Very often in the poultry yard you can meet Shipun ducks. They attract breeders with the ease of care, delicious and dietary meat, and high fecundity. Other names of the breed - Indouts, Musk ducks. These birds have a peculiar character, therefore, before breeding, carefully read the specifics of the breed.
History of breed origin
The first Musky ducks appeared back in the days of the ancient Aztec tribes. A more accurate period is not indicated by breeders. In agriculture, 2 versions of the origin of such a breed name are known:
- The specific smell of fat Indoutot when melted resembles the aroma of musk.
- "Muisk" is the name of an ancient Indian tribe living in the territory of modern Colombia.
Today in the forests of South America, wild relatives of Indoutoke are often found, identical in color and physique. They are an object of hunting, although the meat is tougher, it has a specific flavor (due to nutritional characteristics).
Mute ducks were brought to Europe from South America, after which they were distributed throughout the world. Birds gained popularity gradually, as breeders were repelled by their unpleasant appearance. In the USSR, Shipuns first appeared in 1981, imported from the GDR. In 1988, they were already delivered to Russia from France.
Characteristics of Mute Mute Ducks
Musk ducks are called Mutex for the characteristic hiss that they publish instead of the usual quacking. Outwardly, it is an unremarkable and even frightening gaze bird with an elongated body and specific growths around the beak.
Despite external defects, Shipuns have delicious dietary meat and high egg production rates, which is why they attract Russian breeders.
Appearance and Behavior
Shipuns ducks have a massive elongated body, a long tail. The head is large, set on a muscular but short neck. The chest is wide, bulging markedly forward. Feet covered with feathers, set wide, short. There are sharp claws at the ends. The shape of the membranes is rounded. The duck rolls from side to side, walks slowly.
Ducks mute
Ducks have a characteristic hiss
Ducklings
On the head of the bird there is a flattened beak with a characteristic rounding at the end. Around him, red soft growths like a mask. In males they are more saturated in color, in females - pink or pale pink. Eyes are brown, widely set. According to these external data, one can easily distinguish a male from a female.
Poultry quickly gain weight. At 3 months, males reach 5-6 kg. Females weigh no more than 3.5 kg. The drake can be recognized by the sticking plumage on the head, while such an original hairstyle is completely unusual for a duck.
The color of poultry is diverse. Through prolonged selection, white-black, brown, chocolate, and even blue individuals were bred. There is an erroneous opinion that the variety of shades indicates not purebred breed. In reality, this is not so.
Musk ducks are docile, calm, do not conflict. They behave peacefully, get along well with other residents of the bird's yard. The exception is when the bird has a disturbed daylight hours or is hungry. Then the Indoor women behave aggressively, there is cannibalism.
Meat and egg production
Indoor women are more suitable for slaughter. The best period is 2-3 months, when the male weighs up to 5 kg. If overexposed, weight gain continues, but already due to the accumulation of fat in the subcutaneous layer. Indicators of meat productivity are declining.
Meat with a rich red hue has excellent taste, is a useful component of the diet menu. There is no specific smell or taste of the product.
Muteweights carry large eggs weighing 80-90 g each. The annual level of egg production varies from 90 to 110 pcs. Compared with other duck breeds, such indicators are much more modest, therefore it is unprofitable to breed Indoutok for eggs.
Advantages and disadvantages
Mute ducks attract their complaisant character. They do not create problems for the breeder with food, they do well without an artificial reservoir. This does not end the list of breed benefits:
- cleanliness;
- delicious dietary meat;
- 2 offspring per year;
- fast weight gain;
- large, healthy eggs;
- good maternal instinct;
- stable immunity;
- the possibility of obtaining offspring in an incubator.
Along with all the advantages, breeders found significant shortcomings in keeping and breeding Musk ducks, which made the breed less popular in agriculture:
- low egg production;
- slow growth;
- intolerance to low temperatures;
- risk of disease;
- the need for space, heat, lighting.
Maintenance and care conditions
Musk ducks live in poultry houses, graze in an aviary, on fertile soils. To increase the fecundity of individuals and productivity indicators, follow the rules for the care and maintenance of poultry. Begin by arranging the house properly.
Valuable recommendations from experienced breeders:
- Provide sufficient space for the birds, otherwise they will behave aggressively. Ideally, per 1 square. m of the house accounts for 3 individuals.
- For flooring, use shavings or dry straw, but pre-treat the floor with hydrated lime from germs.
- Set the optimum temperature regime - 15 degrees, the permissible humidity indicator - 60-70%.
- Avoid dampness and drafts, maintain a constant temperature in the house.
- Install perches measuring 40x50 cm on a hill - 8-15 cm from the ground.
- Cover the duck nests with straw or bird fluff, monitor their integrity and cleanliness.
