How to feed wild ducklings at home, how to tame them and breeding

Taming wild ducks is a good start for aspiring poultry growers. At home, mallards take root best. Their nests can be found in tree holes or in reeds, next to forest rivers. The birds are adapted to survive in warm and cold climates, are unpretentious in keeping and do not require special technical equipment for the ducklings. The main problem for breeders is how to feed wild ducks and ducklings. But their diet is not too different from that of poultry.

How to care for wild ducklings at home?

In nature, mallard ducklings leave the nest after their mother on the second day after hatching. They quickly become independent, they themselves get food by catching fry and insects. In broods of mallards, there are from eight to eleven ducklings.

For keeping young chicks at home, cardboard boxes or large wicker baskets lined with straw are suitable. For the first five days, the boxes should be placed in a warm place in the house, and then the grown ducklings should be transferred to the ducklings.

The subtleties of keeping in captivity

Safe ways to catch and tame ducks:

• snare - a thin lace with a free loop at the end is placed in the grass. When the duck comes into the loop with its foot, the lace is tightened;
• trap - a bait is placed on the ground, a box or net is placed on top and dropped onto the bird.

A longer way to get a home flock of ducklings is to feed the brood during the summer, and then transfer it to the ducklings. Mallard ducks get used to the people who feed them, and they themselves flock to eat.

Birds need to create conditions close to natural - to ensure free movement and provide a place for swimming. The main requirements for arranging a duck house and keeping birds:

• the room is brick, insulated from the inside with chipboard sheets;
• litter - from sawdust and straw;
• the aviary is spacious, the birds are accustomed to activity, in the cage they will become apathetic;
• fresh air - an airing system must be provided in the duck;
• walking - the area for walking ducklings should be allocated on an area overgrown with grass, and fenced off with a fine mesh;
• pond - put a bowl of water in the pen for walking.

It is good to equip an artificial pond in the garden and launch small fish there. In nature, mallards spend the summer on the water, feed and teach ducklings to swim. In the warm season, birds will feel good in an open enclosure with a pond.

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The depth of the pond should not exceed one and a half meters. Ducks dive for fish to a depth equal to their body length - about 60 centimeters. The banks of the reservoir should be made flat.

The immunity of wild ducks is stronger than that of domestic ones. They need to be vaccinated in case of an unfavorable epizootic situation in the region. Little ducklings should not be allowed to walk on wet grass after rain or dew to prevent them from catching cold.

Adult mallards are able to raise someone else's orphan - a duckling of a domestic breed of birds. In nature, ducks take care of the offspring of neighbors who died after being attacked by predators.

How to feed a wild bird?

Adult ducks feed on grains, vegetables, legumes and plants. In summer, birds are released to graze on the grass. Diet for ducklings:

• wheat, oat, barley groats;
• peas;
• boiled potatoes;
• beet;
• carrot;
• sunflower cake;
• bran;
• feed yeast;
• fish fat.

To feed the hatched ducklings, a mixture of crushed eggs and low-fat cottage cheese is prepared in meat or fish broth. In nature, ducks eat algae.

Duckweed should be added to the diet, and also soaked kelp meal should be offered. They will replace insects with bloodworms. Freshly minced fish should be given to birds every two days.

You can determine what to feed a wild duckling by its plumage. The newly hatched chick is covered with yellow down. In this case, complementary foods begin with crushed boiled eggs, cottage cheese and crushed grains. Chicks with brown feathers are fed grains with the addition of chopped grass, boiled chopped potatoes.

Duck winter diet:

• corn;
• wheat;
• beans;
• oats;
• silage;
• vegetables.

To provide birds with green food in winter, wheat grains are germinated. Ducks need plenty of fluids. There should always be containers with clean water in the duckhouse. To prevent the ducklings from getting their paws wet in the troughs, it is advisable to install automatic drinkers and supply filtered water purified from chlorine. But it is easier to put containers with settled water and change it twice a day. It is not recommended to give raw tap water, but spring water will do.

What shouldn't be given?

Prohibited food for wild ducks:

To leave wild ducklings, vegetables need to be boiled and finely chopped. For better digestion of food, you should put chalk and crushed eggshells in a separate bowl.

How many grow?

Wild ducklings develop rapidly and look like adult ducks at the age of two months. In order for the chicks to gain weight better, they should be fed with vitamin herbs - dill, scalded nettle leaves, beet tops, and Chinese cabbage. Raising ducklings for fattening lasts up to seventy days, since then molt begins. Carcasses will be difficult to pluck and the meat will become tough.

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Breeding features

In nature, females arrange nests and lay eggs in the spring. Males leave them after the clutch appears and go to molt. Birds mate in the pond, so you need to put a bowl of water in the duckhouse or release the ducks to the pond.

In captivity, females lay eggs three times a year. Mallard ducks do not leave chicks, so an incubator is not needed. Ducks incubate eggs at intervals during which they feed. Before leaving, they cover the masonry with their own down. Layers should be fed four times a day, adding more oats and barley to their diet.

The shells of mallard duck eggs are harder and smoother than those of farm birds. The weight of one egg is 60-80 grams.The incubation period is 26-28 days. Chicks hatched in cold weather should be kept warm in the first days. The brood is placed in a box lined with foam from the inside and placed on a bowl of hot water or next to a radiator. In summer, chicks do not need heating, but they should be protected from drafts.

Possible mistakes

The first miscalculation is the capture of an untamed species. Near villages and in city parks, it is rare, but you can find migratory waterfowl. If the bird is aggressive, does not eat or drink, it is better to set it free. Most often, catchers come across friendly mallards, gray duck and red-headed duck. These three breeds quickly get used to humans, gain weight and lay eggs several times a year. The birds are similar to gray plumage with a wavy black pattern. Mallard drakes have a green head. Unfavorable conditions for wild ducks:

• cellular content;
• lack of water and walking;
• large pieces in food;
• grass feeding only;
• lack of solid additives - chalk, eggshells, shells.

Cereals should be given to birds of all ages crushed. Boiled vegetables are given only chopped or pounded into porridge. Grass, cabbage leaves for chicks are cut. The beak of adult ducks is adapted to tear off pieces from leaves, to pick off stems. The duck house should be kept clean on a regular basis, as with the maintenance of thoroughbred domestic ducks: the bedding should be renewed every two days, in the summer, the premises should be disinfected while the birds are walking.

Ducks should not be allowed out for a walk unattended in an unlimited area. Chicks at ten days of age try to fly, may fly off the site and not return. Birds tamed as adults should theoretically return to a place where food and shelter are always available. Still, it is recommended for wild ducks to trim the feathers on the wings before the fourth generation appears.