Emerging Trends in Duck Rearing : A potential to Reduce Poverty in Rural Households in Indian communities
Duck farming comes under the lucrative livestock around the globe because of its egg, meat and feather. Like chickens, ducks are raised for meat and eggs. Duck eggs are large, around 4.5% of a duck’s body weight, compared to a chicken which contains 3.3% egg weight. Moreover, ducks are more adaptable to produce eggs and meat, and more prolific than chickens. Moreover, they grow faster than chickens. That’s why; they are more popular in many countries. Duck raising is a lucrative livestock industry in the globe at the same time is an income generating occupation for the small, marginal and even for landless for its egg and meat. Duck has higher red muscle fiber in breast compared to chicken and is considered as red meat. It grows faster than chicken, is costly and is easy to rear.
Duck farming is an important component for integrated farming system, such as:
- Duck keeping and paddy cultivation: Duck feeds on insects, snails, stir soil surface benefits paddy at the same time duck gets nutritious feed from paddy field.
- Duck keeping combined with fish ponds: Duck get nutritious feed from pond, it oxygenate pond water by swimming, duck drops also act as feed for the fishes.
In comparison with chickens, they need simple housing. This is the reason duck poultry farming has an important place in India. They produce approximately 10% of India’s poultry farming and contribute around 7 to 8% of the total eggs produced in the country.
Duck Production in India
There is the process of farming for ducks with information on how to do duck farming.
Farm size
You must examine the farm size while farming, which is determined by the number of birds. Larger commercial operations may have 50,000 to 100,000 ducks every batch, whereas smaller farms may only have 6,000 ducks per batch.
Selection of Breed
After finding out the size of the farm, the right decision needs to be taken for breed selection to generate a profitable commercial duck farming business. Whether a farmer raised ducks for meat or eggs. For example, the white farm duck is the most popular and best breed for egg-laying in India, while they are also known as the most profitable breed for their good quality of meat production.
Duck Gender Determine
Identifying the sex of a newborn duck is not difficult. As the duck’s tail lifts, press its back end with your thumb. If you see a thorn-like penis, it is a male duck. Otherwise, it will be a female duck. Male ducks are easy to recognize by their tails. Curved tail feathers of male ducks are the easiest sign or thing to identify male ducks.
Choose the Category of Duck Breed
- Raising Ducks for Meats
If you are raising ducks for meat, you can select Meat-producing duck breeds in various varieties. The varieties include Pekin, Aylesbury, Cayuga, Khaki Campbell, Saxony, Silver Appleyard, Swedish Blue, Buff Orpington, Swedish Yellow, Grass and Crested etc.
- Duck Farming for Eggs
Are you planning to start duck farming for eggs? Pekin, Welsh Harlequin, Khaki Campbell, Abacot Ranger, Indian Runner, Buff Orpington, Alabi, Magpie, Rouen, Hook Bill, Bali, Shetland and Ancona etc are well-known for their high egg production.
- Duck Farming for Egg and Meat
If you are searching for duck farming for both, then Khaki Campbell, Indian Runner, and Ruel Kagua ducks are good choices for both eggs, and meat is the best breed for you.
Along with this, you should also have good knowledge of raising ducks for farming. Following, we are going to describe duck rearing. Have a look.
What is Duck Rearing in India?
Duck rearing is a rich source of subsistence for farmers; therefore you need safe houses to protect ducks from foxes, mongoose, teats, natural calamities and thieves. They cannot tolerate severe temperatures. So you have to pay attention to the temperature of the house. You should keep the following things in mind while building a house.
- Selection of place
When you are thinking of doing the small scale duck farming business, you need a small duck farm. On the contrary, doing this business on a large basis requires a big duck farm. This house should be lighted and airy and, it will be located away from the dense city area. The house will be open so that light and air can pass through the space outside the house. It is different from a poultry farm, so diseases cannot be easily contaminated. Hence, a tall, narrow and rectangular house is suitable for ducks.
- Temperature Required
Mainly a temperature of 12.8C (55F) – 23.9C (75F) is suitable for ducks. And, temperatures as low as 4.4C (40F) and over 37.8C (100F) are harmful.
