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Abstract

There are a variety of breeds of ducks that have been bred to produce on commercial levels of
production for meat and eggs. This paper outlines the breeds of ducks that can be commercially
produced for meat and eggs in the humid tropical regions. The humid tropical region has varied
weather patterns and climatic conditions that are different from the other regions of the world.
The idiosyncrasies of the specific breeds have led them to be high producers of meat and E in the
humid regions. The breeds of ducks discussed in this paper will also give an idea of why they
were selected and produced in the humid tropics as well as why they have also thrived in this
harsh environment.

Keywords: Ducks, Meat, Eggs, Breeds, Tropics

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Table of Contents

Introduction 6

Meat Breeds of Duck 8

Muscovy Ducks 8

Rouen Ducks 8

Pekin Ducks 9

Mulard Ducks 9

The Aylesbury Duck 10

Egg type Ducks 10

Indian Runner ducks 10

The Tsaiya ducks 11

The Khaki Campbell ducks 11

The Mallard duck 12

The Dual Purposed breeds 13

The Peking duck 13

Discussion 13

Conclusion 13

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References 14

List of Figures

Figure 1: Identification of the Tropical Region. 6

Figure 2: Development of Meat and E producing breeds of duck. 7

List of Tables

Table 1: Duck breeds comparing meat and egg production. 10

Table 2: Egg production of Poultry species 12

Glossary of Terms or Abbreviations

Eggs - E

Pounds- lbs

Centimetres- cm

Years- yrs

Months- mths

Days - dys

Hours- hrs

Literature Review

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Introduction

The tropics are a very distinct part of the world that we live in and have characteristics that no
other part of the world possesses. The humid climate regions throughout the world have a total
area of 29,700,000 square kilometres, or 36.1 per cent of the total land surface available (Elias
and May 2011, 3). Yearly precipitation ranges from 2000mm to 4000 mm per yr. Temperatures
range from 24 to 31 0 C. The tropics comprises of the Amazon region which is approximately one
sixth of the humid tropical areas. There are other areas such as north and east of the Amazon
region, Central America, the West Indies and east and south along the Brazilian littoral as seen in
Figure 1.

The tropics are closely related to the amount of precipitation throughout the year. The two main
types of climate are differentiated based on the amount of seasonal distribution of precipitation.
The Tropical wet or rainfall climate has sufficient rainfall within ten mths or throughout the year
while the Tropical wet and dry or Savannah climate has a dry period or dry season which extends
for more than two mths (Elias and May 2011, 3-4).

Figure 1: Identification of the Tropical Region.

There is a wide variety of flora and fauna that thrive in the tropics despite its many challenges of
drought, disease prevalence and population growth. Of these, there are breeds of a winged
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animal that seems to be very comfortable in these areas and shows that it can survive, grow and
procreate in these environments. Breeds of ducks have been genetically engineered and
artificially selected for different purposes such as to produce meat and E as seen in Figure 2.
There are many advantages of rearing ducks in the tropics and they should be thought of as the
broiler or layer replacement.

Ducks are tougher and hardier than broilers and require less attention as well as being less prone
to disease. They have heavier body weights and don’t necessarily require grain such as corn for
growth because of their eating habits.

To distinguish between subsistence farming and commercial farming of ducks, it depends mainly
on the amount of birds being produced per batch. Another factor is the type of system being
employed to rear ducks, be it extensive, intensive or semi-intensive systems. Commercial duck
meat farms are usually intensive type operations similar to broiler farms. Ducks are reared in
housed facilities which may have no or very little allowance to foraging (Stein 2012, 1).

Commercial duck farms usually vary in size from relatively small production farms of 6,000
ducks per batch to large operations with 50,000 to 100,000 ducks per batch. Current commercial
duck farms produce between 10,000 birds to 50,000 birds at a time (Stein 2012, 1-2).

Commercial duck production systems entail ducks being produced for meat or E. There are a few
breeds which can survive in the tropics and still produce either product. The meat breeds of
ducks in the humid tropics are the Muscovy or Barbary duck, Rouen ducks, Pekin ducks,
Mule/Mulard ducks, the Aylesbury duck and the common duck (Stein 2012, 1).The egg type
ducks are the Indian runner, the Tsaiya duck, the Mallard duck and the Khaki Campbell duck.
The dual purposed ducks are the Peking ducks, the Pekin ducks and the Muscovy ducks.

Figure 2: Development of Meat and E producing breeds of duck.

Meat Breeds of Duck

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Muscovy Ducks

Muscovy ducks (Carina moschata) is a large duck which is native to Central America, South
America and Mexico. Muscovy ducks have the ability to adapt to a wide variety of climates but
function very well in tropical environments. There are two main species of Muscovy, the
domesticated species (Carina moschata domestica) and the common species (Carina moschata
sylvestris).

Muscovy ducks have now spread over the tropics and have been used in meat production
systems. Males usually measure about 70- 75 cm in length and can weigh up to approximately 15
lbs as seen in Table 1. Female of the species grow up to half of the males weight. Most of the
birds are coloured with black and white features with males having more iridescent and
ornamented look. There are 10 variations of colours that have been recorded on the Muscovy.
The colours range from chocolate, pied colour, blue and lavender. Both males and females have
red wattles on the face but are brighter and larger in the males (Coates, Sonoma and Ralph 2000,
4).

