How to choose ducks?

The choice of breeding ducks includes the choice of breeding male ducks and breeding female ducks, because parents have equal influence on their offspring. Because the number of breeding drakes in the flock is less than that of female ducks, breeding drakes has a greater impact on the flock, so it is of great significance to choose breeding drakes to improve the flock quality. The effect of breeding duck selection is influenced by many factors, so different selection methods should be adopted according to the selected traits and breeding time. Common methods are as follows:

(1) According to the appearance and physiological characteristics, the traits with high heritability are selected, and the individual selection effect is better. The preferred retention method is often used in production, that is, the good individuals are selected and retained in turn in the duck flock until the required number is reached.

Ducks kept for breeding are required to be big and fat. The drake requires a big head, a thick neck, a deep chest, big eyes, tight feathers, luster and strong mating ability; The female duck is required to choose a slightly smaller head, a thinner neck, a smooth and smart appearance, a broad back and a large abdomen, plump and drooping hips, delicate feathers and fine stripes of ducks.

When choosing according to appearance, we should pay attention to the appearance of ducks in different seasons and different ages. There is a saying among the masses that "spring ducks are flowers and autumn ducks are ugly", that is to say, female ducks with good egg-laying performance have just begun to lay eggs in spring, with delicate and shiny feathers, vigorous metabolism and lively actions, just like "flowers"; In autumn, the mother duck, who lays many eggs, walks like an "ugly monster" because of high nutrition consumption, messy feathers and dyed abdominal feathers. On the contrary, ducks with rough feathers in spring and smooth feathers in autumn are ducks that don't lay eggs very much.

(2) The selection of body shape and appearance according to the production performance records can only reflect the general situation, and should be accurately selected according to the production performance records. Duck farms should establish necessary production performance recording systems, and then make individual selection or group selection according to the records. Because of the low heritability of many production performances, the selection effect based on individual records is not good, while the group selection based on families, including siblings (full siblings or half siblings) and offspring selection, can achieve better selection effect.

There are many items that need to be recorded in production performance, mainly including duck's annual egg production, egg weight, fertilization rate of breeding eggs, hatching rate of fertilized eggs, brooding rate, mating rate, weight gain rate, feed reward and so on. Statistics should strive to be consistent and minimize errors.

Ducks usually lay eggs at night, which can be recorded by holding eggs when ducks return to their nests at night, that is, when ducks return to their nests, they gently hold the lower end of each duck's abdomen with their hands. For example, a duck laying eggs that night can feel two round hard objects in its abdomen, which is relatively simple to operate.

With the continuous improvement of breeding technology, the statistics and calculation of data are no longer limited to a single trait. Multi-trait selection is often used, and multiple traits are synthesized by statistical methods to make them into numerical values that are convenient for different individuals to compare. According to this value, in addition to new seed selection methods such as blood group identification and biochemical index determination, there are also comprehensive index method and compound breeding method.