Bashkir duck is considered one of the best breeds of egg and meat. In addition, it is unpretentious in care, inexpensive and is characterized by strong immunity and endurance. The peculiarities of growing the Bashkir duck, its advantages and disadvantages will be discussed in this material.
Breed description
Familiarity with the poultry begin with a brief description. Immediately, we note that confusing "Bashkir" with ducks of other breeds is difficult, because it has a characteristic color and build.
External characteristics
The Bashkir duck has a strong build, muscular paws, which are wide apart. It is easily recognizable by its flattened head, short, thick neck and a concave beak. The wings are tightly pressed to the body.
A bird comes in two colors:
- black and white;
- khaki.
On average, the drakes reach a mass of 4 kg, ducks - 3.5 kg. Fat deposits while they contain very little. 70% of weight is pure meat. It is delicious, unusually tender and odorless for the Bashkir duck.Birds grow quickly - they reach maximum weight in 2-2.5 months.
Did you know? As the name implies, the ducks were really bred in Bashkiria. However, they turned out not as a result of special experiments, but quite by accident. At the Blagovarsky breeding plant, breeders worked on improving the white Peking duck, and suddenly, as a result of mutations, beautiful birds with a strong build were born. Subsequently, scientists mutates strengthened, and the breed was nicknamed Bashkir color.
Productivity
By productivity, Bashkir has high rates - one duck during the 40-day productive season can carry an average of 200 to 225 eggs. Each egg weighs 80-90 g. 
Advantages and disadvantages of the breed
Familiarity with the Bashkir duck and the description of the breed will be incomplete if its advantages and disadvantages are not considered. The first, by the way, much more.
Check out other breeds of ducks for home breeding: Mandarin Duck, Musky, Mulard Duck.
pros
The advantages of "Bashkir" include:
- high level of hatchability of ducklings - 78-80%;
- strong immunity;
- frost resistance;
- rapid growth and weight gain;
- endurance;
- quick adaptation and getting used to any conditions;
- easy care and maintenance;
- good egg production;
- large eggs of the correct rounded shape;
- high calorie eggs - 185 kcal per 100 g;
- low fat content in meat - 1.8-3.9%;
- high-quality, tasty, odorless tender meat;
- not too big expenses on food - 2.73 units / 1 kg of growth;
- suitable for breeding in large and small farms, for lovers and professional poultry farmers.
Egg production and weight vary depending on duck color. Khaki has lower productivity and weight gain than black and white representatives of the breed. So, the first can give 217 eggs, while the second - 228.Bashkir ducks gain more than 80% of their weight during the first month of life.
Did you know? Duck paws do not contain nerve endings and blood vessels; when walking, they do not feel either cold or hot temperatures..
Minuses
Among the minuses of the Bashkir ducks are the following characteristics:
- the need to water only clean water, because otherwise there will be disease;
- poor tolerance to high temperatures;
- propensity to overeating and obesity.
Content Features
Keeping Bashkir ducks is easy, and novices can handle this task. The main thing is to have information about some of the nuances of caring for them. 
Room Warm, dry, well-ventilated cages and pens that do not have drafts for living are suitable for living. Floors in ducks should be at least 20 cm from the ground. They must be strong so that rodents cannot penetrate them.
Temperature. In the room where birds are kept, in winter it is necessary to maintain the temperature not lower than +7 ° С, optimally - at the level of + 15-20 ° С. In the summer it should be cool, as the birds do not tolerate heat. The following symptoms will indicate that they are hot:
- frequent use of water;
- constantly open beak;
- lack of appetite;
- lowered wings.
If such symptoms are observed, the temperature will need to be reduced, otherwise the health of the birds will deteriorate. 
Lighting. When equipping the place of keeping ducks you need to worry about the right lighting. The light must enter it at least 14 hours a day. On 1 square. m floor lighting intensity needed at 5 watts. Lamps should be selected with reflectors.
