Breeding domestic ducks is becoming increasingly popular among farmers. We already know that their meat and eggs are quite healthy. There are many types of ducks, including broiler ducks, however, when reading information about each of them, you can often come across the word “drake”. Who is this? What does this bird look like?

A drake is a male duck. Let's look at it in more detail.

We already know that the duck and drake are birds of a large family of waterfowl, which includes about 150 species. The bird of this family has a flattened beak and waterproof plumage thanks to the coccygeal gland.

The coccygeal gland secretes oil with which the bird lubricates its feathers. If for some reason the bird does not swim, the feathers will become dirty, which will interfere with normal flight. All ducks love to splash in the water.

Features of caring for a drake: choosing a bird

The drake, like the duck, feeds mainly on plant matter, such as plankton. At home, birds are fed finely chopped greens and various mashes with the addition of boiled eggs or crushed shells. Drakes, like ducks, are not picky about food.

There are many types of drakes, each of which has its own color characteristics. Since the drake is a male, it is larger than the female. In addition, since he does not have to hatch eggs, nature has not endowed him with camouflage plumage; the drake is a bright, beautiful bird, which is reflected in various kinds of photos, of which there are many on the Internet.

To choose a suitable duckling, you need:

• Before buying, make sure that every chick you like is healthy (a healthy baby drake behaves actively, noisily and quacks cheerfully. It is important to pay attention to the plumage on the butt: it must be clean and dry, otherwise dirt may indicate problems with the intestines, infection );
• find out from the seller whether there is a certificate and whether the conditions for keeping the ducks meet all the requirements;
• buy week-olds, since by this age the ducklings are already quite strong.

Before purchasing drakes, it is important to consider the conditions for transporting the birds and prepare a room for keeping them. There must be optimal temperature and lighting. It must be clean, the health of the ducks depends on it.

Bird breeding

If the goal is to mate and breed offspring at home, then it is better to buy adult individuals, choosing them just as carefully before doing so. As a rule, the breeding herd is first selected for breeding.

How many females should be left per drake? As a rule, 6 females are left. At the same time, it is important not to forget to monitor the sexual instinct of the males (whether the drake is ready to trample the duck). It is very important that this happens in the warm season, since at this time it is easier to breed healthy offspring. It is very important that the selected candidates are approximately the same age and weight category.

The selection of the female plays an even greater role. She must be energetic, agile with a strong skeleton. In this case, you need to pay attention to the fact that each species has its own mating characteristics.

To prevent the drake from trampling the duck already sitting on the eggs, it needs to be moved to another pen. A corral is an adapted, isolated room for living. How can a drake harm its own young? He starts chasing them and throwing them around. Often the male will kill his cub if the necessary measures are not taken.

Caring for chicks

The duck is responsible for raising the baby. She looks after him, protects him. The baby calls his mother and trusts her. The male, as a rule, does not take part in raising the cub. He rests, and during sexual readiness he is placed with other females.

It is very important that each chick lives in comfortable indoor conditions; nutrition should be provided with complete, balanced food. It is very important for the duckling to choose the right lighting. For this, as a rule, 75 W lamps are used; more powerful ones are not needed.

We must not forget to monitor the health of each baby, carry out disinfection on time, and pay attention to ensuring that the birds always have fresh and clean food. drinking water, introduce complementary foods correctly, monitor the room temperature. If you have doubts about the health of the birds, it is better to call a veterinarian.

If you fulfill all these simple conditions, then success in breeding ducks and drakes is guaranteed; if in doubt, you can consult with those who have previously raised birds.

Let's summarize: a male duck is called a drake, and caring for him differs little from that required by a female.

For a homestead or for sale, breeding ducks is quite a profitable business. They produce three types of main products: meat, eggs, fluff, as well as an additional one - litter.

In order to start a business, you need to purchase eggs or chicks. You can constantly buy the latter, or you can breed them yourself in your own yard. A duck chick is called a duckling.

It is distinguished by good vitality, early ripening and unpretentiousness.

Popular breeds for breeding

• musky;
• Beijing;
• black white-breasted;
• clayey;
• cayuga (coral);
• mirror;
• white allier;
• gray Ukrainian.

If a farmer has purchased eggs, he will need a brood hen(s) or an incubator. It is very convenient for those who plan to raise poultry for meat on a medium or large scale. The best eggs for incubation will be those that have lain for no more than 10 days after laying, have an even shape, and are of medium size for the breed.

How to remove a chick from hatching to slaughter

The duration of the incubation period is 27-28 days. The time interval of approximately one day before hatching is called pipping. At this time, the duck chick is trying to break through the shell with its beak. It is very important to be close to the ducklings when they are born, as they hatch wet and the slightest draft can be fatal to them. Duck babies need to be dried artificially or left to the hen.

