Duck meat: growing at home

2024 Author: Howard Calhoun | [email protected]. Last modified: 2023-12-17 10:16

In order to diversify the family table, many Russians keep all sorts of living creatures in their suburban areas. It can be, for example, rabbits, chickens, geese and, of course, ducks. The birds of the last variety are bred by summer residents and rural residents, mainly only for meat. It is very tasty, nutritious and he althy for this bird. But, of course, in order to ultimately obtain high-quality duck meat, one should strictly observe the technology of its cultivation.

Breed selection

Before you start organizing a family mini-farm, of course, you need to decide on the type of duck. In the conditions of the Russian climate, summer residents most often grow breeds such as Beijing, musky or mulard. All these varieties are characterized by unpretentiousness and high productivity.

Beijing ducks have been grown by domestic summer residents for many decades. In fact, this breed has become traditional for the owners of household plots in our country. The Peking duck is gaining weight quite quickly and is absolutely picky about feed. However, it has one major drawback. The meat of the Peking duck, althoughdelicious, but very oily. In addition, this bird eats a lot. Therefore, recently, musky duck has become increasingly popular among Russian owners of mini-farms. The meat of this breed is much tastier than that of Beijing, and at the same time it is completely lean. These ducks do not eat too much. But they also gain weight rather slowly.

Mulard is a sterile hybrid of Peking and Muscovy ducks and combines the positive qualities of both of these breeds. These birds gain weight quickly, their meat is delicious, they eat less than Beijing ones, and at the same time they are unpretentious.

How to get mulards yourself

Thus, this breed is currently the best duck. Their meat is tender and juicy. It is also completely non-greasy. It is not difficult to get small mulardiks, including on your own. To do this, you just need to cross a few Peking ducks with a musky drake.

Duck eggs are laid in late March - early April. Nests for them should be installed in a poultry house on a small hill, in a quiet shaded place. A mother duck must have access to water. Wet Peking feathers moisten the eggs, which helps to increase the percentage of hatchability.

Mulardiki usually hatch on the 28th day after the start of incubation. One Pekingese breeds up to 20 ducklings at a time. Of course, you can also get chicks artificially - in an incubator. This technique is best suited when you need to immediately display a largethe number of ducklings. With the use of the incubator, you can get 100, 200 or more chicks at a time.

How to feed chicks

Immediately after hatching and drying, ducklings of any breed should be sure (forced) to drink water, slightly tinted with potassium permanganate. The chicks also need to be fed. Small ducklings are usually given either Start food purchased at a specialized store or simply chopped chicken egg mixed with boiled porridge. There are newborn ducklings do not know how. In order for them to start grabbing food, it is best to pour it in pieces right on their backs. Ducklings perceive moving food much better.

The next day after hatching, the chicks can already be fed with cottage cheese. This product is essential for the bird's body. Cottage cheese ducklings should be given up to a month of age. On the third day after hatching, you can begin to mix finely chopped greens into the duck feed. On the tenth day, boiled potatoes are introduced into the diet, and on the 14th, chopped duckweed.

Raising ducks for meat: feeding adult birds

Newborn chicks are given food 6-8 times a day. Starting from a week of age, the frequency of feeding is gradually reduced. Up to 30 days, ducklings are given food at least 3-4 times per knock, and then at least 2-3 times. The basis of the bird's diet should be either special feed or wheat. Also, ducks gain weight well on corn crushed. Many farmers give this bird barley as well. Crushed grains and grains are best fed to ducks in the morning and evening. At lunch, the bird should get wetmixers. They are prepared from cut fresh grass, duckweed, root crops. It is this diet that ultimately allows you to get very tasty duck meat in large quantities.

Containment conditions

Of course, like any other poultry, ducks require a special room. These birds enter the barn at night and during the rain. In any case, this room should be dry and warm. Ducks do not tolerate dampness at all. In the barn, be sure to arrange ventilation and good lighting. The floor in the house is covered with a thick layer of straw or hay. The litter must be mixed with fluff lime. The area of the barn must be chosen in such a way that 2-3 ducks account for at least 1 m22.

The poultry house needs to equip an aviary. Well, if there is some kind of reservoir near the site. Swimming ducks can be released immediately after they are covered with feathers. Pond-raised duck meat is always delicious. The fact is that, getting food from the water, these birds get a lot of vitamins and various microelements. If it is not possible to equip an aviary near the pond, ducks should make at least a small artificial pool. There should be at least 2 m of free space per head in the enclosure2 free space.

Slaughter birds

Grow ducks for meat usually no more than two to three months. There is no need to keep the bird longer. There will be a lot of ducks, and at the same time gain weight slowly. In addition, the bird will begin juvenile molting. As a result, on carcasses subsequentlythere will be a lot of hard-to-remove stumps.

Processing

A slaughtered bird must first be plucked, scalded with boiling water beforehand. Then the carcass is gutted in the usual way. You can cook duck meat in a variety of ways. It is well suited for both first and second courses. Most often, duck meat is cooked in the oven. However, soups, goulash, stewed potatoes, pilaf, etc. are also very tasty.

How to cook

Thus, the product is very tasty and he althy - duck meat. There are different recipes for its preparation. Below we present to the attention of the reader two of the most popular.

To cook duck in the oven, you must first make a marinade. To do this, add a little vinegar, black pepper and bay leaf to the water. Marinate the carcass for at least 3 hours. Next, the duck should be smeared with s alt and stuffed with peppered apples cut into slices. The carcass prepared in this way should be darned, smeared with mayonnaise and put in an oven preheated to 190 degrees for half an hour.

Duck stew is also very tasty. In order to cook it, the carcass should be singeed over a fire and washed thoroughly. Then it needs to be cut into small pieces, s alt and pepper. Next, the product should be fried for 5 minutes in a dry frying pan. Duck meat prepared in this way should be put in a duck dish and poured with a small amount of juice squeezed from tomatoes. The pieces need to be simmered for 25-30 minutes. Separately in a frying panfry grated carrots, onions, potatoes and tomatoes. At the final stage, the vegetables are transferred to the roaster, after which the meat is stewed until tender.