Ducks have several advantages over other poultry species, in particular their disease tolerance. They are hardy, excellent foragers and easy to herd, particularly in wetlands where they tend to flock together. In Asia, most duck production is closely associated with wetland rice farming, particularly in the humid and subtropics. An added advantage is that ducks normally lay most of their eggs with
in the three hours after sunrise (compared with five hours for chickens). This makes it possible for ducks to freely range in the rice fields by day, while being confined by night. A disadvantage of ducks (relative to other poultry), when kept in confinement and fed balanced rations, is their high feed wastage, due to the shovel-shape of their bill. This makes their use of feed less efficient and thus their meat and eggs more expensive than those of chickens (Farrell, 1986). Duck feathers and feather down can also make an important contribution to income. Different breeds of ducks are usually grouped into three classes: meat or general purpose; egg production; and ornamental. Ornamental ducks are rarely found in the family poultry sector. Meat breeds include the Pekin, Muscovy, Rouen and Aylesbury. Egg breeds include the brown Tsaiya of Taiwan Province of China, the Patero Grade of the Philippines, the Indian Runner of Malaysia and the Khaki Campbell of England. All these laying breed ducks originate from the green-headed Mallard (Anas platyrhynchos platyrhynchos). The average egg production of the egg breeds is approximately 70 percent (hen.day basis). The Indian Runner, Khaki Campbell, Pekin and Muscovy are the most important breeds in rural poultry. The Indian Runner
This is a very active breed, native to Asia, and ideal for free-range. It is a very good egg layer and needs less water than most other breeds, requiring only a basin in which it can immerse its beak up to the nostrils. It is the most graceful and elegant of all ducks on land with its upright carriage and slim body. It stands at an angle of about 80° to the ground but when startled can be almost perpendicular. The Khaki Campbell
Originally bred in England, this breed is derived from three breeds: the wild Mallard, the Rouen and the Indian Runner. The female has an overall khaki colour, and the male has a bronze-green head. The female is best known for her prolific egg laying ability, with an average of 90 percent (on a hen/day basis) with an average 73 gram egg weight. The Pekin
Originally bred in China, this attractive meat breed is favoured by commercial producers throughout the world. It is large and meaty with an upright stance and a broad round head. It is hardy, a reasonable layer, and grows rapidly. Although timid, it is docile and easily confined by low fences. It is well suited to both large, specialized duck farms and smallholdings. Pekin ducks are the major meat duck breed in Thailand, Malaysia, Philippines, the Democratic People’s Republic of Korea and China. The Muscovy
This is not genetically a duck or a goose, but is more similar to the goose (Anseridae). It eats grass, as do geese, and has a similarly long egg incubation period of 36 days (compared with that of ducks - 28 days). It is popular in areas where there is little wetland rice production, since it does not require swimming water. The female Muscovy is an excellent brooding mother. It is often used as a foster brooder-mother for other species such as ducks, chickens and guinea fowls. It is a poor layer, producing only 30 to 40 eggs per year under extensive management. The male Muscovy can become very large (4.5 to 5.5 kg) while the female is smaller (2.3 to 2.8 kg). The feather colouring is usually a combination of black and white, ranging from mostly black to mostly white. The male has characteristic red fleshy outcrops around the eyes called caruncles. The Muscovy is the predominant waterfowl in Africa and Latin America, as it thrives well under free-range conditions. Numbers are increasing in parts of Asia where lean, red meat is popular (Hahn et al., 1995). When mated with breeds of domestic ducks, they produce infertile hybrid offspring (“mule” ducks). These mule ducks are a major source of duck meat in Taiwan Province of China. A three-way cross-system is used for white mule duck production. Firstly, Pekin drakes are crossed with white Tsaiya ducks to produce a cross-bred female line called the Kaiya duck. These are then crossed with large white Muscovy drakes, usually by artificial insemination. The resulting progeny is a mule duck, which is sterile but grows rapidly. It has good carcass composition with more meat and less fat than the Pekin. These three-way crosses have the added advantages of the high egg production of the Tsaiya, the high growth rate of the Pekin and the good carcass quality and meat texture of the Muscovy. Their white feathers are more valuable as down than those of darker-feathered ducks. In most tropical countries, there are local duck breeds that have been selected to suit local conditions. They may not perform as well as improved breeds, but they do have the ability to survive and produce well under local extensive and semi-intensive systems. Setioko (1997) described three Indonesian ducks: Tegal, Alabio and Bali. Improved genotypes have been introduced and have either been crossed with local ducks or remained reasonably pure. There was some concern about the ability of the improved genotypes to survive under traditional farming systems. Trials conducted in the Mekong River Delta by The Bin (1996) found that hybrid ducks raised for meat in rice fields were more profitable than the local ducks, even though they consumed more feed and cost more to buy initially. However, when raised for egg production in rice fields and on canals, the hybrids did not perform as well as the local ducks. Geese
Geese are less important in family poultry production, except in China, where mainly local breeds are kept, except for a few European breeds such as the Toulouse and White Roman, imported for cross-breeding purposes. The great variety in breed size of geese permits their use under various management conditions. At the less intensive levels of production preferred by most family producers, smaller-sized birds (weighing approximately 4 kg, such as the Lingxhian or Zie breeds in China) are easier to manage. Geese are high in the broodiness trait, and have a consequent low egg production of 30 to 40 hatching eggs (in three to five laying cycles) per year. At the other extreme are breeds of high fertility (and egg number), which are smaller and are selected specifically for use in breeding flocks for their lack of broodiness. Breeds such as the Zie may lay 70 to 100 eggs annually. The importance of the wide gene pool variety in China is significant for the Asian region in particular and for the world in general. Pigeons
Pigeons are scavengers (not fed any supplementary feed) in most countries, living on the roofs of houses and treated as “pets” that do not need to be fed. They appear to prefer homestead compounds to fields. In some countries, they are eaten only for ritual purposes. They normally lay two eggs in a clutch, and the young birds (squabs) hatch after 16 to 17 days. The growing squabs are fed by their mothers on crop milk, produced in the mother’s crop (first stomach). This enables young squabs to grow very rapidly. They reach maturity in three to five months at a body weight of 200 to 300 g for males, and 150 g for females. Adult pigeons are monogamous for life. Local pigeons are specific to different regions in the tropics. Africa has five breeds, within which Chad has three local breeds. Asia and the Pacific have five breeds, with local breeds found specific even to the Cook Islands. Latin America and the Caribbean islands have only one breed. Europe has six breeds, two of which come from Belgium. Turkeys
These birds are native to Latin America. The breeds kept by rural producers in the tropics usually have black feathers, as distinct from the white-feathered breeds that are raised intensively. Where there are no geese and ostriches, they are the largest birds in the farming system. Body weight ranges from 7 to 8 kg in males and from 4 to 5 kg in hens. They have good meat conformation, produce about 90 eggs per year and have medium to good hatchability. They are more susceptible to disease than either chicken or ducks.
