Description of ducks of the Star-53 breed, their rearing and feeding at home
Breeding meat ducks is popular at home. One of the promising duck breeds - Star 53, is in demand due to its rapid growth, not fatty duck meat, and ease of growing. Consider the description and productive characteristics of the Star-53 hybrid, its pros and cons, rules for keeping, feeding, breeding and possible diseases that a poultry farmer may face.
The origin of the breed
Star 53 is a modern Peking duck cross. It was received in France and today the French company Grimaud Frères Sélection produces maternal and paternal lines from Peking ducks, the offspring of which are used to breed hybrids. Long-term use of Star-53 hybrid ducks in industrial and domestic breeding proves their reliability and stable performance.
Description and characteristics of duck Star-53
Broiler ducks have a meat type of constitution, a heavy body, like Peking ducks. You can distinguish the Peking duckling from Star by the head - in the hybrid it is larger, with a convex forehead.
By 1.5 months old ducklings Star-53 gain weight 3.2 kg, feed conversion is 1.94 feed. units for 1 kg of weight gain. At 50 days, the birds already weigh 3.6 kg and consume 2.18 feed. units for 1 kg. By 2 months, the weight of the ducklings is already 4 kg, 2.5 feed is consumed. units The meat yield is 64-67%. In size and build, ducks are similar to geese, but differ from them in neck length and body position. Egg productivity Star 53 - 260 eggs per year, each weighing 70-90 g.
Main pros and cons
You can buy breeding duck exclusively in Europe.
Space and maintenance requirements
To keep broilers Star-53, you need to equip a warm, dry and free room. It should be light, litter, feeders and air should be kept clean. Since Star-53 ducks have an accelerated metabolism, cleaning of the litter will have to be done often, but this is a necessary measure, because in the mud and in an unventilated room, birds get sick, and mortality begins. The floor of the poultry house is covered with straw or hay chaff, sawdust, peat.
The placement rate is no more than 2-3 Star-53 ducks per square of the room.Crowding cannot be allowed, this will lead to diseases, the birds become restless, attack each other. Also, you can not keep the birds in stuffiness, let them breathe stale air. The house should be ventilated every day, and it is better to leave it open while the bird is walking. 3-4 hours of walking is quite enough, since the duck is broiler, excessive movement will not allow it to gain weight by the set date. The same goes for bathing. When a duck swims, it spends energy, this affects weight gain. In addition, the white plumage becomes dirty, especially on the belly and chest. And from eating fish and aquatic food, the meat acquires a fishy smell, which not everyone likes.
But you can't keep the ducks locked up, despite the short feeding period. To walk Star-53 hybrids, you need to equip a walking yard next to the poultry house. Its area is 1 sq. m for 2 ducks. In the courtyard, you can feed the bird with green grass. You need to put drinkers in it and change the water every day.
If it is planned to raise many Star-53 ducks, then it is better to organize automatic ventilation, feeding and watering systems. The temperature regime is also important when raising young and adult ducks. If the ducks are hot, they begin to breathe heavily and reduce their feed intake. If it is cold, they stray together, eat a lot, while there is no increase in weight gain, since energy is spent on warming the body. Therefore, if ducks are kept in winter, you need to take care of the insulation of the house.
Feeding rules
The Star-53 ducks have an intensive metabolism, they need a lot of nutrients. Hybrids cannot gain weight on green forage in free grazing. Their diet should be dominated by grains and foods with high nutritional value.
To grow boiler ducks, you need to make grain mash from grains of various cereals and legumes, add fish and meat and bone meal, cake, bran to them.
Hybrid ducks Star-53 can be fed with compound feed specially developed for duck breeds. It is convenient, you do not need to prepare food every time, you just need to pour a portion of dry granules and supply water to the birds. Water should be poured into the drinkers at all times so that the ducks have access to it whenever they want. Broilers need to be fed more often than regular birds. Ducklings - every 4 hours, grown birds - 3-4 times a day.
Breeding at home
Star-53 is a hybrid cross, so ducklings cannot be obtained at home. Of course, you can get offspring from hybrid ducks, but it will not be as productive as the hybrids themselves. In the 2nd generation, the decay of traits begins, which intensifies with each generation. If you still want to get your own ducklings, then you need to leave 4-5 ducks for 1 drake so that the eggs are fertilized.
Basically, Star-53 ducklings are bought for home breeding, and an incubator is used when raising ducklings from a breeding egg. Removal lasts 28 days. The main condition for the successful hatching of chicks is compliance with temperature and humidity conditions.
For incubation, take the correct shape, large eggs. The shell should be intact, without cracks, damage, build-ups. Before being placed in the incubator, they are stored at a temperature of 15-18 ° C and a humidity of 70-80%. You can save no more than 5-8 days, the eggs should lie with a blunt end up.
After hatching, the ducklings are transferred to a brooder, in which they grow up to a month. A red lamp is installed in the brooder, which will illuminate and warm the ducklings. You can feed them with starting compound feed.
Hybrid ducklings Star-53 grow quickly, as you can see if you look at the weight table.
| By days | Weight |
| 1-7 | 240 |
| 8-14 | 660 |
| 15-21 | 1260 |
| 22-28 | 1900 |
| 29-35 | 2600 |
| Z6-42 | 3100 |
| 43-49 | 3600 |
| 50-56 | 3900 |
Such gains are obtained on industrial farms. At home, ducks will not grow as intensively and gain weight a little longer. Ducks are ready for slaughter at the age of 1.5 months.In any case, the age limit for broiler fattening is 2 months. Then the molt begins, the ducks will eat more, but the growth will decrease.
From the fattening livestock, only ducks can be left, which in the future will lay eggs.
Possible diseases
Hybrid ducks Star-53 are distinguished by good health, they have strong immunity, which is typical for hybrids. Subject to the rules of feeding and care, they do not get sick. If the house is dirty, cold, damp, dark, drafts, the bird suffers from colds and helminthiases. Crowded content, when ducks live in close quarters, rarely walk, leads to the spread of infections. Paratyphoid fever and pasteurellosis can result in the death of the bird.
Due to improper unbalanced feeding, hybrids develop hypovitaminosis, blockage of the esophagus or goiter. In laying females, the oviduct may fall out - the reason is the laying of large eggs.
Disease prevention on a duck farm consists in keeping the premises clean, cleaning and disinfecting feeders and drinkers. The poultry house should also be disinfected - at least 2 times a year.
What is better Star-53 or mulardy
In many ways, hybrids are similar. They grow quickly, grow to large sizes, broilers can be raised. Quiet, quiet, can be grown with other birds. The meat of both is not fatty for dietary nutrition. The similarity lies in the fact that mulardov and Star-53 cannot be bred at home, you need to purchase eggs or ducklings. Given that hybrids are similar in characteristics, the choice of who to keep in the yard remains a matter of preference.
Ducks Star-53 are promising hybrids that are grown on industrial farms, but they are also suitable for private farmsteads. They are grown as broilers; in 2 months you can get good quality meat products.