Muscovy ducks do not stay in pairs similar to the mating habits of Mallard ducks and can mate in
land or water. Domesticated breeds can brood up to 3-4 times each year. Muscovy hens are
capable of laying an average clutch size of 15-20 E. They usually lay one per day and have very
good mothering capabilities. The size of the E is one and a half times the size of a hen’s egg and
is more nutritious. Eggs take approximately 35 dys to be incubated and ducklings are hatched
with a high survival rate. Muscovy ducks can easily live for 7-8 yrs and produce just the same as
the beginning of production (Meulen and Dikken 2004, 12).

Domestication of the Muscovy duck has been done centuries ago. The meat is lean and also has
tenderness when tasted tests were performed. Because this breed is known all over the world to
be a good meat producer, it has been used to also create new breeds such as the Mallard duck or
Mule duck which is a hybrid but is sterile. The Muscovy duck is highly resistant to diseases and
parasites because of its hardiness.

Rouen Ducks

The Rouen duck has been modified from it natural form and now is a world known meat
producer in duck production systems. Some of the advancements made were doubling of its
original size, transformation of its body from a sleek body shape to a thick boat shape animal and
improved its colours (Coates, Sonoma and Ralph 2000, 6).

There are two distinct shapes of Rouen ducks. There is a Standard Rouen which is a large bird
that reaches a weight of approximately 10 lbs as seen in Table 1. This shape is like a long
horizontal carriage with a rectangular body with an arched back from its shoulder to its tail.

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The other type of Rouen is the Production Rouen which weighs 2 lbs less than the Standard
Rouen. This bird has a slimmer body and a more upright slope shape. Rouen drakes have bright
orange shanks and feet, black eyes and a dark yellow bill. Its neck to head is neck is green,
coming down to its lower neck and back region is brown and has a gray upper back and lower
body. The hen has a brown bill, same colour shanks and feet but on her wings are white and blue
stripes in a diagonal form.

Rouens’ are valued for their meat quality but are poor layers having a range of 35-125 layed E
per year. Rouen ducks are not quickly matured and the period may take up to 6 mths which
questions that aspect of commercial duck production. The main attribute to this bred of duck is
its superior meat quality and its ability to satisfy gourmet style dishes in high classed restaurants
(Coates, Sonoma and Ralph 2000, 6).

Pekin Ducks

The Pekin duck is a meat type duck and can also produce E if managed properly. The Pekin duck
originally was bred from the Mallard duck in China. This duck’s meat is highly consumed over
the world and is known for being a major producer in duck production systems. Adult Pekins can
live up to 12 yrs of age and weigh as much as 11 lbs. The colour of the bird is mainly white with
tinges of yellow over the body. The eyes are greyish blue and have orange bills and feet.

The Pekin is adaptable and hardy to a variety of environments and shows high weight gains
when in the proper well managed production system. This type of bird develops some sort of
lameness so it is advisable to choose birds with strong feet (Coates, Sonoma and Ralph 2000, 4).

This bird has the potential to lay up to 200 E per year but practices egg dumping. Table 2
suggests that these birds are good layers but not good sitters. When hens lay the bright orange
colour of their feet become paler as they go deeper into the laying period. Their mothering
capability is not as good as other breeds which mean that they abandon their nests before they
hatch. Pekin duck E are relatively easy to hatch. Their embryos usually take 28 dys to develop
and should be turned regularly during incubation. Their physique does not enable them to fly
because they are so heavy but they have perfect feet for paddling and foraging (Coates, Sonoma
and Ralph 2000, 4).

Mulard Ducks

Mulard ducks are also a domesticated species of ducks reared for meat. This duck is a hybrid and
was created from crossing the Muscovy duck and the Pekin duck. Mulards are sterile ducks and
are commonly called Mule ducks. Because this is a hybrid it has characteristics of being hardier
and calmer. Their meat is lean like the Muscovy, have claws like them and do not fly. They
prefer to be in the environment of water just like Pekins do. They are readily acceptable to Foie
gras or forced feeding, another attribute to the hybrid that makes great delicacies in France
(Hoffman 1993, 1)

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The Aylesbury Duck

This duck breed was reared for its massive size and appearance as seen in Table 1. Its posture is
horizontal to the ground as in a boat shaped manner and has white features, pink feet and a pink
bill. The Aylesbury was used on duck farms first but was replaced by the much hardier Pekin
which wasn’t as tasty. Breeders often use the Aylesbury and Pekin cross to get a hybrid of heavy
weight and good meat quality (Ikani 2000, 7).

Eggs take 28 dys to incubate after laying. Aylesbury hens are not good sitters and pose a slight
problem to producers hence the need for incubators or brooder chickens. Female of the species
grow to an average weight of 6-7 lbs while males grow up to 10 lbs. A characteristic of the
Aylesbury is that it fattens quicker than other breeds but still maintain a tender meat texture
(Ikani 2000, 7)

Table 1: Duck breeds comparing meat and egg production.

