At what age do Indo-girls start to lay eggs?

Domestic ducks are bred mainly for meat and fluff. Meanwhile, they produce large eggs, which are a valuable food product and also a way to increase the number of duck herds without resorting to buying young animals on the side. In order for the birds to fly often and abundantly, and the offspring to be healthy, it is important to know how many eggs a duck is laying, how to keep it, and much more.

The beginning of maturation

This species has its own developmental characteristics, which consist in different periods of maturation of males and females. Ducks are ready to start laying eggs 200 days after birth. It is strongly not recommended to influence the natural process by different methods. For example, arrange additional lighting or introduce complementary foods. The male should be 1.5 months older than his pair - this will ensure high productivity. If the broodstock is large, then the ratio of broodstock and queens is chosen 1: 4.

Indoor

What you need to know about the egg period

In 365 days, from one duck, you can get up to hundreds of eggs - this amount depends on what conditions the birds are provided with, as well as how high-quality care is. Indoor women need cleanliness and warmth in the premises. If you provide them with enough light and heat, you can get a lot of products. Diet plays an important role, the addition of various premixes also has a positive effect on productivity. While maintaining the temperature regime within the required limits, the bird will not reduce its egg production even in winter.

As for the masonry period itself, you should pay attention to the following subtleties:

1. Failure to comply with temperature indicators leads to the fact that laying will begin 60 days later.
2. The incubation period lasts 34-37 days.
3. Eggs from adult ducks can be started from January, if conditions are favorable for this.
4. The clutch intensity of young stock reaches its peak after 365 days from the moment of birth. In the first year of life, the first eggs can be obtained only at the end of autumn.
5. The egg-bearing period begins in February - the first days of March, it is the older females that will start laying clutches first. The feather change also coincides with the time of laying the eggs and lasts 60 days.

Masonry is a cyclical process, it begins at dawn and lasts throughout the day. All this time takes about a little less than six months, then there is a break of 90 days, a seasonal change of feather - and the next clutch.

Reasons why they don't rush and what to do

However, the egg production of an Indo-female largely depends on the conditions created by her, care and feeding. The key to success will be winter insulation of the room, sufficient lighting and proper feeding. If the temperature is above + 120C, the bird will begin to rush at the end of February. However, high temperature will also have a bad effect on productivity - +12 - +19 degrees is considered optimal. The main reasons why ducks don't fly are:

• low air temperature in the poultry house;
• imbalance or poor nutritional quality;
• indoor dirt and damp bedding;
• diseases.

Indo-women are considered capricious, demanding for cleanliness, birds.Therefore, regular cleaning of the chicken coop and change of bedding, arrangement of dry, clean nests are prerequisites for their maintenance. Duck grazing has a positive effect on their productivity.

Grazing

The reluctance to rush may be associated with a lack of certain nutrients, vitamins, which stimulates the poultry farmer to revise the poultry ration or improve its quality. It is important to know that young individuals begin to rush only towards summer, and maybe even later.

It is also worth saying that in females, sexual maturity occurs at the age of 180-200 days, then in drakes this period occurs a little later. Therefore, when forming a herd, it is advisable to acquire males that are at least 1 month older than ducks in age. Fights, fights in the poultry house can also cause the lack of eggs.

Molting is an annual process in Indo-Ducks that directly affects productivity. The time and duration of molting depends on the individual characteristics of each individual individual. On average, it is 50-60 days and begins after laying.

But, under unfavorable conditions - a harsh climate, an unbalanced diet, a short daylight hours, molting can begin earlier or, conversely, drag on, adversely affecting egg production. In this case, it remains to correct the negative factors and wait for the end of the molt. A characteristic feature of this bird is the seasonality of laying, which must also be taken into account.

To remedy the situation, you should:

• add more greens, hay to the feed;
• introduce corn, eggshells, vitamins into the diet;
• feed the bird in moderation to prevent the development of obesity;
• provide regular grazing in the fresh air;
• equip spacious nests in different places with dry hay bedding;
• keep quiet in the poultry house, do not frighten the ducks with a sharp noise;
• keep the poultry house clean, provide good ventilation;
• make sure that adults and arrogant individuals do not peck at the rest;
• provide a personal space for each bird, avoid crowding.

Laying hens should always have access to clean water and feed.

Important! There should be no more than 4-5 ducks per drake in the poultry house, otherwise the productivity will be low, and many eggs will remain unfertilized.

Defining a good brood hen

It is worth noting that Indo-females are excellent hens and are able not only to hatch babies, but also to raise them later. This aspect is very important for many poultry farmers: you do not have to use incubators and tinker with the young yourself. A special place here is occupied by the selection of ducks for the mother herd. What characteristics should an ideal brood hen have?

• a bird with a wide keel is perfect for the role of a future mother;
• growths on the face should not be large and faded;
• it is best to give preference to a large female, which has an excellent indicator of the number of eggs in a clutch.

The last days of the hatching

Closer to the time of hatching, the Indo-duck starts to voice. During this period, it is important to keep the hen calm without creating additional noise and not driving her out of the nest. This period can start from the 25th day of hatching.

Muscovy ducks can also hatch chicken eggs, but it is important to pick up chicks from the nest in time, the bird can kill them. Thus, it is possible to breed chickens with the Indoor.

On the 30th day of incubation, it is allowed to check whether the chicks have hatched. It is not allowed to help babies to break through the shell.

After the first babies have appeared, it is worth taking them home. Although all chicks hatch at about the same time, the first batch can confuse the duck. She can start caring for them and forget about incubating or crush young ducklings.

Before picking up the chicks, you need to prepare a place in the house for keeping them. It should be warm and equipped with feeding tools. After all the eggs have hatched, return the chicks to the brood hen.

What you need to know about nesting sites

Breeding itself will depend on the choice of the right place. In the poultry house, you need to choose a quiet, secluded corner where no one will disturb the female during laying. In the uterine part, houses are installed according to the number of queens and are separated from each other by removable partitions so that the birds cannot communicate with each other. Such a precaution is not a waste of time: some hens may hatch chicks a little ahead of time (it is still impossible to get broods at the same time), then other birds will simply leave their nests with unhatched eggs.

A special requirement is imposed on the room: a certain temperature regime must be maintained here. As for nesting houses, they can be made from cardboard boxes or plywood. The last option is considered the most convenient, because the nests can be used for several years. The bottom is covered with high-quality hay or straw to keep the ducklings warm.

Nest house option out of the box

As the clutch approaches, it is necessary to provide the bird with a quality diet. As a rule, dry food and various grain mixtures are used. The broodstock is allocated a walking area with growing grass, which is separated from the rest of the birds.

It is important not to forget about the water containers. In the warm season, it is recommended to place large pelvis in which females can take water procedures. A wet feather, in contact with the eggs, will wash off the film from the shells and thus normalize gas exchange processes. If for some reason the ducks cannot be provided with bathing suits, it is recommended to daily sprinkle the masonry with water from a spray bottle.

Extraneous noise will start to disturb the ducks, and then they will leave their nests. It is necessary to refrain from carrying out works that are associated with loud sounds, at least until the nesting period is over.

When Indo-Dogs start to rush at home

The bird reaches sexual maturity by 6 - 7 months, but the beginning of oviposition depends not only on the age of the bird. If young ducks are kept in a cold barn, without additional lighting in winter, the beginning of laying, regardless of age, is postponed until spring.

In a poultry house with a temperature of at least +15 degrees and lighting at 10 - 11 o'clock, the Indoor will be brought in no later than 8 months.

Indoor

Interesting... If the owner of the herd notices that the male regularly tramples on young ducks, this is a signal that the clutch will begin soon.

During the year, the musk duck lays about a hundred large eggs with dense shells. As a rule, she can hatch chicks twice in the summer. This happens in the spring: in April - May and in August.

Advice... So that after the first hatch the female “clears up” faster and starts flying again, the ducklings are taken away from her. It is practiced to eat broods from under two ducks under one, the second will soon be brought in again. The new mother is able to raise twice as many chicks as she incubated eggs.

The first eggs laid by the pullets are not suitable for hatching - they will be empty (unfertilized). One female can hatch only 13 - 18 pieces, she will not cover a larger number with her body and they will freeze.

What problems may arise

Some females lay clutches, but do not sit in the nests. What if a similar situation arises? First of all, you need to understand the reasons for the strange behavior. This may be due to the following factors:

• frequent sampling of egg products. The duck prefers to sit in the nest when there are about 2 dozen eggs;
• the house can be infected with parasitic insects, which are very difficult to control;
• the presence of predatory small rodents that drive away ducks and feast on eggs;
• age features. Very young or old birds often refuse to hatch clutches;
• non-observance of conditions of detention: unprepared place, excessive lighting next to nesting houses.

If such shortcomings are eliminated, then the ducks will perfectly hatch eggs.