- Suitable Humidity Requirement
Natural weather is generally suitable for ducks’ physical development, egg production and hair growth. Further artificial environments harm egg production. For example, 70% humidity is suitable for ducks. However, less than 30% moisture causes hair fall, and more than 70% humidity causes coccidia and worms to make them look unstable. Then we have to dry the garbage and ventilate the house.
- Light (Artificial) Requirement
Artificial light helps ducks with physical development and egg production. Ducks need artificial light at night at 6 weeks of age. As a result, they eat a lot, and they grow easily. Egg-laying ducks need 14-16 hours of light a day. For this, a 60-watt bulb is needed for an area of 300 square feet. However, broiler ducks require full night lighting.
- Suitable Ventilation
For suitable ventilation, 40% of the walls require bamboo sticks or wire mesh fencing so the wind can move freely through the house.
- Floor Requirement
We have to ensure that the floor of the house is not wet and the mouse cannot enter the house. Ducks need net floors by 7-8 weeks, and older ducks need concrete floors (roof floors).
- Bed Preparation
In bed preparation, we have to spread the object (litre) on the floor, which can absorb the moisture. We can use a straw, rice husk and wood powder as litter.
- Water Requirement
You should have access to a water source for raising ducks for commercial duck egg production. And you require sufficient pure drinking water for duck rearing.
- Feeding
Ducks should be fed Waterfowl Starter Crumble, a mixture specially formulated for their growth and development. Chick starters can be used as a substitute with caution. If a chick starter is used, you must offer a niacin supplement in the feed or water.
- Incubation Period
The incubation period in a duck is 28 days longer than that of a chicken. Therefore, disease-free ducks should be procured from reliable sources or a government agency.
- Secure Health
To get the best developmental and health efficiency, commercially produced food should be used. Turtles, owls, raccoons, hawks, skunks, cats and dogs are just a few predators that can harm your flock. So keep your ducks in a predator-proof cage.
Duck Farming Varieties in India
More than 100 duck varieties are available in India, but we are describing some Indigenous or Desi duck varieties.
- Pati Duck
Pati duck is the indigenous duck variety of Assam. Annual egg production of its husband duck is 60 to 80 eggs. Desi ducks have a slow growth rate and are around 200-240 days old at first spawning.
- Cina-Hanh or Muscovy
The Muscovy duck is the most popular domestic animal in China for its meat. The average number of eggs laid by China is found to be 15, 36 and 56 by 40, 52 and 72 weeks of age, respectively. Annual egg production ranges from 50 to 60 numbers.
- Campbell
The Khaki Campbell (KC) duck starts growing at 120 to 130 days, with an annual egg production of 300 eggs per duck. The average weight of its eggs is 60 grams.
Duck Farming Methods
Here, you can find three methods of duck farming.
- Free-grazing scavenging Systems
Free-grazing scavenging means ducks are permitted to roam freely rather than being contained. A basic system is still extensively used as a traditional combined duck farming method in the Mekong Delta.
- Confinement system
The confinement system method is used when adequate floor space at each stage of the growth of ducks. It is a typical practice in the Mekong Delta to raise exotic and uncommon ducks during the dry season and thicken meat ducklings.
- Integrated poultry-based systems
Under this system, the birds are kept under intensive systems. For proper ducks hatching, manufacturers often use a combination of traditional processes and incubators.
Benefits of Duck Farming
- Duck farms are highly cost-efficient as they are comparatively less expensive than raising chickens.
- Moreover, ducks require less space for their rearing as they have a shorter lifespan, and the ducks grow faster, providing tangible benefits to the farmers.
- Interestingly, it is also easier for farmers to feed ducks because they can subsist on various low-cost foods, including corn, copra, cassava, corn, rice, and fruit, among other grains.
- In addition, they obtain food such as aquatic weeds, green beans, algae, fungi, maggots, earthworms, snails and other types of insects.
- One of the major benefits of raising ducks is their egg-laying cycle at night or in the morning. This allows the farmer to collect fresh eggs every morning.