- Provide adequate lighting in the house. With a daylight duration of 14 hours, the egg production rate rises.
- Install a reliable ventilation system in the house, otherwise stale air creates favorable conditions for the reproduction of bacteria and duck diseases.
- Place feeders with a guard: wooden for dry mix, metal for wet feed.
- Provide access to fresh water, install drinkers of such a volume that birds always have a drink.
To prevent poultry from getting sick, giving healthy offspring and high productivity indicators, follow these rules:
- House cleaning. Check that the litter is always dry and clean. Change it once every 2-3 days. Otherwise, the infection enters the body of the ducks, and they infect the entire school, die.
- Walking. Organize an aviary near the house, enclose it with a net. Optionally, make an artificial reservoir or separate part of an existing bet. Graze birds from 10 in the morning until late in the evening. Make sure they always have fresh food, access to water.
- Harvesting, changing water. Renew your drinkers daily. If algae and dirt appear on the walls, count them, disinfect. Check that the ducks eat, do not leave old hay, wet molds. Immunity, health status, fertility depend on it.
- Vaccination. At the 4th and 8th week of life of ducklings, do preventive vaccination against viral hepatitis. Otherwise, there is a high probability of death of offspring under the age of 1 month. In unfavorable conditions, the timing of vaccinations is adjusted individually with the veterinarian.
- Bird inspection. Regularly inspect feathers, head, and limbs of birds. At the first symptoms of the disease, isolate sick individuals, immediately seek help from a veterinarian.
The content of laying hens and drakes
Poultry is unpretentious in food, but to obtain full offspring, monitor their nutrition, living conditions. At the age of 6 months, lay the laying hen in a separate room and increase the duration of daylight hours to 16-17 hours. From this time, the duck can lay eggs.
As for drakes, the period of sexual activity falls on the spring period from April to June. The egg fertility rate is increased to 95%. 1 drake accounts for up to 2-3 ducks. With more hens, the percentage of fertilized eggs decreases, the duck throws them aside, refuses to hatch.
Nutrition
When choosing the basis of the diet, opt for nutritious and fortified compound feeds. Feed half the daily norm in a dry, concentrated form, mix the other with mineral supplements, herbs, vegetables, and vitamins.
Wet mixes also include Indoor fish in the menu, but give them in the afternoon. For the preparation of such mixtures, use fruits and vegetables, boiled and chopped eggs, grain, chalk, salt, sunflower meal, bone and meat flour.
Let's give dry food in the late afternoon, wet - during daylight hours. Such a daily diet in combination with the water regime promotes rapid weight gain, eliminates digestive problems.
For more duck feeding tips, see the next article.
Breeding
In Indoor women, sexual activity begins late - by 9-10 months. Females rush from February-April, depending on the climate of a particular region. This is explained by increased activity of the drake.
Ducks rush at night or in the early morning, so do not let the hens graze for up to 10 hours. Control the number of eggs in the nest. At 15-20 pcs, the duck begins to hatch them. If necessary, lay a few more eggs on the layer, which the layer refused to incubate without maternal instinct.
It is impossible to cross closely related individuals, which leads to extensive pathologies and mutations of the offspring. Subject to all the rules, for 1 year you can get up to 100-150 eggs. If these indicators unexpectedly decreased, review the daily diet of Shipunov, determine the cause.
Hatching eggs
Indians race twice a year. The eggs hatch about 32-37 days, after which the offspring appears. Ducks do not leave the nest until the ducklings hatch. They sit on eggs when there are 15-20 pieces in the nest.
A laying hen picks eggs for hatching. Empty simply throws aside. There are cases when a duck unexpectedly pecked the embryo, and hatched the rest of the eggs before the due date. This suggests that the cub was not viable.
Muscular ducks have a perfectly developed maternal instinct, so they can sit on their eggs for a month without getting up. Moreover, the layers independently turn them over, spray them with water, specially brought in the beak. The main thing is to provide Indoutka with proper nutrition and drink. Nearby there should be a feeder and a drinking bowl, always a basin with water to wet the wings and eggs.
Incubator use
Breeders trust layers with a good maternal instinct more than an incubator. In the latter case, the ducklings survival rate is low. This is explained by the dense shell of eggs through which air and heat do not pass. As a result, the embryo freezes and dies.
If you still use a horizontal incubator for breeding Indootok offspring, follow these rules:
- Provide a temperature of 38 degrees.
- First, place large eggs, after 3-4 hours - medium, after another couple of hours - small.
- Turn eggs 4-5 times daily.
- Control the temperature: 1-7 days - 38 degrees, 8-29 days - 37.6 degrees, 30-35 - 37.2 degrees.
