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Duck farming in North-Eastern India (Assam)

Article  in  World's Poultry Science Journal · December 2002

DOI: 10.1079/WPS20020041

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 Duck farming in North-Eastern
(Assam)
R. ISLAM, J.D. MAHANTA", N. BARUA and G. ZAMAN

Department of Poultry Science, College of Veterinary Science, Assam Agricultural

University, Khanapara, Guwahati-781022, India

A study was undertaken on duck farming in a North-eastern part of India (Assam),

representing almost all the agro-climatic zones. Five districts were selected, one from
each agro-climatic zone except for the hill area. Twenty-five duck farmers from each
district, a total of 125 in all, were selected on the basis of flock size. Results of the
study in respect of socio-economic status of the farmer, demographic distribution,
husbandry and feeding practice, production performance, incidence of diseases,
mortality pattern and health protection programmes, marketing, finance and costs
and returns from the flocks are highlighted.

Key words: duck farming; North-eastem India

Introduction
Part of North-eastem India (Assam), is famous for the different groups of indigenous
breeds of ducks reared by farmers under traditional systems. India has a total population
of 22.08 million ducks (Livestock Census, 1991), concentrated mainly in the coastal
regions in the Southern, Eastern and North-eastem states of the country. Assam, one of the
states in the Northeast, has 4.72 million ducks and ranks in second position in the Indian
duck population. Until now, reports in the literature of surveys on duck farming have only
been found for the Southern part of India (Ravindran et al., 1984; Rithamber et al., 1986
and Gajendran etal., 1991).
Although the Eastern and North-eastem parts of India comprise the major portion of the
country's duck population, a survey report on duck farming in these regions is not
available, except for a preliminary report by Mahanta et al. (2001) covering a small part
of the population.
In South China, Fuan (1985), first described an incubation method for hatching duck
eggs. Nind and Tu (1998) described the traditional methods of duck farming and duck egg
incubation in South Vietnam. In Bangladesh, Huque and Hussain (1991) assessed the
production potential of ducks of three genotypes under scavenging systems of
management.

*Correspondingauthor: e-mail: rafiqul@sify.com

0 World's Poultry Science Association 2002

World's Poultry Science Journal, Vol. 58,December 2002
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 Duck farming in North-EasternIndia: R. Islam et al.

The present study examines the status of duck farming in respect of the socio-economic
conditions of the farmers, demographic distribution, husbandry and feeding practices,
production performance, incidence of diseases, mortality and health protection
programmes, marketing and financial arrangements, costs and returns among the flocks in
Assam in the North-eastern region of India.

Survey procedure
The study was conducted in five districts, selected randomly from all the agro-climatic
zones of the region. The investigators contacted the animal husbandry and veterinary
officers of the selected districts to gather information regarding pockets of duck fanning
in the areas under their respective jurisdiction. The duck farmers so identified were also
approached for help in locating other farmers in their locality.
Having compiled a list of duck farmers in each district, the survey respondents were
selected on the basis of their flock size. A person who had a minimum of 20 ducks was
considered as a duck farmer for the purpose of the study. A total of 125 farmers were
selected by adopting the probability proportionate size sampling technique of Lahiri
(Snedecor and Cochrane, 1989).All the required information was collected by means of a
questionnaire, by personal interview with the owner and examination of records. The data
collected were computed, tabulated and expressed as frequency, percentage and ranges.

Results and discussion

SOCIO-ECONOMIC STATUS OF THE FARMERS
Duck farming was a subsidiary source of income for almost all the farmers. People from
all strata of the society, irrespective of religion, education, occupation and economic
background were involved. Of the 125 respondents in the survey, the majority (78.4%)
were Hindus, the rest were Muslims. About one third of the farmers were illiterate the
others were educated from primary school level. The majority (67.2%) were engaged in
some form of cultivation and their economic background was partially sound enough to
maintain their families. All had gained their knowledge and experience of duck fanning
from their family predecessors.
Earlier surveys, (Ravindran, 1983), had shown that in Kerala, mostly Christians were
involved in duck farming, only 2% were illiterate and most were unable to support their
families. Similarly most of the duck farmers in Andhra Pradesh belonged to a backward
class and scheduled tribes, were economically poor and were adopting the farming as a
family profession. (Rithamber et al., 1986).

DEMOGRAPHIC DISTRIBUTION
The ducks were native non-descript types with widely differing phenotypes. The so-
called ‘Pati’(85.6%) and the ‘Desi’were the most common. Other popular strains were the
Nageswari, Khaki Campbell, Cinahanh (Muscovy) and Rajhanh. Of these five distinct
types, Nageswari were only found in limited pockets in the Cachar and Karimganj districts
of Assam.
Mahanta et al. (2001) reported that the ‘Desi’ type formed the major part of the duck
population in Lakimpur and Dhemaj districts of Assam. Similarly, Jalil et al. (1993) found
that primarily the farmers in Bangladesh reared ‘Desi’ and non-descript ducks.

568 World’s Poultry Science Journal, Vol. 58, December 2002

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 Duck farming in North-Eastern India: R. Islam et al.
Husbandry practices

FLOCK SIZE
The majority (85.6%) of flocks comprised 20-50 ducks within the overall range between
20-200.
Larger flocks of 400-1000 ducks have been reported in Indonesia (Kingston et al.,
1978); 200-360 ducks in Tamil Nadu (Gajendran et al., 1991) and 1000-2000ducklings in
South Vietnam, (Nind and Tu, 1998. On the other hand, Mahanta et al. (2001) reported a
lower range of flock size, 5-100 in the Lakhimpur and Dhemaji districts of Assam.

SEX RATIO FOR BREEDING

A male: most farmers maintained female ratio of 1 5 . In comparison, much wider sex
ratios of 1:10 or 1:30 have been recorded in several previous reports, (Ramachandran and
Ramikrishnan 1983;Rithamber et al., 1986 and Nind and Tu, 1998). Mahanta et al. (2001)
recorded a similar sex ratio of 1:6 (2001) in the Lakhimpur and Dhemaji district of Assam.

INCUBATION PRACTICES
For hatching duck eggs, the farmers depend entirely on broody ducks or hens, the
natural “living incubator.” Artificial incubation was not practiced at all. The number of
fertile eggs set under each broody duck or hen, was 16-20 and 10-12 respectively. Higher
numbers (15-20) of eggs were reported to be set under each broody hen in Kerala
(Ravindran et al., 1984) and in Tamil Nadu (Gajendran et al., 1991).
The eggs were hatched only during the months of April-June, similar to the findings of
Mahanta et al. (2001). There was no candling during the incubation period, although
earlier, Reddy (1987) found that eggs were candled on the 8th day of incubation by
holding them up against sunlight.
The duck farmers in the survey claimed 8590% hatch of total eggs set using broody
ducks of hens. Similar hatchability (80435%)was recorded by Ravindran et al., (1984).

CARE OF DUCKLINGS
No artificial heat was used in brooding ducklings. In South Vietnam, Nind and Tu
(1998) reported that electric lamps were used as a heat source for the first 1-2 weeks.
Ducklings up to 15 days of age were confined in enclosures in open areas surrounded by
bamboo baskets specially made for this purpose. From 7 days of age they were allowed to
swim in nearby ponds, waterlogged areas or canals. After 15 days they were released and
allowed to forage freely with their mother. At night, ducklings were housed in one comer
of the farmer’s dwelling house, enclosed by wooden or bamboo mats. Sexing was carried
out at 3-4 months of age.
A practically similar type of rearing system was practised in Kerala (Ravindran, 1983).
In South Vietnam, ducklings were reported to be kept in raised wire and wooden cages
located inside a thatched roof shed for the first 1-2 weeks of age, (Nind and Tu, 1998).

CARE OF ADULT DUCKS

The farmers usually kept adult ducks under a scavenging or free-range rearing system in
which the ducks were let loose in the morning and returned to the farmer’s home yard in
the evening. Some farmers in the Cachar district of Assam followed a different system in
which flocks of adult ducks, over 5 months of age, were allowed to scavenge during the
daytime under the care of an attendant. During the night they were put in a holding pen
constructed on an elevated area surrounded by paddy fields. Only a few (8%) of farmers
adopted an integrated duck/fish farming system.
Similar patterns of free-range duck rearing were reported by Rithamber et al. (1986) and

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 Duck farming in North-EasternIndia: R. Islam et al.

Mahanta et al. (2001) in Andhra Pradesh and Assam respectively. Unlike the present
survey findings, Ramachandran and Ramakrisknan (1982) and Ravindram (1983)
reported that the duck farmers of Kerala followed a nomadic life that required continuous
movement with their flocks.

Feeding practices
DUCKLINGS
Most of the farmers provided broken rice, crushed snails and cooked rice to the
ducklings up to 15 days of age. After that they were fed kitchen waste, paddy grains,
cooked arum (root), cooked vegetables and cooked rice, in addition to the feed received
from foraging.
Reddy (1987) reported that the duck farmers in Tamil Nadu fed their ducklings different
diets according to age. Commercial concentrate or cooked paddy rice was provided for
ducklings in South Vietnam (Nind and Tu, 1998).
Feeding ducklings with the flowers of Khutura (Xylorrhyra autonamalis), a locally
available plant, up to the age of 3-4 days was a special practice by some farmers in the
study.

ADULT DUCKS
The primary sources of feeding for adult ducks were post-harvested paddy fields for
grains, ponds and waterlogged areas for fish, snails and insects. This was in agreement
with the observations of Ravindran (1983) and Reddy (1987). On the other hand, duck
farmers in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh, Tamil Nadu and Indonesia feed adult ducks with the
mixture of locally available feed ingredients. The survey also found that ducks in some
areas were driven to distant locations in search of water for grazing and watering during
periods of drought.

Production performance
The age at sexual maturity ranged for the different groups of ducks in the study, namely,
Pati 225-240; Nageswari 180-195; Khaki Campbell 195-210; Cinahanh (Muscovy) 300-
315 and Rajhanh 330-365 days.
Rithamber et al. (1986) and Mahanta et al. (2001) recorded the age of 240 days for
sexual maturity in Desi ducks in Andhra Pradesh and Assam, similar to the present finding
for Pati ducks.
The annual egg production recorded was Pati 80-90eggs per duck; Nageswari 140-150;
Khaki Campbell 120-140;Cinahanh (Muscovy) 50-60 and Rajhanh 20-25.
The estimations for Pati ducks was similar to the observations of Ramakrishnan et al.
(1981) and Mahanta et al. (2001) in Desi ducks in Kerala and Assam.

Incidence of diseases, mortality patterns and health maintenance

programmes
The most prevalent diseases were duck plague, duck cholera, hepatitis and botulism.
Similar diseases have been reported from the Lakhimpur and Dhemaji districts of Assam,
(Mahanta et al. 2001. Karim (1987) reported that the highest mortality in local ducks in
Assam was due to duck cholera.

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 Duck farming in North-Eastern India: R. Islam et al.

Mortality was 10-15% in ducklings and below 10% in adults. Reddy (1987) found
similar percentage mortality in ducklings in the North Arcot district of Tamil Nadu. The
present survey findings conformed to the observations of Rithamber et al. (1986) in Desi
ducks of Andhra Pradesh.
The health protection offered by the farmers included occasional vaccination against
duck plague, treatment with common antibiotics, potash solution, local vodka and black
pepper. In Kerala, flocks were routinely vaccinated against duck plague, (Ranachandran
and Ramakrishnan, 1982 and Ravindran, 1983). However, none of the farmers vaccinated
their duck flocks against any of these diseases in Andhra Pradesh (Rithamber et al. 1986).

Marketing and finance

Ducks in this region were raised for both meat and egg production. Surplus eggs, growers,
drakes and spent ducks were sold either at the local market or at the farmer’s doorstep to
individuals and local traders. Nind and Tu (1998) made a similar observation.
Contrary to the present findings, Ramachandran and Ramakrishnan (1982), Ravindran
(1983), Rithamber et al. (1986), and Reddy (1987) reported that table egg production was
the primary purpose of duck raising in Kerala, Andhra Pradesh and Tamil Nadu, where the
eggs were sold to egg dealers.
Two main marketing channels, Channel 1 (producer-consumer) and Channel 2
(producer-middleman-consumer)were observed for marketing both duck eggs and meat.
Khan et al. (1994) observed the same in Andhra Pradesh.
Duck keeping was a subsidiary source of income in Assam and no farmer was reported
to be financed by any finance agents. In contrast, duck farmers in Kerala (Ravindran,
1983), Andhra Pradesh (Rithamber et al. (1986) and Tamil Nadu (Reddy, 1987) were
financed by wholesale merchants.

Costs and returns from the flock

The cost of rearing a grower from hatch to 20 weeks of age, averaged Rs. 36.54 and the
net return received per grower was Rs. 22.96. Similarly the cost and return from rearing a
layer from 21-72 weeks were calculated to be Rs.197.05 and Rs.57.20 respectively. The
net profit found in the present study for both grower and layer units was higher than those
recorded in the findings of Ravindran (1983), Rithamber et al. (1986), and Reddy (1987).

Acknowledgments
The first author is highly grateful to the Veterinarians Dr Deepak Thakuria, Dr Ashim Das,
Dr Binoy Bordoloi, Dr Mazibur Rahman and Dr Mahendra Bharali for their technical
assistance and selfless help and cooperation during the study.

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