In addition to ducks, chickens, turkeys, and geese, exotic birds are increasingly common in households: partridges, ostriches, peacocks, and pheasants.
Place of walking. For festivities ducks need a spacious place, covered with grass or, in extreme cases, sand. It would be ideal if they have a reservoir at their disposal. You can simply equip large tanks with water, where ducks will just climb. The presence of nearby water has a positive effect on the growth and development of birds - their growth and weight gain accelerate.
Density content. In summer, for normal development, the number of adults per 1 square. m should not exceed 2-3. Just born ducklings can be kept at 18-20 per 1 square. m. At three months of age with a stay of more than 10-12 ducklings per 1 square. m they will be uncomfortable and cramped. 
At the end of two months, birds are suitable for meat purposes.
Important! It is advisable to keep the ducks only up to 4 months. After that, they no longer grow and gain weight. In addition, they begin to molt.
Adult Duck Feeding Diet
A special feature of ducks is that they have a short intestine. This directly affects the metabolism and the number of feedings. Food in birds is processed very quickly, so it is recommended to feed them at least 3 times a day, but in small portions.
From the feed for Bashkir ducks are suitable:
- silage (fermented leaves of grass, cabbage, carrots; pumpkin);
- chopped root vegetables;
- green food;
- bulky food.
To achieve the best egg production, it is good to feed the birds with a combined silo: grass meal (one piece), cabbage (three pieces), cabbage leaves (six pieces). 
The best meat can be obtained if the diet of regular ducks will be granulated feed. You need to enter it from 2 weeks. Gravel should be constantly present in the feeders.
Important! The ratio of types of feed in the diet of feeding Bashkir ducks is desirable in the following proportions: grain - 45% feed mixture - 55 %.An obligatory condition is the presence of drinkers and frequent changes of water in them (several times a day). Water should only be clean. One duck per day will need at least 2 liters of liquid. Otherwise, the birds will experience problems with metabolism and intestinal work.
Breeding and offspring
For breeding "bashkirok", as a rule, the incubator is not neededAfter all, females are excellent chicks with well-developed maternal instincts. Therefore, the process of hatching ducklings and all the necessary measures for their cultivation, such as feeding, concern for safety, will be performed by mothers-crackers. The health of the mother herself should be carefully monitored in time to detect her infectious disease and protect her offspring from it.
When breeding ducklings, they need to provide a temperature of +30 ° C in the first 20 days of life. After the expiration of this period, temperature indicators gradually decrease to the mark of + 20-22 ° С. 
Care must be taken to keep the ducklings on warm, deep bedding. A light day before the age of five months should be gradually shortened to 10 hours a day. Upon reaching the age of 5 months, it will also need to be gradually increased to 15 hours a day.
After 10 days the babies are fed the same as adults. Until that time, it is better to give them a chopped mixture, mixed with whey, made from eggs, cottage cheese, herbs, and millet. In the first week they are given food 8 times a day. Then the number of feedings is gradually reduced to 4. Inject more coarse feed. Silage and grass meal can be given starting from the seventh week of life.
Important! Ducklings should be fed by adding pellets, vitamins and minerals to the main food..Kids can use water from the first days of life. You can walk ducklings after they are 20 days old.
If you are going to breed "bashkirok" with the help of an incubator, then you need to know the following nuances:- the interval between the time when the eggs were laid and the time they were laid should not exceed 5 days;
- egg storage occurs at a temperature of + 9-13 ° C;
- Before laying the eggs should be well examined and discarded;
- eggs should be disinfected in a weak solution of potassium permanganate;
- when laying in the incubator, the temperature should be set at +38 ° С and humidity 70%;
- in the second week, you should turn the eggs every 4 hours; the temperature during this period is kept at 37 ° С, humidity - 60%;
- from the 15th to the 25th day, the eggs are cooled for 20 minutes twice a day;
- ducklings are born before the 28th day.
