Ducking the issue?

Peking duck is a popular dish on Chinese menus around the world and the popularity of this meat in Asian countries is why it always sells at a premium. The scavenging system of duck farming is a particularly important activity in many south-east Asian countries and yet husbandry practices are often poor and disease control is generally not practised. Ducks are amongst the most efficient of all food producers and yet there are opportunities for better utilization of water and pasture resources in many regions in order to generate additional food and income for rural communities, particularly in Africa where duck keeping is not as common (90% of world duck population is in Asia). Ducks can also be successfully integrated into mixed farming systems, and they are appropriate for the landless living close to areas of water, as claims over water access are rarely enforced.

Like chickens, ducks benefit from access to household waste but they have a tendency to range more widely and so can make good use of natural feed resources such as insects, water plants and snails. Ducks can also be released to scavenge in rice fields after harvest to avoid the high cost of commercial feed, and they are more heat tolerant and less susceptible to disease than chickens. Ducks also require inexpensive, simple housing, little attention (other than perhaps herding flocks onto water), and less space for rearing. In addition, duck eggs are larger and more nutritious than chicken eggs.

In the Philippines ducks rank next to chickens for egg and meat production. There, fresh duck eggs are used to prepare a popular egg custard desert (leche flan) and a Filipino delicacy, which commands a particularly good price, known as 'balut': these are incubated eggs from Mallard ducks (Anas platyrynchos) with fully developed embryos, which are boiled and eaten. Other popular breeds for egg production in Banlgadesh and Indonesia are Khaki Campbell and Indian Runner. Ducks preferred for meat production, in countries such as China, Thailand and Vietnam, include the Beijing (or Peking), Rouen and Muscovy, although the latter is often considered as a different species (Carina moschata). Crossbreeds between wild and domestic ducks, such as the aigamo, are also popular in Japan. In Africa, 99% of the duck population is represented by Muscovies, which originate from South America where they are also popular and appreciated. However, with the development of rice culture in the humid and irrigated areas of Africa, dual-purpose breeds, such as the Beijing, would be a useful introduction.

Disease control

Diseases are the major limiting factor for improving productivity in scavenging systems. Non-infectious and infectious diseases are common as a result of poor husbandry, poor quality feed and environmental changes, while vitamin and mineral deficiencies lead to malnutrition, weak legs and physical injuries. Aflatoxicosis (aflatoxin poisoning) is a common cause of mortality, especially when feed is not properly stored. It also results in the lowering of immunity and increases susceptibility to infectious diseases. The most common infectious diseases reported are viral diseases, such as duck virus hepatitis and duck virus enteritis (duck plague). These diseases have been reported in all south-east Asian countries and, although vaccines are available (see News), few farmers vaccinate. Pasteurellosis (cholera) is another acute duck disease which causes severe economic loss and is the one of the most common diseases affecting ducks in Malaysia. It is not uncommon for ducks to succumb to multiple infections, particularly under stressful conditions. However, the actual disease status in 'family' ducks in unknown as farmers do not generally report disease outbreaks.

Integrated duck farming

In several countries (Indonesia, Philippines, Thailand and Vietnam), duck production is integrated with wet-land rice farming. In integrated systems, ducks are a particularly useful form of biocontrol to rid rice fields of weeds, insect pests and the exotic herbivorous snail (Pomacea canaliculata), which was introduced to south-east Asia in the early eighties. In additon, there is great potential for increasing the productivity of these systems by the integration of fish and the nitrogen-fixing fern Azolla. This rice-fish-Azolla-duck system results in nutrient enhancement, biological control of pests and feed supplementation, and is more efficient than rice-duck or rice-fish systems (see Focus On 98-5, Integrated aquaculture: more to fish farming than fish).

In integrated systems, duck houses are constructed over the fish pond refuge, which is adjacent to the rice field. The duck manure serves as organic fertilizer for plankton production and fish are able to feed directly on spilled feed thus making use of resources that are normally wasted. Any nutrients from the pond may then be used for irrigating the rice. Azolla can be utilized not only as an organic fertilizer but also as an inexpensive feed for livestock or fish, such as tilapia. However, duck raising in integration with rice is limited to transplanted rice where they have more space to more around. Ducks can, however, be affected by pesticides applied to neighbouring fields, particularly when water comes from communal irrigation canals and they must also be confined at certain periods e.g. at the on-set of rice flowering, to avoid damage to the plants. During this time supplementary feeding is necessary.

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