Ducks can be raised for meat or eggs, for commercial purposes or for home consumption. Ducks provide big eggs that are rich in nutrients and very nutritious and tasty eggs.
Starting duck rearing
Start your duck farming business with just few ducklings. About 12 birds are a good number to start the duck farming business.
A male to female ratio of 1 to 5 or 1 to10 birds are ideal.
Ducks are strong and resistant to diseases but never the less, measures should be undertaken to maintain the duck health.
To raise ducklings, the brooder should be set up before the ducklings arrive. The ducklings can eat broiler starter chicken feed for 3 to 4 weeks, then switch to duck grower feed or chicken grower feed until you see the first egg which should come in about 6 months for big breeds and 4 months for smaller breeds. High producing ducks need a continuous supply of clean drinking water to keep up with the production demands.
Duck housing
Ducks are larger than chicken and you will need more space to roam indoors, and they prefer to remain outdoor even during cold weather and also when it rains.
Ducks need a secured housing system especially at night to protect them from predators.
Duck houses can be made using any material ranging from timber to scrap metallic iron sheets.
Duck houses can be similar to chicken houses but need to be slightly bigger to house the same number of duck since ducks are slightly bigger.
The floor of the duck pen should be covered with rice hulls, corn hulls or wood chips to keep the floor dry.