Here, you can also get the best duck for farming and duck farming guide for beginners.
FAQS
Que. Is the modern duck farming business plan profitable?
Ans. Yes, because duck meat and eggs are in high demand in international as well as in domestic markets.
Que. Is duck the better option than chicken?
Ans. Duck meat is richer in most vitamins than chicken meat. So the answer is yes, duck is the better option than chicken.
Que. How long does a duck take time to grow?
Ans. You can fully grow ducklings in about 30 days.
Que. What products do we get from ducks?
Ans. Ducks offer a variety of products for marketing: eggs, meat, feathers and foie.
Que. What are duck farming tips for management?
Ans. You should always make sure that there is enough clean water in the house while duck farming.
Duck Farming Business in India – 200 Duck Farming Project Report
Several farmers are doing profitable duck farming business for subsidiary income. Due to minimum investment, the marginal farmers are also doing it along with crop farming. They rear ducks to get eggs and meat from them. Because duck eggs and meat are high in proteins and vitamins, both products have a vast market demand. That’s why many people thrive on duck farming in India, a worldwide agricultural country. Nowadays, you can get Livestock Online easily. Moreover, at present, the trend of people is being seen more towards duck farming than poultry farming.
How to Start Duck Farming Business
If we talk about duck farming, then in India, it comes after chicken poultry farming. People who keep ducks get a good income from their eggs and meat. Even the cost of duck farming is much less than that of poultry.
We call duck an aquatic organism, and for this reason, some people believe that ducks can be reared only if there is a proper arrangement of water for them in a puddle or pond. But this is not the case because you can do duck rearing without even arranging water. You can easily rear them inside your home or under a shed.
Steps to Start Duck Farming Business
Overall, you can do duck farming on the lines of poultry farming. If you are keeping ducks in such a place where there is no water at all, then in such a situation, the ability to conceive does not develop in the eggs laid by the ducks. Therefore, if you want to raise ducks from their eggs, then the system of water is mandatory.
- Farm Area
The farm area depends on the number of ducks you want to rear. It can be massive in size if you start a commercial duck farm or small if you will rear 200 ducks.
- Breed Selection
Now, the second step is to decide whether you need ducks for meat or eggs. According to this, you should choose a breed, which one you want to rear.
- Investment
Finally, you should calculate the overall investment, including capital and operational costs. In this, you should calculate the costs of land, housing, feeding, equipment, ducklings, medicines, etc.
Duck Farming Guide for Beginners
Duck Farming is a profitable business in India. And if you are a beginner in duck rearing, don’t worry. We will tell you everything about duck rearing in this blog. So, there are three systems of duck rearing.
Backyard system: In this system, farmers use the bamboo basket, which is inexpensive. When they collect the eggs, they allow ducks to feed on open ground and even play around a water source.
Extensive System: Farmers collect eggs in the morning in this system. And they allow ducks to feed in any paddy field and play in any wild water source.
Intensive System: In this rearing system, the ducks are allowed to feed on standard rations during the daytime. After that, ducks are free to play around a water source. The system is also called the stall-fed raising system.
Apart from this, the farmers raise ducks according to the modern way, organic way, etc. So, let’s see them.
( A ) Modern Duck Farming
Modern duck farming is a way to rear ducks with the help of contemporary technology and methods. In this, farmers use machines for cleaning, feeding and other things. Even they replace the water of the artificial pond with technology so that ducks can be kept healthier.
( B ) Organic Duck Farming
Organic Duck Farming in India is a process to rear ducks without using chemicals or inorganic things. In this, farmers keep ducks in a manner where they can more freely. Also, farmers provide organic feed to them. It leads to the natural life circle of the ducks. That’s why ducks remain healthy and lay healthy eggs.
Duck Varieties in India
There are more than 100 duck varieties in India. We are briefing 5 of them in the following section.
Khaki Campbell: The Khaki Campbell is a domestic duck breed from England. This breed was developed in the 20th century in Uley, Gloucestershire, England. Moreover, this variety was introduced in 1901 to the public.
