![]() If eggs are not washed, consider fumigating them using formaldehyde gas in a fumigation cabinet immediately after collection. Iodine-based compounds, chlorine solutions and quaternary ammonium compounds are suitable sanitisers. It is advisable to add a sanitiser to the water. Cold water should not be used as it will cause the contents of the egg to contract, allowing dirt and bacteria on the shell to contaminate the egg. If some eggs do need to be washed, use warm water (about 45☌). The eggs may then be wiped with a clean damp cloth.Īvoid washing them as this removes the waxy covering over the shell and poorer hatchings can occur. Lightly rub them with fine-grade steel wool to remove dry mud and manure. Cleaning eggsĭirty eggs must be cleaned immediately after collection to prevent disease and spoilage micro-organisms from penetrating the shell. Those eggs not suitable for incubating will probably be fit for human consumption. Do not select eggs that are obviously underweight, cracked or heavily mottled, or those that have poor shell texture. Because of this, and to conserve incubator space, set only those eggs that are likely to produce ducklings. Some eggs have little or no chance of hatching. Keep dirty eggs separate from clean eggs. It is preferable to collect eggs directly onto plastic egg filler trays. If ducks are laying while you are collecting eggs, allow them to stay on the nest - make another collection 2 hours later. Eggs must be gathered first thing to prevent them becoming dirty and to keep breakages to a minimum. Most ducks lay their eggs during the night or early morning. The aim of the lighting program is to give birds a constant 15 hours of light per day. Remember that daylength decreases in autumn by about 15 minutes each week until the middle of June, when it increases by 15 minutes each week until the middle of December. Lights should be operated by a time switch that has a reserve spring. Blackout training from day one when ducklings are first hatched may prevent later problems of panic when lights are turned off. A combined morning and evening lighting program can be used however, the same problems of possible panic at night must be considered. If all-night lighting is not practised, morning lighting is preferred to evening lighting. All-night lighting can prevent such panic, using one 15 watt bulb for every 18 m 2 of floor space. Ducks require a light intensity of about 10 lux and this can be provided by one 60 watt incandescent bulb for every 18 m 2 of floor space.Įnglish breeds might panic when the lights go out in an evening lighting program. Make sure the light shines on all feeders, drinkers and nests. There is no production advantage in using fluorescent lights instead of incandescent lights, but the fluorescent tubes or bulbs are more economical to run. Fifteen-hour light program for layers on constant daylength Month Note: Do not adjust time clock to daylight saving time. Supplement natural daylight with artificial light so that birds receive about 15 hours of total light (see Table 1). Artificial lighting for 2 weeks or so before eggs are required for setting can achieve this. LightingĮlectric lights can be used to bring ducks more quickly to full production and to shorten the period of moult (when birds have a pause in production). ![]() With morning lighting programs the bulk of eggs are laid between 4.00 am and 7.00 am. Nest litter should be changed daily after most eggs have been laid. Pekins start laying eggs when they are about 26–28 weeks of age and can be kept economically for about 40 weeks of production, when they will have laid about 160 eggs.Įgg production and overall performance is best if breeding ducks are housed together in groups no bigger than 250 birds. English breeds normally maintain more than 50% production for about 5 months. 100 ducks laying 90 eggs daily) within 5 weeks of the onset of laying. They lay their eggs in batches of about 20 the first few eggs of the first batch will be small and they should not be set for incubation.ĭucks usually begin laying at about 6–7 months of age and should be laying at a rate of about 90% (i.e. Muscovies are the only breed that generally goes broody. But when ducks are raised commercially, production falls rapidly because of the ducks’ nervous tendencies, and therefore becomes less economic. Egg production from the egg-laying strains is very high when groups are small. ![]()
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