Mulard Ducks for Beginner Poultry Farmers

Good day! Today we are going to discuss domestic Mulard ducks. Breeding these birds at home is becoming increasingly popular among farmers in their backyards. And all because Mulard meat does not have a specific taste and can be used to prepare a lot of delicious culinary dishes.

Mulard Ducks – Breed Description and Weight

These birds are hybrids that were bred in France by breeders by crossing Muscovy and Pekin duck breeds. The result was a duck with a calm disposition, which has tasty meat and quickly gains weight during growth. By four months, they grow up to 6 kg.

If we consider the appearance of mulards, we can highlight the following features. They have a compact body with an elongated shape, to which large wings fit tightly.

The plumage is most often white, but black and brown may be present, but only in combination. They have a medium-sized head with an elongated neck. The bird’s beak is yellow. The legs of mulards are strong and short with an orange tint.

Basic conditions of detention

Experienced poultry farmers say that keeping mulards is not difficult. By the way, it is not much different from other duck breeds. The main thing is to adhere to the basic requirements.

• The area of ​​the room should be at least 1 sq. m. for two birds. But the walking area is 1 sq. m. for each adult bird.
• This breed does not need perches, as they spend all their time below. Of course, the floor should be covered with a thin layer of sawdust or straw. The bedding should be changed as it gets dirty, but not less than once every three days.
• The room where the birds are kept must be free of drafts, and the temperature regime must be maintained at no lower than 15 C° and no higher than 25 C°. Humidity within 60-70%.
• The entrance to the poultry house should be kept open throughout the day so that the mulards can easily get inside if the weather conditions worsen or they become tired.
• Since the bird is a waterfowl, it is necessary to install a large container with clean water in the walking area where the bird can bathe.
• The feeder should be appropriate for the height of the Mulard duck’s back and each type of food should have its own compartment.

If you follow these simple rules, you can achieve high productivity of birds, but no less important aspect is the nutrition of ducks.

What and how to feed Mulard ducks at home

Nutritional standards! To achieve rapid weight gain, mulards should not be restricted in food, and to prevent the meat from being coarse and fibrous, they need a lot of drinking water.

In the first three days of life, ducklings give boiled liquid porridge mixed with a boiled egg. On the fourth day, add chopped greens, which will provide the chicks with fiber and vitamins. And only on the eighth day of life, boiled potatoes are introduced into the diet, and eggshells and chalk are gradually added.

Feeding Growing Ducklings is from 3 to 5 times a day, starting at dawn, after waking up and then at intervals of every four hours. The last feeding is done before sunset.

The duck diet should include the following components: bran and grain, grass and vegetables, bone or fish meal. Vitamin and mineral supplements are also necessary.

Mulards should be given river sand, shells or small gravel to speed up the grinding of food.

Individuals are fattened up to two months of life, here their weight reaches 3-4 kg, it is during this period that the bird should be sent for slaughter. If you wait too long, then molting will begin, and they will begin to lose weight, and then you will have to wait for the 20th week. But it is worth considering that five-month-old mulard ducks will not justify the costs of maintenance, so they should be slaughtered at the first term.

What diseases do Mulard ducks get?

Common diseases. The breed of these ducks is endowed with robust health, and they have innate immunity to various bird diseases. But still, it cannot be said that they do not get sick at all. Mulards can suffer from the following diseases:

• Feather pecking. This disease is more common than others and occurs because the birds are given an unbalanced diet and are kept in a cramped enclosure.
• The next disease is aspergillosis. This is an infectious disease, the infection of which occurs through the respiratory organs, where the fungus gets. The cause of the disease is dirty bedding, on which mold forms, and the supply of stale food.
• Cloacitis. Another name for the disease is inflammation of the mucous membrane of the cloaca, which occurs due to a deficiency of vitamins A and D.

With proper care and following recommendations for keeping birds, you can raise a healthy and weighty duck in two months, and at the same time avoid various diseases.

The main pros and cons of content

The following nuances stand out as advantages:

1. Meat without a specific smell, which contains a small amount of fat (3%).
2. The neatness of the birds makes it possible to use feathers and down.
3. Rapid weight gain of Mulard ducks.
4. The birds are easy to care for and keep, and are not picky about food.
5. Calm adaptation to a new environment.
6. Quiet temperament.
7. Good health due to innate immunity.
8. By the way, there is no need to clip the wings.

The disadvantages include one significant drawback – mulards are not bred in the usual way, like domestic birds. Since when crossing individuals of this breed, only unfertilized eggs are always obtained. Therefore, a farmer who wants to have mulards on his personal farm will have to buy ducklings again or engage in selection.

Experienced poultry farmers come to the same conclusion that the breed of these birds is one of the most popular domestic ducks. Since with basic and simple care and maintenance, you get large volumes of meat in a short period of time.