It can be done under an adult bird - a brood hen - or separately. Of course, the first method is better, but the incubator duck chick is no worse in terms of productive qualities. You just need to take into account some subtleties:

• The poultry room must have a constant temperature and humidity, even though ducks are waterfowl, there should be no dampness in the poultry house. The air temperature before the 6th day is 22-28 o C, after that it is 16-18. The bedding for ducklings should be dry and warm; use straw, peat, and sawdust.
• A duck chick, like any other poultry, is extremely sensitive to hypothermia. It is necessary to use special drinking bowls for ducklings so that they do not get wet.
• Accustoming to water is carried out later than for a brood reared under a brood hen: usually from 18-25 days.
• It is necessary to calculate the size of the room and not place a large number of chicks together: ducks do not tolerate crowded spaces well. The norm is 7-8 heads per square meter.

Slaughter for meat is carried out at two months, the weight of the young animals is 2200-2500 g. After two months, the birds begin to molt, the ducks lose weight, the weight at slaughter will be higher, but the meat yield is less.

Feeding ducklings

Duck babies are quite voracious; you need to add food to the feeders after 3-4 hours. Their diet consists of mashed grains, porridges (oatmeal, millet, barley) with the addition of milk, cottage cheese, vegetables, and green grass. A mineral supplement in the form of crushed shells, chalk, and from three weeks - salt - is required. For ducklings in the first days of life, add a finely chopped boiled egg.

Determining the sex of ducklings

In order to find out what sex a duck chick is, you need to look into the cloaca; in the drake, a small tubercle is visible in its lower section. Ducks can be gendered almost immediately after birth. In some breeds, females and males differ in color.

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For our youngest readers

Dear friends! If there are small children in your family, then let them learn more about animals.

Children are especially interested in observing parent-child relationships in animals. This will allow the child to more fully understand the order of distribution of social roles in any community. Young children actively absorb everything new, and interesting information about family life animals helps them to more correctly determine their place in their family and in the team.

So, first of all about pets.

Dog, dog and puppy

The dog is the very first animal domesticated by man. This happened 14 thousand years ago. Now there are hundreds of different breeds of dogs, and not only decorative ones. Dogs can be hunting, guard, herding, service, etc. Dog cubs are called puppies. The puppy's dad is called a dog.

Cat, cat and kitten

Cats, like dogs, have been domesticated by humans for a very long time. Even now, they not only delight their owners, but also protect their homes from mice and other rodents. The kitten's dad's name is cat.

Bull, cow and calf

The cow is a very useful animal. She gives people milk. Her baby's name is calf. The calf's father is a bull.

Goat, goat and kid

Goats provide people with very healthy milk and wool. Her baby is a kid, and the kid's dad is a buck.

Ram, sheep and lamb

The sheep gives people warm wool. A baby sheep's name is lamb. The lamb's father is a ram.

Horse, horse (mare) and foal

The horse is used as a vehicle for riding and transporting goods. A baby horse is called a foal. The foal's father is a horse.

Donkey, donkey and foal (baby donkey)

Donkeys in the southern and mountainous regions are used as a means of transportation.

Camel, she-camel and baby camel

The camel is a very hardy animal, which is indispensable in the deserts for transporting goods. In addition, camels produce very good wool.

Rabbit, mother rabbit and baby rabbits

Rooster, hen and chicks

The chicken lays eggs. The eggs hatch into chickens, and their father is a rooster.

Drake, duck and ducklings

This is the daddy drake, his head is green, unlike the gray mother duck.

Goose, goose and goslings

Turkey, turkey and poults

And now a little about wild animals.

Elephant, mother elephant and baby elephant

Lion, lioness, lion cub

Tiger, tigress and tiger cub

Bear, she-bear and cub

Polar bear, polar bear, little bear

Panda, baby panda

Cheetah and cheetah cubs (kittens)

Leopard and leopard cub (kitten)

Wolf, she-wolf and cubs

Elk, elk, calf

This is Papa Moose. He, unlike a moose cow, has huge horns.

Deer, doe, fawn

Hippopotamus, hippopotamus and baby hippopotamus

Rhinoceros, female rhinoceros and baby rhinoceros

Giraffe, giraffe, baby giraffe

Buffalo, buffalo and buffalo

Bison, bison mother and bison calf

Gorilla, female gorilla, baby gorilla

Zebra and zebra cubs

Walrus, walrus and baby walrus

Seal, mother seal and baby seal (squirrel)

Penguin, penguin and baby penguin

Swan white and black, baby swans

Long-eared owl and little owlet

Turtle and baby turtle (turtle)

Hedgehog, hedgehog and hedgehog

That's all our examples. Did you remember everything and repeat it?

We also suggest you watch the video to reinforce it.

Here is a video with the names of the animals:

There are also baby animals here:

And here the animals “say”: