Starting a small scale business - DUCK FARMING

by Linda Irabor

Ducks can be reared inside water

When the term, poultry, is heard, the first image that usually comes to mind is that of chickens and turkeys. What most people do not know is that poultry entails more than rearing these birds.

There are many birds whose rearing is as popular as it used to be. One of them is duck. Ducks are gradually going into extinction in the country: some people do not even how they look like anymore.

The aim of this article is to lure or stimulate the interest of farmers and potential ones to the cultivation of ducks. They are too versatile to be allowed to go extinct.

Ducks are useful for a variety of reasons. They can be enjoyed as pets or raised for their eggs and meat.

 These birds are members of the Anatidae family, which swans and geese also belong to and are divided among several subfamilies.  They do not represent a monophyletic group but a form taxon, since swans and geese are not considered ducks.

Ducks are mostly aquatic birds and may be found in both fresh water and sea water. They are, sometimes, confused with several types of unrelated water birds with similar forms, such as loons or divers, grebes, gallinules, and coots.

They have the characteristic wide flat beak adapted to dredging-type jobs such as pulling up waterweed, pulling worms and small molluscs out of mud, searching for insect larvae, and bulk jobs such as dredging out, holding, turning headfirst, and swallowing  squirming frogs.

Experts say that there area over a hundred  types of ducks but generally there are grouped into those that submerge themselves completely into water in the search of food and those that feed on the surface  of water or on land or as deep as they can reach without completely submerging into water.

Duck farming can be a rewarding experience for you.  It can even become a lot more than sourcing out a livelihood for yourself: it has become an enjoyable activity for many.  

To rear them successfully, you will have to understand the proper ways in order to induce the most out of the venture.  

 Ducks eat the same things as chickens and other birds. They exploit a variety of food sources such as grasses, aquatic plants, fish, insects, small amphibians, worms, and small molluscs. They do not have any special feed.

Experts recommend ensuring that the water containers are  difficult  for the birds to climb into  as they are known to splash around in water a lot thereby making their coop wet. 

Concerning shelter, they require that you provide an area where they will be sheltered from the elements as well as adequate heating. 

Speaking of diseases, people who are interested in rearing these birds need not worry much as they are known to be resilient creatures. They do not get affected by bird diseases unlike turkeys and chickens but proper care has to be taken to ensure that they stay so.

 The most crucial part of this farming is selecting the breed to farm. For this, you will have to be clear on why you want to raise them.  They are specific breeds that are more suited to particular purposes like providing meat or giving eggs.

Doing a very little research can facilitate familiarize you with the various breeds that you will want to contemplate for yourself.

Duck eggs are safe to eat and are especially good for baking as they are larger and if your ducks can free range the yolks are richer from the grazing making the baking lovely.

Though they have suffered from a reputation of being a high risk salmonella carrier but experts say the issue dates back to just after World War II times when a report on the disease listed duck eggs as risks.

                            QUICK FACTS ABOUT DUCKS

-There are more than 40 breeds of domestic duck. The white Pekin duck (also called the Long Island duck) is the most common variety raised for eggs and meat.

-   Their feathers are so waterproof that even when the duck dives underwater, I they stay completely dry.

- A baby duck is called a duckling, and an adult male is a drake. An adult female duck is called a hen or a duck, and a group of ducks can be called a raft, team or paddling.

-Ducks are precocial which means that ducklings are able to walk and leave the nest just a few hours after hatching.

- There are species of ducks found worldwide on every continent except Antarctica.

-Male ducks have an eclipse plumage similar to females that they wear, after the breed-in-season, for about a month as their new feathers grow. During that month, they are completely flightless and more vulnerable to predators.

-Most duck species are monogamous for a breeding season but they do not mate for life.

-When constructing her nest, a hen will line it with soft down feathers she plucks from her own breast. This gives the eggs the best possible cushioning and insulation.

-Ducks are omnivorous eaters.  

-A duck's beak is specialized to help it forage in mud and to strain food from the water. A hard nail at the tip helps with foraging, and a comb-like structure on the sides of the bill strains small insects and crustaceans from water.

-Most male ducks are silent and very few ducks actually "quack".  Instead, their calls may include squeaks, grunts, groans, chirps, whistles, brays and growls.

Ducks in a farm

-It is a myth that a duck's quack do not echo. This has been conclusively disproved through different scientific acoustic tests.

-Ducks have been domesticated as pets and farm animals for more than 500 years and all domestic ducks are descended from either the mallard or the Muscovy duck.

-Because of their familiarity and comic nature, ducks are often featured as fictional characters. The two most famous fictional ducks are Disney's Donald Duck, who premiered in 1934, and Warner Bros.' Daffy Duck, who premiered in 1937.