EGG-TYPE DUCK PRODUCTION

Introduction
Rearing ducks is not as difficult as rearing chickens. In fact the
ducks possessed a higher survival rate and are not prone to
disease attacks. The method of rearing and management of
layer ducks are easier and varies slightly from those of chickens.
Breed Selection
Selecting a good breed is the main factor in ensuring good egg
production. Only ducklings from good farm producers or from
accredited hatcheries should be purchased for this purpose
Characteristics for good layer duck
High survival rate
Free from any deformity
High egg production (around 260 to 300 eggs per year)
Produce good quality eggs:
(i) Weight between 65 to 75 gm per egg
(ii) Hard shelled eggs
(iii) Golden egg yolk
Average body size. Bodyweight during lay (between 1.3 -
1.8 kg.)
Broad pelvic bone
Most suitable layer ducks are the crossbreds from Khaki
Campbell from Thailand, Taiwan and Australia.

Khaki Campbell
Housing and Equipment
Housing for layer duck should have the following criteria:
Good ventilation. Good ventilation helps to dry up the
moisture content and also remove ammonia gas from the
duck faeces
The size of the house should be suitable to the total number
of ducks reared. Do not build the house that is too small or
too big. The space area for an adult duck should be 3 to 4
square feet.
The roof of the house should be more than 3 feet from the
floor level and several doors be installed facing towards the
opened areas. The purpose of the doors is to ensure that
the ducks are enclosed in the house during the night so that
they are safe from enemies and at the same time the eggs
are not lay indiscriminately which cause the eggs to be dirty
or lost.
The design of the duck house should be suitable for the
farmers to move around like washing, treating and
collection of eggs.
Equipments
Amongst artificial brooder are hover, infrared, high voltage
bulb, kerosene lamps
Feeding and drinking troughs
Laying boxes
Egg trays, pails, spades for mixing feed etc.
Feed
An important factor to ensure successful production of the project
is feed. Feed is an important factor in controlling satisfactory
profit. From the economic point of view, feed will determine the
cost of production. As a result the farmers must be smart in
evaluating different kinds of feed to save cost in managing the
project.
There are 2 types of feed suitable for layer duck
Commercial feed
Self mixed feed
1.Commercial Feed
Commercial feed is manufactured from feedmills whereby the
feed contained essential nutritious food values and vitamins that
are formulated according to age and species of the animal.
Age Type of feed
%
Protein
Ingredients
0 - 2 weeks Starter mash 20 %
Energy 2700
3000 kcal
2 - 3 weeks
Starter mix
with grower
mash
- -
4 - 16 weeks Grower Mash 16 % 2500 - 2800
16 weeks till
laying
Layer mash 17 % 2600 - 2900
2. Self-Mixed Feed
One formulated feed which contains all the necessary vitamins
that is easily available can be self mixed for the good production
and health of the duck. The ingredient are: Broken rice, padi
grain, fish meal, prawn meal, soya bean meal, layer premix
vitamins and minerals, grounded limestones, corn, synthetics
pigments and others.
Estimated Feed requirement for a layer duck
Age
0 - 4 weeks 1.2 kg. - 1.6 kg.
5 weeks - 22 weeks 11.0 kg - 11.8 kg
22 weeks and above
(laying period)
160 to 170 gm per
bird per day
For a layer duck controlling the feed intake is necessary when
they are 7 weeks old. Controlling the feed can be observed by
looking at the bodyweight and for a layer duck that begin to lay,
the body weight should be around 1.3 kg - 1.75 kg. (for Campbell
Duck the maximum weight is 1.9 kg )
Health and Disease Control
Duck can succumbed to disease. Prevention is necessary to
prevent ducks from getting infectious diseases and the followings
should be observed:
Always keep the farm clean
Give fresh quality feed without any moulds
Supply fresh water. Water mixed with 'anti-stress' should
be given to 1 to 3 days old ducklings
Those duckling that signs of sickness should be isolated
and treated or culled
The housing sheds should be sprayed with disinfectants
such as lysol or lindoress before the arrival of the new
ducklings
Notify the Veterinary Department if there are any signs of
diseases
Daylight Requirement
Daylight is an important aspect in the management of layer
duck. Daylight can be obtained from natural sunlight or
additional light from electrical bulbs or kerosene lamps.
2 aspect why light intensity is important at night
To brighten up the whole shed to avoid the ducklings from
unnecessary fright against foreign objects or noise at night
To speed up and increase egg production
Layer duck above 20 weeks require not less 16 hours of
continuous light. In view of the fact that only 12 hours of
