuable part of the carcass, is one third of the total weight of the bird. At the same time, the quality of the dietary, low-fat French duck meat is much better than that of most related varieties. In breeding, this breed of ducks has shown itself to be resistant to diseases, not capricious and very viable.