Nageswari: The local name of the Nageswari variety is Nagi due to its head being high like snake posture. It has a white posture in the neck, which extend up to the breast. Moreover, the eggs of this breed are also bluish tinge.
Indian Runner: Indian Runner is a domestic breed of Anas Platyrhynchos Domesticus. It can stand erect like a penguin, and it can also run rather than waddle. The female duck of this breed can lay about 300 to 350 eggs in a year. It can be the best breed for duck layer farming.
Chara Chemballi: Chara Chemballi ducks are native to Kerala state of India. These ducks can lay about 150 to 200 eggs in a year. The egg weighs around 61 grams.
Pekin: Pekin is a multi-purpose duck breed. And pekin duck farming is also profitable as farmers raise it for both meat as well as egg. Due to its docile and affectionate behaviour, we can raise it along with chickens. And white pekin duck farming can give you more profit.
Apart from these, there are several more varieties of ducks, including Aylesbury, Muscovy, Rouen, Cayuga, Duclair, Golden Cascade, Pomeranian, Swedish Blue, Saxony, Silver Appleyard, Bali, etc.
Advantages of Duck Farming
Why should we go for duck farming? Well, there are many benefits of duck farming. And duck is raised to a good level for egg and meat production. Check out the benefits of duck farming in the below section.
Habitat:
There is no need to provide you with expensive shelter, and ducks can even survive in huts made of locally available materials. Because of this benefit, we can build duck houses from low-cost materials.
Care and Management:
As we said earlier, these are hardy birds and can be raised under any adverse conditions. Therefore, women and older people can manage the duck farm without any problem. And it requires less daily care and management than any other poultry bird.
Taking care of egg collection:
You can expect the eggs to be laid only in the morning and night or, in some cases, during the day. So, the egg collection does not require special attention.
Area Requirement:
Ducks need less space and have a shorter brooding time. And ducks grow faster than other birds. Hence they occupy less space.
Diseases Resistant:
are hardy and disease-resistant birds. You can see very few diseases in poultry duck farming.
Feed Availability:
Ducks can feed on any food. So, you do not need to buy expensive bait. They like to eat bugs, snails, fungi, and kitchen waste like vegetables and rice. Also, nutritious foods like corn, legumes and other grains increase egg size and production. In addition, ducks can also feed on land as well as in the water. For example, in India, ducks are fed in the post-harvest paddy fields, where they feed themselves on paddy grains. And it leads to excellent egg production.
Pests Control:
Ducks are wonderful birds for clearing bugs and snails.
Mortality Percentage:
The main advantage of duck farming is that they lay eggs for a long time, and you find a low mortality rate in ducks.
Market Demand:
There is a massive demand for duck eggs, especially in rural areas. After chicken meat, people also eat duck meat. Therefore, commercial duck farming is a profitable venture with a proper duck farming business plan.
Local Employment Creation:
You need permanent and seasonal labour if you plan for a commercial duck farming business. However, it does not require any skilled labour, which helps improve the poor’s livelihood.
Commercial Duck Farming Business
Commercial duck farming is very easy and profitable. It is also easy to manage the business. Moreover, ducks can survive on agricultural wastes, swamps and marshy areas. Even they can survive in places where no crops can grow.
Duck Farming Loan and Subsidy
To open a duck poultry farm, the government provides business loans and subsidies through NABARD. Apart from this, loans are also offered by various banks. Its details are as follows-
- The government provides up to 90% subsidy on loans for duck poultry farming.
- There is a subsidy of up to 75% on loans for the people under the general and OBC categories.
- The subsidy is up to 90% for the SC and ST categories persons.
Duck Poultry Loan by SBI
The State Bank of India gives duck poultry farm loans under the Pradhan Mantri Mudra Yojana. The information related to this is as follows-
- Interest rate – starting from 10.75%
- Type Loan – Agriculture Term Loan
- Loan amount – up to Rs 10 lakh
- Loan repayment period – 3 to 5 years
- As surety – not mandatory
- Processing fee – 0.50% on more than 50 thousand.
