The floor space requirements of ducks are given in Appendix 1. No consideration of floor space is given for the drakes, since floor space allotted for layers already includes reasonable allowance for drakes.
3.1.1 Pokhara Farm
Housing facilities for ducks need to be expanded. With the capacity of two incubators installed, there should be a continuous supply of 1 200 eggs weekly. The number of laying ducks should be maintained at around 300–400.
A duck layer house having three compartments of 3×12 m or 6×6 m floor space each compartment, with sufficient fenced area in front of the house to confine them during the daytime, is needed (Figure 1). Feed trough and water trough must be provided, the number of troughs depends on the number of birds (Figure 2).
The old duck house could be used as grower house or finisher house, provided that proper ventilation and a confined area in front of the house are installed.
The old incubator house is reasonably good but again provision to obtain proper ventilation is needed or at least the windows must be kept open all the time.
A brooding house with dimensions of 6×9 m must be constructed and at least four brooding cages and two hover-type brooders should be installed (Figures 3 and 4).
Feed can be stored in the room where it is presently kept.
3.1.2 Bhairawa Farm
At least four layer houses having 6×6 m of floor space with two compartments should be constructed at various ponds and shade trees should be planted on the banks to provide shade for the confined area. The number of laying ducks should be maintained at 400–500.
There is need to construct a new incubator house of 6×12 m in order to install two incubators. One incubator from Hetauda farm is to be shifted to this farm. A brooding house of 6×12 m should be constructed and four brooding cages and four hover-type brooders are to be installed. The old duck house could be partitioned into two compartments with confined areas by the sides of the house and then used for rearing grower and finisher. A feed storeroom with sufficient height and proper ceiling must be made available.
The reason for having these facilities will be elaborated in Section 4.
3.1.3 Hetauda Farm
One layer house of 3×6 m floor space is needed, in order to increase the number of the Pekin flock to 400 to meet the capacity of two incubators.
An incubator house of 6×9 m must be provided (Figure 5).
A brooding house of 6×9 m and at least four brooding cages and two hover-type brooders are needed.
Good water supply is badly needed to provide good drinking water for the ducklings and to run the cooling system of the incubator. This must be provided as soon as possible.
A feed storeroom with sufficient height and ceiling should also be provided.
3.1.4 Layer or Grower House
A layer house can also be alternately used as a grower house. In contructing a layer house, the following points must be considered: (i) provision for protection from damp, ample space, and plenty of fresh air; (ii) protection against rats and wild animals; (iii) ease of cleaning and maintenance; (iv) ease of construction with the minimum of material, elaborate fittings and skilled craftmanship; (v) adaptation of design to sizes and dimension of materials locally available, and (vi) provision of all possible labour-saving features.
It is a very good idea to make the house considerably larger than will be required for the minimum flock intended to start with. Extra space will not do any harm to the flock and there will be ample accomodation to increase the flock size in the future without having to go to the expense and delay of building another house.
Duck attendants should preferably not be allowed to reside in the layer house. The door of the layer house must be locked and the key kept with the technician in charge.
Detailed specifications and an estimated cost of construction of various houses and equipment will be worked out by the Engineer of the Fisheries Section.
3.1.5 Brooding House
Aside from the points to be considered in constructing the layer house, the roof of the brooding house should be high with a good ceiling so that the house has good ventilation with no draughts and is durable. For the purpose of securing ample ventilation, the upper portion of the sides around the house above 1.80 m should be closed in with half-inch wire netting.
3.1.6 Incubator house
The space should be large enough to leave plenty of space around each incubator. The roof should also be high and strong in order that the house has good ventilation with no draughts and little vibration. To provide fresh air in the house, the upper part is closed with wire mesh netting.
Cement floors with drains are most desirable because they can be kept clean and also they can be watered for the purpose of maintaining the proper degree of relative humidity.
All eggs for hatching should be uniform in shape and size and sound in shell. The size of eggs used for hatching is important because there is a high correlation between the size of eggs used and the size of ducklings hatched. Dirty eggs may be wiped without their hatchability impaired by using soft cloth wet with solution, provided the solution used is somewhat warmer than the eggs.
Hatching eggs should be kept in a well ventilated room without draughts, preferably at the room temperature of 55–65°F. They may be kept in a tray and turned twice a day and should not be kept longer than seven days.
Before starting up incubation, the incubator must be properly fumigated.
Physical factors governing successful incubation are: (1) position and turning of eggs; (ii) temperature requirements; (iii) ventilation requirements and (iv) humidity requirements.
Always placing the eggs large-end-up rather than flat allows more eggs to be incubated at one setting. Frequent turning of eggs during incubation is desirable in order to prevent the embryo from adhering to the shell membrane.
Better hatching results would be obtained if the temperature is kept constantly at 99.5°F. With higher temperatures for a long period, embryo mortality is certain to be excessive. Low temperatures cause a retardation in embryo development which leads to the death of the embryo.
Proper ventilation of the incubator chamber during the incubation of eggs is necessary because, as the embryo develops, it requires oxygen and it liberates more carbon dioxide, which must be removed from the incubator chamber.
During the incubation the eggs lose weight, a large part of which is due to loss in water content. The amount of water eliminated is largely proportional to the humidity of the atmosphere of the egg chamber. Hygrometers should be provided in the incubators so that proper humidity can be maintained. The wet-bulb thermometre is also useful when installed in the incubator house.
3.3.1 Setting Eggs for Incubation
It is best to set the eggs for incubation always on the same day of the week in order to make certain that an orderly routine of work is possible.
