Chicken coops plans

Melvin L. Hamre

About 22 million ducks are raised annually in the United States. Most areproduced under confinement on specialized duck farms in a few commerciallyimportant duck production areas. However, many farms still raise a few ducksprimarily for family use or local sale. This publication is intended for thelatter group.

Ducks are raised primarily for meat. Although most breeds used arerelatively poor layers, the flock should be managed to save the eggs producedfor food purposes or hatching. The commercial duck industry is built around thePekin breed. Pekins reach market weight early and are fairly good egg producers,but they are poor setters and seldom raise a brood.

The Rouen is a popular farm flock breed. It is slower growing than thePekin, but it reaches the same weight over the 5 to 6 month period of feedingand foraging under farm flock conditions. Its slower growth and colored plumagemake it undesirable for commercial production.

The Muscovy, a breed unrelated to other domestic ducks, is also used to someextent in farm flocks. They are good foragers and make good setters. Muscovymales are much larger than the females at market age.

Meat production is generally of primary importance in selecting a breed, butegg production for propagation, brooding tendency, and the white plumage thatproduces an attractive dressed carcass should also be considered.

Keeping small, ornamental varieties of ducks, sometimes called bantam ducks,for exhibition or hobby purposes is increasing. Included in this grouping areWhite and Gray Calls, Black East Indias, Wood Ducks, Mandarins, and sometimesTeal. Most general poultry shows and some special bantam shows offer classes forthese ducks.

Small groups of ducklings can be brooded by broody chicken hens and mostbreeds of ducks other than Pekin and Runner. If the ducklings aren’t hatched bythe broody female, place them under her at night so that she will more readilyaccept them.

Ducklings can be brooded artificially in about the same way as baby chicks.Due to their rapid growth, ducklings will need heat a shorter period of time,and floor space requirements will increase more rapidly.

Any small building or garage or barn corner can be used as a brooding areafor small numbers of birds. The brooding area should be dry, reasonably welllighted and ventilated, and free from drafts. Cover the floor with about 4inches of absorbent litter material, such as wood shavings, chopped straw, orpeat moss. Litter dampness is more of a problem with ducks than with chicks.Good litter management will require removal of wet spots and frequent additionof clean, dry litter. Be sure litter is free of mold.

Infrared heat lamps are a convenient source of heat for brooding smallnumbers of birds. Use one 250-watt lamp for 30 ducklings. Heat lamps provideradiant heat to the birds under them. Since the air isn’t heated, roomtemperature measurement isn’t so important.

When using hover-type brooders, brood only half as many ducklings as therated chick capacity. Because ducklings are larger than chicks in size, it maybe necessary to raise the hover 3 to 4 inches. Have the temperature at the edgeof the hover 85 to 90 degrees F when the ducklings arrive. Reduce it 5 to 10degrees per week.

Confine the birds to the heated area with a corrugated paper chick guard forthe first 3 to 4 days. Watch the actions of the birds as a clue to theircomfort. If they are too hot, they will move away from the heat. If too coldthey may pile up and be noisy.

High temperatures may result in slower feathering and growth. Supplementaryheat may be needed for 5 to 6 weeks in cold weather; in summer, only 2 to 3weeks. By 4 weeks of age, the ducklings should be feathered enough to beoutdoors except in extremely cold, wet weather. In some areas attention topredator control may be necessary when the ducklings are turned out.

Allow 1/2 square foot of floor space per bird during thefirst two weeks. Increase this to at least 1 square foot by 4 weeks. If thebirds are to remain confined after the first month, provide them with at least 2square feet of floor space.

Ducklings should have feed and drinking water available when they arestarted under the brooder or hen. Use waterers the birds can’t get into. This isespecially important in the brooding area since ducklings are easily chilledwhen they become wet while still in the “down” stage. Pans or troughswith wire guards are satisfactory. Place waterers over low, wire-covered framesto help reduce wet litter problems. Change waterers or adjust size as birdsgrow. The waterer should be wide enough and deep enough for a bird to dip itsbill and head.

In some areas commercial suppliers have feeds formulated for duck feeding.Check with the suppliers in your vicinity. If duck feeds aren’t available, startducklings on chick starter for the first 2 to 3 weeks. Place feed for the firstfew days on egg case flats or other rough paper: slick-surfaced paper may causeleg injuries. After 2 to 3 weeks ducklings can be fed a pelleted chicken growerration plus cracked corn, or other grain. Keep feed before the birds at alltimes and provide grower-size insoluble grit. Less feed wastage and better feedefficiency result from using crumbled or pelleted feeds.

Ducks are easy to raise because they are hardy and not susceptible to manyof the common poultry diseases. The use of medicated feeds isn’t usuallynecessary. Very few additives have been approved for nutritional or medicinaluse in duck feeds. Waterfowl may be more sensitive to some drugs than otherpoultry. Incorrect use of certain medicated feeds formulated for chickens andturkeys could harm ducklings.

