MODERN TECHNIQUE & METHOD OF FISH CUM DUCK INTEGRATED FARMING IN INDIA

Integration of livestock in fish culture is an old age system of practice. Ducks, poultry, pig, cattle, buffalo, sheep and goat are common in mixed farming.

Due to progressive shrinking of farm holding to obtain maximum output adoption of mixed farming system with livestock and fish become very popular in wetland and water shed areas of the country. The by-product utilization of one sub-system e.g. excreta of livestock becomes an input to a second sub-system i.e. in fish culture.

To avoid environmental problems with animal excreta apart from manure production the animal excreta could be efficiently utilized as feed for fish and the end product is valuable animal protein, which is very much needed in India. States like West Bengal. Orissa, Bihar, Jharkhand, Andhra Pradesh, Assam and North Eastern states the demand for fish and fish products along with meat and animal products are very high.

To meet the demand and supply the integration with fish and livestock is very promising and could bring a significant profitability from a unit area particularly for small holding farmers.

Most of the small holder farmers cannot afford the concentrate feed requirements of the fishes in intensive fish farming. Hence, the integrated fish farming with livestock and utilization of livestock excreta could meet demand by growing fish food organism i.e. plankton in the pond or water bodies along with direct feeding of animal waste.

Duck excreta is a good source of nutrients for plankton production. The physiochemical parameters of water and soil in treated pond are in more productive range, giving good survival of fish and ducks. The cost and returns of fish-cum-duck farming is more profitable than fish farming alone.

Fish species for integrated Duck-fish farming-——-

The most suitable species of fishes for integrated livestock-fish farming are those fishes that can filter and feed on phytoplankton, zooplankton and bacteria from water. The objective of integrated livestock cum fish farming is to produce maximum plankton in water through manuring which is rich in protein and a natural feed for fishes.

The species of fishes which are consumed by the people and are efficient utilizer of phyto and zooplankton and also with macrophytic feeding nature are excellent for integrated livestock fish culture. Depending on the feeding nature the fishes are divided into three categories viz. Surface feeder, Column feeder and Bottom feeder.

In integrated system of fish farming both indigenous and exotic species are recommended. Indigenous species like Catla (Catla catla) which are zooplankton feeder and exotic species Silver carp (Hypophthalmichthys molitrix) which are phytoplankton consumer are best example of surface feeder, whereas Rohu (Labio rohita) an indigenous species is omnivorous in nature and column feeder.

The indigenous species Mrigal (Cirrhinus mrigala), Kalabasu (Labeo calbasu) are detritivorous and common carp (Cyprinus carpio) an exotic species which are detritivorous/ omnivorous in nature are bottom feeder. Exotic species like Grass carp (Ctenopharyngodon idella) which are herbivorous cover surface, column and marginal area of feeding zone.

Ideal housing for Duck- fish integrated farming system————

Considering the easy operation of day to day farm management and optimum production the livestock house is constructed above the water bodies especially for duck or poultry, nearby the pond or bank of pond or partly in water and land.

In duck cum fish farming the duck house may be constructed above the pond thus the excreta and feed waste directly goes to the pond and serve as a feed for fishes. When the house is constructed in bank of the water bodies, a channel is diverted from animal shed to the pond, so that the feed waste or excreta rinsed to the pond.

In this case optimum livestock-fish ratio should be maintained to avoid excess manuring in water. slatted floor is considered for both birds. The animal excreta channelized in the pond directly. The slatted type floor may be constructed with wood, bamboo etc.

Management of pond in integrated livestock-fish system-———-

The pond should be water retentive and not to be situated in flood prone area. There should be constant water supply or throughout the year there should be water in the pond. Seasonal ponds, which can retain 8 to 9 month water also, can be considered for integrated farming system. At least there should be 1.0 m of water and ideal is 1.5 to 3.0 m.

Soil pH should be within the range of 6.5 to 7.5. If the soil pH is not up to the desired level, the pH may be corrected by application of lime and the quantity of lime is 2000 kg/ ha for 4.0 to 5.0 pH, 1200 kg for 5.1 to 6.0, 1000 kg for 6.1 to 6.5 (mild acidic), 400 kg for 6.6 to 7.0 (more or less neutral) and 200 kg/ ha for pH 7.1 to 7.5, which is mildly alkaline.

Lime helps in maintaining pH, kills and decomposes parasites. The lime should be applied in 3 to 4 split doses.The basal dose of lime and cow dung application in per hectare of water bodies is 1200 kg and 5000 kg, respectively. The pond should be regularly cleaned from aquatic plants which prevents sunlight penetration and oxygen circulation in water as well as shelter fish predators.

The weeding can be done by manually, mechanically, biologically, chemically or by increasing the water depth in the pond. To kill predatory fishes Mahua (Bassicala tifolia) may be applied at the rate of 2500 kg/ ha of water bodies. By repeated netting unwanted fishes may also be removed. The ammonia, tea seed cake and bleaching powder also can be applied to remove enemy fishes.

Stocking and harvesting time of fishes—–———-

June and July is the best suitable months for stocking of fingerlings. The stocking time varies depending upon the climate in different regions of the country and also the availability of optimum water level in pond.

Below 18 to 20⁰C growth of the fishes restricted. During winter months growth is slow but in rainy season faster growth observed in fishes. Moreover, in winter months and in dry season water level comes down drastically in the water bodies. It is advisable to stocking fingerlings after winter months i.e. in rainy season and harvested before the water scarcity in pond. Generally, fishes are harvested after 12 months of stocking.

But, where water bodies remain functional for 8 to 9 months fingerlings may be stocked in April and harvested in the month of November/ December. In composite fish culture 3 species, 4 species or 6 species may be stocked depending upon the availability of fingerlings in the market. In integrated livestock cum fish farming considering the surface, column and bottom feeder the ratio of fishes viz. Catla, Rohu and Mrigal should be 4: 3: 3 (3 species), in 4 species Catla, Rohu, Mrigal and Common carp ratio 3 : 3 : 3 : 2 whereas, in 6 species Catla, Rohu, Mrigal, Silver carp, Grass carp and Common carp ratio should be 1.5 : 2.0 : 1.5 : 1.5 : 1.5 : 2.0, respectively.

For example, as Catla and Silver carp are surface feeder, the combined stocking density should not be more than 30 to 35%, but for Rohu which is column feeder grows well in ponds with 3 to 4 m water depth should be stocked at the rate of 15 to 20%, whereas, bottom feeder like Mrigal and Common carp the ratio may be 40 to 45%.

Grass carp should not be more than 5 to 10%, which can be fed with land grasses, vegetable refuse, banana leaves .Central Inland Fisheries Research Institute and ICAR Research Complex for NEH Region, Barapani recommended 6000 fingerlings/ ha for duck-fish integrated system

Types of Livestock- Fish integrated farming system——————–

Duck cum fish farming- This system is very popular and widely practiced in our country particularly in Assam, West Bengal, Bihar, Orissa, Andhra Pradesh, Kerala,Jharkhand and in North Eastern States. It is one of the best livestock – fish integration system.

Duck droppings directly fall in water or collected and used for fertilization in pond. Fish gather duck droppings as direct food or consume spilled feed. Ducks consume mosquito larvae, tadpoles, dragon fly larvae and snails which also serve as vector for certain parasites.

The dabbling habit of ducks increases the available oxygen in pond water. For commercial farming or for maximum profit high egg producing ducks like Khaki Campbell or Indian Runner is preferred instead of local ducks. About 200 to 240 eggs/ duck/ year is expected for commercial farming and on an average 250 ducks/ ha is recommended for duck cum fish farming.

Integrated fish cum duck farming-——————–

Benefits of fish cum duck farming—-———————-

1. Water surface of ponds can be put into full utilization by duck raising.

2. Fish ponds provide an excellent environment to ducks which prevent them from infection of parasites.

3. Ducks feed on predators and help the fingerlings to grow.

4. Duck raising in fish ponds reduces the demand for protein to 2 – 3 % in duck feeds.

5. Duck droppings go directly into water providing essential nutrients to increase the biomass of natural food organisms.

6. The daily waste of duck feed (about 20 – 30 gm/duck) serves as fish feed in ponds or as manure, resulting in higher fish yield.

7. Manuring is conducted by ducks and homogeneously distributed without any heaping of duck droppings.

8. By virtue of the digging action of ducks in search of benthos, the nutritional elements of soil get diffused in water and promote plankton production.

9. Ducks serve as bio aerators as they swim, play and chase in the pond. This disturbance to the surface of the pond facilitates aeration.

10. The feed efficiency and body weight of ducks increase and the spilt feeds could be utilised by fish.

11. Survival of ducks raised in fish ponds increases by 3.5 % due to the clean environment of fish ponds.

12. Duck droppings and the left over feed of each duck can increase the output of fish to 37.5 Kg/ha.

13. Ducks keep aquatic plants in check.

14. No additional land is required for duckery activities.

15. It results in high production of fish, duck eggs and duck meat in unit time and water area.

16. It ensures high profit through less investment.

Stocking Density of fish-———————————-

• The pond is stocked after the pond water gets properly detoxified.

• The stocking rates vary from 6000 fingerlings/ha and a species ratio of 40 % surface feeders, 20 % of column feeders, 30 % bottom feeders and 10-20 % weedy feeders are preferred for high fish yields.

• Mixed culture of only Indian major carps can be taken up with a species ratio of 40 % surface, 30 % column and 30 % bottom feeders.

• In the northern and north – western states of India, the ponds should be stocked in the month of March and harvested in the month of October – November, due to severe winter, which affect the growth of fishes.