daylight is available, it is suggested that an additional supply of
another 3 - 4 hours of light must be obtained from lamps in the
sheds
Daylight intensity/electric bulbs of 250 watts/1000 square
feet
The distance between the floor and the electric lamp should
be 7 feet
If necessary the farmer can use a time switch for easy
management
Management
Efficiency in the management of duck rearing is an important
aspect in determining maximum profit with minimum cost of
production. The following aspects in the management are:
Preparation before the arrival of the new ducklings
Rearing the ducklings in the brooder
Managing the growers
Managing the layers
Preparation before the arrival of the new ducklings
Get ready the hover guard and artificial brooder (3 meter in
diameter will accommodate 500 ducklings)
Place some sawdust /padi husk into the brooder guard to a
depth of 3 -4 inches
Supply with water and put on the heater 2 - 3 hours before
the ducklings arrive
Rearing the ducklings in the brooder
The duckling should first be given with water. After 1/2 an
hour, feed is then given
The brooding period is 20 - 25 days. Adjust the heater by
observing the concentration of the ducklings around the
heater. If the heater is too hot the ducklings will stay far
away from the heater. If it is cold the ducklings will crowd
around the heater. The ducklings will be evenly distributed
if the temperature of the brooder is ideal
Give the duckling anti-stress for 3 days
Give crumble starter feed ad lib
The brooder guard should be enlarged according to the size
of the ducklings and increase the number of feeding and
water troughs if necessary
Ensure the flooring materials are always dried and evenly
distributed
Managing the Growers
Remove the heater and brooder guard
Change into bigger feeding and water trough
Flooring material (sawdust) should always be dried
Give grower pellet feed or used mixed feed which should
contained 16% protein and energy 2500-2800 kcal
Weigh 2 - 3 ducks from each group to check their weights
Ducks whose age exceed 7 weeks old need to control the
amount of feed so that they are not too fat until they cannot
lay
Managing the Layers
Ducks start to lay when they are 20 to 22 weeks
Give layer pellet feed. If used mixed feed, ensure it
contained 2600 - 2900 k/cal
This feed must begin when the ducks are 16 weeks or 4 - 5
weeks before they start to lay
Give feed according to correct measurement ( 150 - 170
gm ) per day per bird
Other additional feed such as grass and vegetables can be
mixed together
To ensure good quality eggs, coloring ingredient Synthetic
Pigment can be added into feed (100 gm SP + 100 kg of
self mixed feed)
Place the layer boxes ( 1 box = 5 ducks )
Keep the ducks within the compound so that so that they
won't lay all over the compound.
Collect the eggs in the morning before feed is given
Check the necessary amount of light according to age
Products
The products that can be obtained by keeping layer ducks are:
Fresh Duck Egg
Can be sold to wholesalers, retailers, or individuals for making
local cakes. The eggs are graded according to the yellow
contents of the eggs. This can be observed by using a color
instrument (Kipas Roche). Good quality eggs sold in the market
measured between 13.6 - 15.0.
Salted Eggs
Salted eggs are preserved eggs meant for consumption or
storage. The price of salted eggs is much better than the fresh
ones.
Preparation of salted duck eggs
Raw Material
Material required to produce 2500, 500 or 100 salted eggs:
Material
2500
eggs
500 eggs 100 eggs
Duck egg (quantity) 2500 500 100
Refined Salt (kg) 18.0 3.6 0.72
Dried clay (yellow in
color) kg
22.5 4.5 0.70
Water (liter) 15 5.0 0.60
Padi husk (ash) kg 6.25 1.25 0.25
Method of Processing
Good quality eggs with golden yellow in color are selected in order
to obtain a high standard product
The eggs are clean thoroughly to remove any dirt adhering to the
shells
The clay are dried, pounded finely and sieved so that it can be easily
mixed with with the prepared paste
The paste is prepared by mixing together the clay, salt and water
and stirs in a container until they are uniformly mixed
The eggs are then soaked into the paste whereby the eggshells are
completely immersed into the paste.
Later the pasted eggs are rolled over the burned padi husks until
they are completely coated
The eggs are placed into wooden boxes and kept it for a period of
25 to 30 days before marketing.



Record Management
Keeping records is important. Recording is one of the important
aspects in establishing a good management system. It also
assists us in evaluating a given project whether it is profitable or
not. Besides records it also give us a clearer picture so that we
can do the planning for future