Small flocks of ducklings raised in the late spring with access to greenfeed outdoors generally have few nutritional problems. While ducks are not asgood foragers as geese, they do eat some green feed and farm flocks are usuallyallowed to run at large. Cut green feed can be supplied to the birds when theymust be kept inside in bad weather. Water for swimming isn’t necessary forsuccessful duck production.

Under commercial conditions, Pekin ducklings are ready for market when 7 to9 weeks old. These birds weigh 6 to 7 pounds and have consumed 20 to 25 poundsof feed. Rouens raised under farm flock conditions may take 5 months to reachthese weights. Muscovy ducks take somewhat longer.

The holiday retail duck market is greatest from Thanksgiving through NewYear’s Day. Ducks grown for home use or limited local sales can be slaughteredany time. If ducklings are kept longer than 11 to 12 weeks, new pinfeathersbegin to come out, making it difficult to pick them clean for another severalweeks. Growers planning on any commercial marketings should make schedulingplans in advance with a processor or marketing organization.

Select stock from flocks hatched in April and May. Using males from earlyflocks will help insure their readiness for mating for the start of thefollowing year. Choose vigorous birds with good weight, conformation, andfeathering before marketing the young flock. Keep one male for each 5 to 6females. Young birds should be selected only from families with good eggproduction, hatchability, and fertility records.

Identification of males and females is necessary when selecting birds forbreeder flocks and for exhibition. Even in breeds that have a sex-differentiatedcolor pattern, both sexes may resemble each other in their summer plumage. Ducksand geese can be sexed by everting the vent and examining the reproductiveorgans (see Raising Geese, FS-1190.) This practice requires someexperience and may be more easily done with day-old birds or during the breedingseason. In some breeds mature males develop characteristic curled feathers atthe base of the tail. After about 6 weeks of age, the sounds ducks make can be aclue to their sex. Females have a more definite sharp quack, while males have asound which is not nearly so loud or harsh but more of a muffled sound.

Birds held for breeders must be kept from becoming too fat. Thebreeder-developer ration fed during the holding period should contain lessenergy than starter and grower rations. If the grower ration is continued duringthe holding period, gradually restrict feed to about 70 percent of the amountfed at the start.

Change to a breeder-laying ration about 1 month before egg productionstarts. Don’t bring birds into production before 7 months of age. Feedingoystershell is optional to improve eggshell quality. Increasing day length withlighting stimulates egg production. Provide a 14-hour day 3 weeks before thedesired egg production date. The flock should be laying at a high rate ofproduction within 5 to 6 weeks. Meat-type breeds should remain above 50 percentproduction for about 5 months.

Provide breeders with a clean, dry, well-ventilated shed or house. Allow 5to 6 feet of floor space per bird. Birds are often confined at night to get amaximum number of eggs and then allowed daytime access to the yard. Providefloor level nest boxes. Most eggs are laid in early morning. Gather eggs about 7a.m. and let the birds out of the house. If some birds stay on the nests, asecond collection can be made later in the day. Clean, dry litter and nestingmaterial will help produce clean eggs.

Soiled eggs should be cleaned soon after gathering. They should be washed inwarm water (at least 20 degrees F warmer than the eggs) containing an eggcleaning and sanitizing compound used according to the manufacturer’sinstructions. Store eggs for hatching at 55 degrees F and a relative humidity of75 percent. Eggs stored longer than 2 weeks may decline in hatchability. Ifstored more than a week, turn eggs daily to prevent yolks from sticking toshells.

Muscovy ducks require 35 days of incubation; eggs of other domestic duckbreeds require 28 days. A chicken hen or female duck can set on 9 to 11 duckeggs. Place the nest where it won’t be disturbed during the incubation periodand provide a convenient source of feed and water. The nest should be checked athatching time. Remove early hatching ducklings as soon as they hatch and placethem under a brooder or heat lamp. This may prevent the hen from leaving thenest before completion of hatch or trampling some of the young if she becomesrestless.

When using an incubator for duck eggs, follow the manufacturer’sinstructions for the machine being used. Turn the eggs 3 to 5 times daily until3 days before they hatch. Some growers try to maintain a slightly higherincubator humidity for duck eggs than chicken eggs, especially during thehatching time. Sprinkling duck eggs with lukewarm water twice a week up to the25th day has been helpful in some instances; others have had goodsuccess without sprinkling. Keep track of any modifications you make in yourincubation procedures so you can evaluate them properly and adopt those that aremost likely to increase the success of your operation.

Melvin L. HamreExtension AnimalScientist, Poultry Department of Animal Science

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