3.3.2 Testing Eggs During Incubation
The eggs should be tested three times during the period of incubation; from the seventh day, to remove all infertile eggs and those with dead embryos; from the fourteenth day and twenty-first day, to remove embryos dying after the first and second tests.
3.3.3 Hatching
During the incubation period, the humidity should be 86°-88°F; to increase humidity the eggs should be sprinkled with lukewarm water three times a week up to the twenty-fifth day, at which time additional water should be discontinued until the eggs start to “pip”. At that time the eggs may be sprinkled with lukewarm water two or three times daily. During the hatching period, the humidity should be 92°F.
As the duck egg has a very hard shell and the small duck's beak is only suitable for pecking its way out, it is permissible to help ducklings out of the shell if they get into serious difficulties.
Once the ducklings are perfectly dry, they can be removed from the hatcher.
3.4.1 Ducklings
If desirable, the ducklings should be sexed soon after removal from the hatcher and brooded separately.
Before starting up brooding, the brooding house and equipment should be thoroughly cleaned and disinfected well in advance. For the first seven days, if the number of ducklings is small, they can be brooded in a brooding cage. Gunny sacking should be placed on the inner compartment's floor. Feeding and watering are given in the outer portion only. After seven days, they could be transferred to the rearing floor provided with thick litter.
If the number of ducklings exceeds 300, they should be brooded with a hover-type brooder. The brooding floor must be provided with good and thick litter. Before placing the ducklings under the hover-type brooder, a guard of plain galvanized iron sheet or pieces of wood, should be placed around the brooder 2–3 ft from the hover. The guard should be moved further and further away from the hover after a few days. The litter must always be kept dry.
During summer, brooding of ducklings up to seven days may be sufficient, but in winter it is advisable to brood them for another week or so.
Ducklings that vary more than about one week in age should not be brooded together, because the younger ducklings are very likely to get insufficient feed and are also likely to be trampled under by the older ones.
When the ducklings are about 14 days old they could be allowed free access to a playing area. After three or four weeks, they should be shifted to the grower house.
3.4.2 Growers or Finishers
If unsexed, growers could be reared together up to two months of age, then male growers should be removed so that the female growers will develop properly and uniformly into good layers.
As surplus males, not needed for breeding, they should be kept for fattening separately and with no exercise given. They should be sold at the age of 2 1/2 to 3 months, otherwise there is a loss in rearing them.
The males intended for breeding purposes should be reared separately with good feed and exercise.
The growers house should always be kept clean and dry. Feeding and watering must be given only outside of the sleeping area.
3.4.3 Layers or Breeders
The house must be always kept clean and dry. Good and thick litter is necessary in order to obtain clean eggs. During the daytime the ducks can be allowed free over the whole fenced area.
Contrary to general belief, an expanse of water is not at all necessary for laying ducks.
For breeding purposes, to obtain better fertility of eggs, it is advisable to allow them to breed in water. A reasonable portion of pond and area of land should be enclosed by a low fence and breeding ducks are allowed free range within this area.
Regular culling of non-layers or poor layers will help minimize the cost of feed.
3.4.4 Breeding
It is advisable to use only males over 10 months and females after they have laid eggs for at least two to three months. One male per five females is a good proportion.
Suggested nutrient requirements of ducks is presented in Appendix 2. Some duck feed mixtures are also given in Appendix 3.
Poultry feed is also good as duck feed. Since poultry layer mash is commonly fed to the laying ducks, feed that is quite satisfactory for market egg production may be relatively unsatisfactory for hatching egg production. Although the nutrient requirements of breeders are the same as those of layers, care should be taken to provide breeders with the optimum supply of vitamins and minerals.
Feed should be always fresh and free from mold growth and any toxic substances.
Feed should consist of a good crumbly mash composed of whatever meal may be most cheaply available locally, with enough quantity of animal protein, essential vitamins and minerals. If plant protein is available it can also be used. Small fish, unsuitable for human consumption can be fed to the ducks either raw, chopped-up small or boiled.
Water must always be available near the feed trough.
3.5.1 Ducklings
Ducklings need to be fed with wet starter mash three or four times a day, using only shallow containers for feeding. Only a small amount of feed is given at a time because what is left over may become sour. Good drinking water must always be provided. It is advisable to incorporate antibiotics into the drinking water for the first three days or seven days.
3.5.2 Growers or Layers
Growers and layers should be fed with a proper feed mixture only twice a day, morning and afternoon. Feeding and watering must always be given outside the house in order to keep the house clean and dry.
3.5.3 Finishers
After eight weeks of age, males intended for meat production should be reared separately and given finishing mash. While they are being fattened, they should be kept as quiet as possible at all times.
Fortunately, unlike chickens, ducks do not suffer so much from diseases. The following are to be kept in mind to avoid any occurrence of disease:
maintenance of cleanliness of houses;
proper housing with good ventilation; all houses should be cleaned at regular intervals and disinfected with chemical disinfectants or dehydrated lime;
feeding the flock with correct proportions of proteins, vitamins, and minerals, being certain that feed is fresh and free from molds and any toxic substance;
deworming for internal parasites and fumigating for external parasites whenever necessary;
before introducing new birds to the flock, isolation of these birds in a quarantine house and carefully examining for disease; any showing obvious signs of ill health to be promptly rejected;
never allowing any outsider to enter into the duck houses;
consulting the veterinarian for the immunization of the flock with various vaccines, and
in cases of doubt or sudden death of birds or serious epidemics, consulting the veterinarian immediately.
If possible, working hours of the duck farm should be from 08.00 to 17.00, with two hours break from 11.00 to 13.00
Quarters for technicians should be provided at the farm so that they can work more efficiently.