Laying process

The duck begins to hatch eggs in the spring. The incubation period is 35-40 days. It is very important at what age the bird will begin to lay. Early fertilization should not be allowed. Under the right conditions and a balanced diet, duck ducks should be born at 8 months of age. At first, the birds fly once every two days. After a month, eggs appear daily. You can take them to an incubator or wait until the duck is ready to hatch them on its own.

It is important to know that the brood hen may throw some eggs out of the nest. This means that it is unfertilized or spoiled.

Indoor can rush not only in the nest. Often, individuals like to lay their eggs in the corners.

Drake-Free Indo-Girl Opportunities

In the absence of a drake, the bird can lay eggs. Only they will be unfertilized. However, it is worth knowing that after communicating with the opposite sex, the bird remains fertilized for 10 days. This applies to the spring period. In summer, the number of fertilized eggs will be halved due to less activity during hot weather.

How to plant a duck to hatch a clutch

After the start of the egg-laying period, you need to pay attention to when the bird first sits on the eggs. To start hatching young, the female must have a desire, which is influenced by many aspects. First of all, we are talking about natural instinct.

Indoor woman with young

The bird can ignore the nest due to improper equipment, lack of clutch, too low temperature.

For the manifestation of the incubation instinct, there should be about 20 eggs in the nesting house. The owner will have to look after them, because the bird can simply ignore the clutch - then all the material will become completely unusable.

You can try a little trick and initially put "false" eggs, represented by plastic balls of the appropriate shape and size. If the brood hen treats such a substrate favorably, then you can start laying real eggs. This technique significantly increases the chances that the Indo-female will not leave the nest, but will begin to perform maternal duties.

Nests should be checked daily for new eggs that the bird has just laid. Such products must be removed, but all these manipulations must be done at the moment when the female is absent.

Why the Indo-woman doesn't want to sit on eggs

How many ducks live

There are several reasons for the lack of incubation instinct:

• old age (the old bird can still rush, but it no longer strives to breed ducklings);
• uncomfortable nest or inappropriate place for it (too light, noisy, cold);
• unsuitable time of the year - most often ducks sit down in spring and summer, less often in autumn;
• lack of fatness of the bird - during incubation, the duck eats little and noticeably loses weight.

The owner of a duck farm should review the conditions for keeping and feeding the poultry and eliminate the reason that prevents the duck from sitting on the nest.

How to feed a duck properly to increase egg production

A good diet is the key to a large number of egg products, and this does not depend on the age group of the female. The older the bird becomes, the fewer eggs it will carry, but you can maintain this stage a little and not let it deteriorate with the help of good feed, namely:

• ducks need green mass. It is best to release birds to pastures with alfalfa, clover and similar meadow plants.But if this is not possible, then the green grass is mowed and distributed on the walking area. An additional variety of the diet can be tops from the garden;
• excellent feed - various grain mixtures, which include wheat with barley; for better assimilation, the grain can be soaked in water;
• ducks will not refuse peeling carrots and potatoes;
• thanks to special vitamin supplements, egg production can also be increased. True, they were created specifically for the egg direction, and therefore they may not work as well on poultry as expected.

Similar articles:

• How to incubate Indo-duck eggs?
• Broiler ducks: breeds and maintenance
• Breeding ducklings in an incubator at home: how to care for eggs

Features of egg production in winter

Under natural conditions, the most productive period of laying for ducks is spring, when weather conditions contribute to this, the ability to get all the necessary nutrients from food, etc. However, when raising such birds at home, you can try to provide them with comfortable conditions for laying in winter. To do this, it is necessary to maintain a temperature in the duckhouse at least 8 ° C.

During the day, females can spend time outdoors in places cleared of snow, but they should spend the night in a specially equipped room with a certain temperature. If the temperature is below this level, the eggs will freeze, and in the worst case, the ducks may stop laying altogether.

Important! If the air temperature is too high, the health of the birds worsens and they, too, may stop rushing at their usual pace. Therefore, it is necessary to carefully monitor the microclimate so that the livestock is not too cold or too hot.

Also, in the poultry house, there must be bedding about 30 cm thick, they can be made of straw, shavings, etc. birds live.

Egg production also directly depends on the length of daylight hours. Thanks to sunlight, erythrocytes, vitamin D are produced in the body of birds, the level of hemoglobin increases, therefore, the productivity of ducks increases. If you want to keep the egg production of poultry from dropping in winter, provide them with additional artificial lighting.

On average, daylight hours for ducks should last about 14 hours, so artificial light is necessary for birds in the morning and evening hours. It is also important to provide special nutrition during the winter months by increasing the daily amount of food by 1 individual.

Find out how many days a duck has hatched eggs.