- Adjust the humidity indicator: 1-7 day - 55-60%, 8-29 - 40-45%, 30-35 - 70-75%.
- Starting from 3 weeks, 2 times a day, open the incubator for 15-20 minutes to cool the eggs.
Born ducklings are transferred to a brooder, where they are ensured by the constant temperature and lighting, proper nutrition by age.
About the basics of incubating duck eggs - read this article.
Feeding ducklings
When the ducklings hatched, immediately remove them from the brood hens and feed them. Otherwise, the duck can inadvertently crush its offspring. Then return the kids to the duck, because without her care he would not survive.
Power Features:
- On day 1, feed the chicks with chopped boiled egg so that they are accustomed to self-nutrition. To do this, sprinkle one baby egg crumbs on the back, and when moving they will attract the attention of the entire brood.
- On day 2, include dairy products in the daily diet, for example, cottage cheese, whey, milk.
- On the 4th day in the menu, add bran, spinach and beet tops in chopped form. Meat waste, bran and grain are allowed.
- On the 10th day of life, give the ducklings compound feed and boiled potatoes.
- At the age of 2 weeks, protein food should prevail in the diet of ducklings. Enrich your diet with boiled meat and fish.
From 2 weeks of age, the chicks pass to grazing. Feed them with grain 2 times a day, control the presence of water. To increase the nutritional properties of grain, grind it into flour beforehand. In the daily diet of poultry, corn, barley, millet and wheat are welcome. In the pasture, ducklings find small insects and worms, which also replenish the usual menu.
Keeping ducklings
Ducklings are growing fast, by the age of 2 months they are ready for slaughter. The optimum temperature at the place of detention is 30 degrees (in the first week of life). If there is a lack of heat, use an infrared lamp. Over the following weeks, gradually lower the temperature to 15 degrees, suitable for adults.
In the house with ducklings there should not be a draft or dampness. The permissible humidity limit for the younger generation is 60-70% degrees, not more.
The first month of life in healthy ducklings is liquid litter, which should not cause alarm for the breeder. In connection with this developmental feature, change the young litter more often so that infection does not accumulate on it, mold does not appear.
Possible diseases
Ducks Mute, as well as other inhabitants of the poultry yard, can get sick. They become lethargic, eat poorly, do not drink water, and in the absence of timely treatment, they can infect the entire joint and die.
Potential diseases include:
- Viral hepatitis. More often develops in chicks up to 2 weeks of life, characterized by drooping wings and head, poor nutrition. Treatment is effective with antibiotics.
- Parasitism. The disease is caused by the activity of parasites against the background of violation of the rules for the maintenance of Indoor. Medical treatment, disinfection of the house is carried out, prevention of all its inhabitants.
- Salmonellosis. Shipunov appears conjunctivitis and frequent cramps. Birds weaken, periodically fall while walking. The house is disinfected, treatment is carried out with the help of antibiotics.
- Emeriosis. The disease often develops in individuals up to 4 months. Notable symptoms include green stools, diarrhea, lack of appetite, and decreased activity. The treatment is complex.
- Cholera. The disease is fatal, can kill up to 80% of the joint. In sick ducks, paws swell, stool is broken, the temperature rises to 43 degrees. Unsuitable meat, carcass is burned.
Farmers Reviews
Marina Vladimirovna, 47 years old, farmer, Oryol. I breed Indoretok more for meat than for eggs. The bird is unpretentious in food, calm in behavior, does not cause much trouble. In the winter I stock up on mixed feed, in the summer, ducks independently seek their livelihood on a pasture. The meat is tasty, dietary, in demand, well sold. I don’t particularly follow them, but so far there have been no problems and there have been no complaints from buyers.
Vladimir, 52 years old, agriculture, Kerch. I have been engaged in Indoor women for many years, and for me it is the most favorite, promising breed. The bird is very smart, does not eat harmful grass on pasture, it always returns to the house. In the installation of an additional reservoir does not need. An old bathtub has been dug into the ground in my bird yard, so if necessary it splashes there. I change water regularly, especially in the summer.I don’t buy special food, it eats the same as the rest. The meat is tasty, the eggs are large.
Sergey, 39 years old, agronomist, Krasnodar Territory. I used to keep up to 20 Shipuns, but the last year I swore to contact this breed. Ducks rush late, they give few eggs. The meat is tasty, if not to be late with the slaughter. By the nature of the birds are different, I also met outright provocateurs. It seems that there were no problems, as such, but did not receive real profit. If for a family, then the breed is good, for mass breeding problematic and unpromising.
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Mute ducks have tasty and tender meat, dietary and healthy. Females have an excellent maternal instinct, so they can hatch offspring on their own. They are not capricious in food, care is simple and does not require much time, which is why ducks of this breed are also popular among experienced and novice farmers.