Source: McDonald, K. 2012.

Egg type Ducks

Indian Runner ducks

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The Indian Runner was developed solely from the wild Mallard. Indian Runners are hardy type
birds and have a desire to flock together. They are easily managed by humans and have a great
history for running. Their colour varies widely from fawn and white, black, Cumberland blue,
gray, cinnamon, silver, porcelain pencilled, splashed and many more (Ikani 2000, 7).

This specie of duck does not waddle but runs because of the position of its legs hence its name
(Coates, Sonoma and Ralph 2000, 5). It has a wine bottle shape that looks like a tilted bottle.
Their necks are long and snake like. They are prolific egg producers laying up to 200 E per year
but have been discovered to not be as broody as other breeds. E usually takes 28 dys to be
hatched. They are not heavy ducks like the meat type breeds. Ducks weigh an average of 3-5 lbs
and span from 50cm in females to 75cm in males (Saha, Chowdhury and Hamid 1992, 541-542).

The Runners were used to cross with other breeds such as the Rouens, Cayugas and Aylesburys
to create breeds that can be used to produce meat and E for production. Indian Runners have
excellent foraging capabilities but may run into problem with worms.

The Tsaiya ducks

Tsaiya ducks have the potential to produce up to 215 E per year. These birds are small ranging
from 2.5-3 lbs. There are two main breeds, a brown feathered Tsaiya and a white feathered
Tsaiya. Both of these breeds have long necks, and stand in an upright posture with legs that are
far back on their bodies. They have orange yellowish feet and bill. Drakes have sex feathers on
their tail while females don’t. These ducks are easily frightened and jittery. Females produce E
with a bluish colour and can start laying at 4 mths of age (Chen et al. 2003, 1705-1706)

The Khaki Campbell ducks

The Khaki Campbell was bred using the White Indian Runner and the Rouen duck. These ducks
are not as large as the meat breeds but weigh as much as 5lbs. Their colours range from white,
dark and khaki. Khaki Campbells can become sexually mature at around 7 mths of age and have
a communal way of hatching each other’s E (Fulbert, Ngokaka and Paul 2009, 2).They suit the
egg harvesting activity because they are not aggressive as other breeds which make it easier for
the producers. The incubation process may take 23-28 dys roughly (Coates, Sonoma and Ralph
2000, 5).

This may be the best breed for laying E in the entire species of ducks. This prolific egg producer
has created a name for laying E 280-320 E per year as seen in Table 2. They type of system that
these ducks prefer is the semi intensive or less monitored production system where they have

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proven to come into lay faster, grow faster and be comfortable in their environment (Fulbert,
Ngokaka and Paul 2009, 2). The Khaki Campbell is often crossed with the Indian Runner to gain
hybrids for superior genes (Saha, Chowdhury and Hamid 1992, 541-542).

The Mallard duck

The Mallard duck species have been known as the common duck. Drakes are approximately 2 ft
long and span 32-37in. Drakes has a green head and neck with a gray chest, a black rump and a
brown-black back. Both males and females have a blue spot on each wing. Hens are usually
brown or black with little colour variation (Coates, Sonoma and Ralph 2000, 6).

Though the Mallard may not be a prolific egg producer as the other breeds it’s known for its
adaptability and usually are used mainly for crosses with other breeds, the Mallard produces 14 E
but has a short incubation period of 23 dys (Hayes 2010, 4)

Table 2: Egg production of poultry species

Source: McDonald, K. 2012.

The Dual Purposed breeds

The Peking duck

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Peking ducks are often confused or thought of as Pekin ducks, but they are different (Meulen and
Dikken 2004, 13).The Peking ducks can be reared under intensive type production systems for
both meat and egg production. Peking ducks weight varies between sexes but is dependent on
nutrition allowance and stage of egg production of the hens. If hens are in a mid stage of egg
production they may weigh almost as much as drakes (Klen-Hessling 2007, 15).

These birds if give feed ad libitum will become too heavy too soon and become more of a
problem than an asset so feed monitoring is advised. It was reported that egg production
depended heavily on the photoperiod with a minimum of 17 hrs allowance of light. Peking hens
lay an excess of 220 E per year but lay best at 32 weeks of age when their physiological state
allows it (Klen-Hessling 2007, 15-16).

Discussion

There are a wide range of duck breeds in the world. Of these breeds and hybrids, there are 10
breeds that have proven to commercially be able to produce in the humid tropics. They are the
Muscovy or Barbary duck, the Rouen duck, the Pekin duck, Mule/Mulard ducks, the Aylesbury
duck, the common duck, the Indian Runner, the Tsaiya duck, the Mallard duck, the Khaki
Campbell duck and the Peking ducks. These breeds have the genetics to withstand, grow and
produce in the tropics while leaving further room for genetic improvement. These breeds should
be gathered and put into appropriate production systems for the production of meat and E since
they can adapt to the Neo Tropics.

Conclusion

Ducks can provide the people in the tropics with a sustainable food source be it meat or egg and
should be produced on larger scales to lower the Food Import Bill and also to grow our own food
and depend less on the outside world.

References

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