• In the south, coastal and north – eastern states of India, where the winter season is mild, the ponds should be stocked in June – September months and harvested after rearing the fish for 12 months.

Use of duck dropping as manure:—————————-

• The ducks are given a free range over the pond surface from 9 to 5 PM, when they distribute their droppings in the whole pond, automatically manuring the pond.

• The droppings voided at night are collected from the duck house and applied to the pond every morning.

• Each duck voids between 125 – 150 gm of dropping per day.

• The stocking density of 200-300 ducks/ha gives 10,000 – 15,000 kg of droppings and are recycled in one hectare ponds every year.

• The droppings contain 81% moisture, 0.91% nitrogen and 0.38% phosphate on dry matter basis.

Duck husbandry practices:————————–

The following three types of farming practice are adopted.

1. Raising large group of ducks in open water-—————————–

• This is the grazing type of duck raising.

• The average number of a group of ducks in the grazing method is about 1000 ducks.

• The ducks are allowed to graze in large bodies of water like lakes and reservoirs during the day time, but are kept in pens at night.

• This method is advantageous in large water bodies for promoting fish production.

2. Raising ducks in centralised enclosures near the fish pond—————————-

• A centralised duck shed is constructed in the vicinity of fish ponds with a cemented area of dry and wet runs out side.

• The average stocking density of duck is about 4 – 6 ducks/sq.m. area.

• The dry and wet runs are cleaned once a day. After cleaning the duck shed, the waste water is allowed to enter in to the pond.

3. Raising ducks in fish pond———————————–

• This is the common method of practice.

• The embankments of the ponds are partly fenced with net to form a wet run.

• The fenced net is installed 40-50 cm above and below the water surface, so as to enable the fish to enter into the wet run while ducks cannot escape under the net.

4. Selection of ducks and stocking—————————–

• The kind of duck to be raised must be chosen with care since all the domesticated races are not productive.

• The important breeds of Indian ducks are Sylhet Mete and Nageswari.

• The improved breed, Indian runner, being hardy has been found to be most suitable for this purpose, although they are not as good layers as exotic Khaki Campbell.

• The number of ducks required for proper manuring of one hectare fish pond is also a matter of consideration.

• It has been found that 200 – 300 ducks are sufficient to produce manure adequate enough to fertilize a hectare of water area under fish culture.

• 2 – 4 months old ducklings are kept on the pond after providing them necessary prophylactic medicines as a safeguard against epidemics.

5. Feeding—————————————–

• Ducks in the open water are able to find natural food from the pond but that is not sufficient for their proper growth.

• A mixture of any standard balanced poultry feed and rice bran in the ratio of 1:2 by weight can be fed to the ducks as supplementary feed at the rate of 100 gm/ bird/day.

• The feed is given twice in a day, first in the morning and second in the evening.

• The feed is given either on the pond embankment or in the duck house and the spilled feed is then drained into the pond.

• Water must be provided in the containers deep enough for the ducks to submerge their bills, along with feed.

• The ducks are not able to eat without water. Ducks are quite susceptible to afflatoxin contamination, there fore, mouldy feeds kept for a long time should be avoided.

• The ground nut oil cake and maize are more susceptible to Aspergilus flavus which causes aflotoxin contamination and may be eliminated from the feed.

6. Egg laying-—————————————

• The ducks start laying the eggs after attaining the age of 24 weeks and continue to lay eggs for two years.

• The ducks lay eggs only at night. It is always better to keep some straw or hay in the corners of the duck house for egg laying.

• The eggs are collected every morning after the ducks are let out of the duck house.

•

7. Health care—————————————

• Ducks are subjected to relatively few diseases when compared to poultry.

• The local variety of ducks is more resistant to diseases than other varieties.

• Proper sanitation and health care are as important for ducks as for poultry.

• The transmissible diseases of ducks are duck virus, hepatitis, duck cholera, keel disease, etc.

• Ducks should be vaccinated for diseases like duck plague. Sick birds can be isolated by listening to the sounds of the birds and by observing any reduction in the daily feed consumption, watery discharges from the eyes and nostrils, sneezing and coughing.

• The sick birds should be immediately isolated, not allowed to go to the pond and treated with medicines.

•

8. Harvesting———————————–

• Keeping in view the demand of the fish in the local market, partial harvesting of the table size fish is done.

• After harvesting partially, the pond should be restocked with the same species and the same number of fingerlings.

• Final harvesting is done after 12 months of rearing.

• Fish yield ranging from 3500 – 4000 Kg/ha/yr and 2000 – 3000 Kg/ha/yr are generally obtained with 6 – species and 3 – species stocking respectively.

• The eggs are collected every morning. After two years, ducks can be sold out for flesh in the market. About 18,000 – 18,500 eggs and 500 – 600 Kg duck meat are obtained.

Reference-on request