But you have to keep a duck farming project report in your hand before applying for a loan. It is a mandatory document for getting a loan from the bank. So, let’s know how to make it.
Duck Farming Project Report
Duck farming is far easier than other businesses of livestock rearing. But if you still have any problems, you can take duck farming training from the training centres. We are here to tell you about a project report for one of the domestic duck breeds, Khaki Campbell. We are here with 200 ducks and 40 drakes for rearing. Apart from this, you can also practice small scale duck farming.
Duck Farming in India is a more profitable business than poultry farming. In India, you can see it in Assam, Kerala, Uttar Pradesh, West Bengal, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Tamilnadu, and Telangana. Also, you can get a loan under subsidy from the bank by making a detailed duck farming project report. So, let’s start to know how to make it.
Project Report For (200 + 40) Ducks
- Assumptions
| Assumptions | Values |
| Breed. | Khaki Campbell |
| Growing period before laying. | 5 months |
| Laying period. | From 6 to 30 months(2 years) |
| Egg production in 1st year. | 300 eggs/duck |
| Egg production in the 2nd year. | 250 eggs/duck |
| Mortality rate (Growing period). | 5% |
| Mortality rate (Laying period). | 10% |
| Breeding composition. | 1 drake & 8 duck |
| Cost of feed. | Rs 25/kg |
| Selling price of eggs. | Rs 10/egg |
| Selling price of culled duck. | Rs 100/duck |
| Salvage value of duck (1st year). | Rs 250/duck |
| Supplementary feeding (growing period). | 100 gms/duckling/for 5 months |
| Supplementary feeding (laying period). | 50 gms/duck |
These assumptions are the fundamental values to make any project report. We will use them in our project report. Let’s calculate the capital cost so that we can see the economics of duck farming.
- Capital Cost
| Item | Cost (In Rs.) |
| Shed Construction (1.5 sq. Ft. / duck) for 240 duck @ Rs. 220/sq. Ft. | 79200 |
| Layer Pen Construction (3.00 sq. Ft. / duck) for 200 duck @ Rs.300/sq. Ft. | 180000 |
| Nylon netting | 22500 |
| Equipments (Feeder, Waterer, Egg-laying Boxes, buckets etc.) @ Rs. 25/ duck for 240 duck | 6000 |
| Borewell with pump | 100000 |
| Electrification | 12000 |
| Total Capital Cost | 399700 |
Our assumed capital cost is Rs 399700. Now, we will calculate the expenditure cost.
- Expenditure
| Item | 1st year | 2nd year | 3rd year | 4th year | 5th year |
| Cost of day-old ducklings for 252 @ Rs.26 | 6552 | – | 6552 | – | 6552 |
| Supplementary feed for 5 months (0.1 kg/ bird/day) for 240 @ Rs.25 | 90000 | – | 90000 | – | 90000 |
| Supplementary feed for 7 month 0.05 kg/ bird/ day for 240 ducks | 63000 | 63000 | 63000 | 63000 | 63000 |
| Insurance for 1.5 year for 240 @Rs.2.25/duck | 540 | – | 540 | – | 540 |
| Veterinary Aid & other miscellaneous charges for 240@Rs.25 / duck | 6000 | – | 6000 | – | 6000 |
| Electricity @ Rs.5000 per month | 6000 | 6000 | 6000 | 6000 | 6000 |
| Labour charges | 27000 | 27000 | 27000 | 27000 | 27000 |
| Total | 142000 | 96000 | 142000 | 96000 | 142000 |
| Total Expenditure Cost (5 years) | Rs. 618000 | ||||
The total Project cost = Capital Cost + Expenditure Cost (399700 + 618000) = Rs. 1017700 only.
Now we have total expenses for 5 years. So, let’s calculate the earnings so that we can calculate profit from duck farming.
