Breeding meat ducks is popular at home. One of the promising duck breeds, Star 53, is in demand due to its fast growth, low-fat duck meat, and ease of rearing. Let's consider the description and productive characteristics of the Star-53 hybrid, its pros and cons, rules of keeping, feeding, breeding and possible diseases that a poultry farmer may encounter.
Origin of the breed
Star 53 is a modern cross of Peking duck.It was obtained 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 home rearing proves their reliability and stable performance.
Description and characteristics of the Star-53 duck
Broiler ducks have a meat type of constitution, a heavy body, like Peking ducks. You can distinguish a Peking duckling from a Star by its head - in the hybrid it is larger, with a convex forehead.
By 1.5 months, Star-53 ducklings gain weight of 3.2 kg, feed conversion is 1.94 feed. units per 1 kg of weight gain. At 50 days, the birds already weigh 3.6 kg and consume 2.18 feed. units per 1 kg. By 2 months, the weight of ducklings is already 4 kg, 2.5 feeds are consumed. units Meat yield – 64-67%. Ducks are similar in size and build to geese, but differ from them in neck length and body posture. The egg productivity of Star 53 is 260 eggs per year, each weighing 70-90 g.
Main pros and cons
You can buy breeding ducks exclusively in Europe.
Requirements for premises and care
To keep Star-53 broilers you need to equip a warm, dry and free room.It should be light and the bedding, feeders and air should be kept clean. Since Star-53 ducks have an accelerated metabolism, the bedding will have to be cleaned frequently, but this is a necessary measure, because in dirt and in an unventilated room the birds get sick and die. The floor of the poultry house is covered with straw or hay, sawdust, and peat.
The placement rate is no more than 2-3 Star-53 ducks per square room. Overcrowding should not be allowed, this will lead to diseases, the birds become restless and attack each other. You should also not keep birds in a stuffy environment or allow them to breathe stale air. The poultry house needs to 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 a broiler, excessively active movement will not allow it to gain weight by the due date. The same goes for swimming. When a duck swims, it spends energy, which affects its 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 ducks locked up, despite the short fattening 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 yard you can feed the bird green grass. You need to put drinking bowls in it and change the water every day.
If you plan to raise a lot of Star-53 ducks, then it is better to organize automatic ventilation, feeding and watering systems. Temperature conditions are also important when raising both young and adult ducks. If ducks are hot, they begin to pant and reduce their feed intake.If it’s cold, they huddle together and eat a lot, but 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 insulating the house.
Feeding rules
Star-53 ducks have an intense metabolism and need a lot of nutrients. Hybrids cannot gain weight on free-grazing green food. Their diet should consist of grains and foods with high nutritional value.
To raise boiler ducks, you need to make grain mash from grains of various cereals and legumes, add fish and meat and bone meal, cake, and bran to them.
Hybrid ducks Star-53 can be fed with feed specially developed for duck breeds. This is convenient, you don’t need to prepare the food every time, you just need to pour out a portion of dry granules and provide water for the birds. Water should be constantly poured into the drinkers 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, older 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 they will not be as productive as the hybrids themselves. In the 2nd generation, the decay of characteristics begins, which intensifies with each generation. If you still want to get your own ducklings, then you need to leave 4-5 ducklings per drake so that the eggs are fertilized.
Basically, Star-53 ducklings are bought for home breeding; when hatching ducklings from breeding eggs, an incubator is used. Elimination lasts 28 days. The main condition for successful hatching of chicks is compliance with temperature and humidity conditions.
For incubation, take regular shaped, large eggs. The shell must be intact, without cracks, damage, or growths. 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 for no more than 5-8 days; eggs should be laid with the blunt end facing up.
After hatching, the ducklings are transferred to a brooder and raised there for up to a month. A red lamp is installed in the brooder, which will illuminate and warm the ducklings. You can feed them with starter 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 fattening broilers is 2 months. Then molting begins, the ducks will eat more, but the growth will be reduced.
From the fattening stock, only ducks that will lay eggs in the future can be retained.
Possible diseases
Hybrid ducks Star-53 are distinguished by good health, they have strong immunity, which is typical for hybrids. If you follow the rules of feeding and care, they do not get sick. If the poultry house is dirty, cold, damp, dark, drafty, the bird will suffer from colds and helminth infections. Crowded housing, when ducks live in close quarters and rarely walk, leads to the spread of infections. Paratyphoid fever and pasteurellosis can result in the death of birds.
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 involves keeping the premises clean, cleaning and disinfecting feeders and drinkers. The poultry house also needs to be disinfected at least 2 times a year.
Which is better Star-53 or mulardy
In many ways, hybrids are similar. They grow quickly, grow to large sizes, and can be raised as broilers. Quiet, do not make noise, can be raised with other birds. The meat of both is not fatty, for dietary nutrition. The similarity lies in the fact that mulards and Star-53 cannot be bred at home, you need to purchase eggs or ducklings. Given that hybrids are similar in characteristics, choosing which one to keep in your yard remains a matter of preference.
Star-53 ducks are promising hybrids that are grown on industrial farms, but they are also suitable for private farms. They are raised as broilers, and in just 2 months you can get good quality meat products.