- Earnings
| Item | 1st year | 2nd year | 3rd year | 4th year | 5th year |
| hatching eggs sale @300eggs/duck/year for 200 duck @Rs.10/egg | (Laying for 4 months)
200000 |
600000 | 500000 | 600000 | 500000 |
| Sale of culled duck @Rs.150/duck for 200 duck | – | – | 30000 | – | 30000 |
| Closing stock @90% of 200 duck for sale @Rs. 250/duck | – | – | – | – | 45000 |
| Total Income | 200000 | 600000 | 530000 | 600000 | 575000 |
| Total Income for 5 years | Rs. 2505000 | ||||
Key points for the table
- In the first year, the eggs are laid only for 4 months.
- In third-year, eggs are laid for 4 months by new ducks and 6 months by old ducks. And it is the same for the 5fth year.
Now, we have both Total expenses as well as Total income. So, it is time to find total profit for 5 years.
Total Duck farming profit = Total Earnings – Total Expenses
Duck farming profit = 2505000 – 1017700
Total Profit = Rs. 1487300 only.
Note: It was the sample of a project report for duck farming. So, it can’t be used for your business purpose as the values can be different in different places. Thank you for reading!
DUCK REARING INTEGRATED WITH PADDY CULTIVATION
The integrated system of duck rearing and paddy cultivation is the one which is beneficial to the owners both financially and also customarily. In paddy fields ducks eat dangerous insects and snails, this is benefit for the paddy and at the similar time the ducks get nourishing feed. The farmer ranges threats. For example if the rice produce is low there is still a harvest of eggs and duck meat. Wandering duck farming is a technique of duck farming accomplished by the poor agricultural labourers in South India. Farmer starts duck farming during December by rearing ducklings. Ducklings were acquired from large farmers. By February as the yield of second crop of paddy is over the labourers’ starts relocation with the ducks. The paddy cultivators of Tamil Nadu and Kerala generally welcome the ducks. The ducks nourish on gone away paddy grains on the field as well as snails and small fishes. Water rousing produced by the ducks happenings constrains the progress of weeds concluded photosynthesis discount when the water becomes scrambled. Their deeds also develop the rice root, stalk and leaf development, thereby quickening rice growth. In accumulation, a condensed requests of insecticides and fertilizers assistances the biological system. During night the ducks are residing on the fields. One or two hours after sunrise, the ducks are allowed, by which time egg laying is more or less finished and eggs can easily be gathered. Owner of the land are given duck eggs as recompense. The ducks create well by nutritious on paddy fields and the fields in turn become productive by duck mouldings.
DUCK REARING INTEGRATED WITH FISH PONDS
The surplus and excreta from the duck shelter can be reprocessed and may be used for fish culture in the combined duck-fish farming. This can be automatically up warding the production of natural food in the ponds, which in turn develops the fish production. By incorporating the duck and fish culture, more earnings can be attained. This provides the worthy benefits to the farmers. If the ducks are permitted to insist easily in the fishponds, the waste can be distributed equally in the ponds and it can also be used as good manure to the fish which are accumulated in the pond. As a consequence of these, expenses for manure, feedstuff, complementary nourishment for fish is reduced. Since the ducks are in the fishponds, it inhibits the progress of the aquatic weeds and improves the ecological production of the ponds. As a result of the swimming action of the ducks, the quantity of oxygen in the ponds gets improved. Ducks eat the weeds, insects, larvae, worms etc. accumulate in the pond, and hence there is no need to add more additional feed to them. In this type of duck farming method along with fish, the fishes with less than 10 cm cannot be put in the pond because they are eaten by the ducks. Fish seeds can be encouraged at the rate of 15000 numbers/ha. Based on the natural surroundings of the fishpond and the accessibility of fish seeds the providing concentration may vary. Growing of ducks depends upon the type of the species and egg laying capability. To develop more meat and egg from the duck-fish method, suitable administration plays a significant role. The protection have to be well ventilate and motionless of squander water have to be forbidden.
DUCK, FISH ALONG WITH PADDY CULTIVATION
In the same field where paddy is being cultivated duck and fish can be reared together. By this method, the farmers can be earned more and more throughout the year.
PPT ON Duck Production Management
PPT ON Duck Farming & Management
DR RM SHUKLA, KVK, BHAVNAGAR
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