Summary
Muscuovy ducks (Cairina moschata) are popular as a source of poultry meat. Reports on availability of Muscovies (in the free range system of management) in the eastern region of Indu is lacking. In the West Bengal state of Indu two strains of Muscovies have been identified, the strains resemble Black Muscuovy L 303 and White Muscuovy ducks. Ironically they are known as Chinae haras (Chinese duck). Presently a detailed study is being conducted by the author and is being used to develop a strain of broader duck (mule duck) in the region. Reports on availability of Muscovies in this part of the subcontinent are lacking.
Résumé
La race de canard Muscuovy (Cairina moschata) est une race populaire de volaille à viande. Il existe un manque d'information sur la disponibilité de Muscovy (parmi un choix de systèmes de gestion) dans la zone Est des Indes. Dans la région de l'Ouest de Bengal dans l'Etat de Indu, on a identifié deux lignes de Museovy qui ressemblent aux types noir L303 et canard blanc. Etrangements ils sont connus comme Chinae haras (Canard chinois). Actuellement une étude détaillée est en cours et est utilisée pour développer une ligne de canard plus large (mule duck) dans la région. Il y a un manque d'information sur la disponibilité de Muscovy dans cette partie du sous-continent.
Keywords: Muscuovy ducks, Characteristics, Production, Conservation, Bengal.
Introduction
West Bengal, (23.0 N, 87.0 E), is one of the most important states in the eastern part of India covering an area of 88 752 km2. The southern part of the state is touching the Bay of Bengal and the northern part, the Himalayas. It is one of the major trading zones in the pre-colonial, colonial and the present era. The state enjoys a heavy rainfall (occurring mainly in the southwest monsoon) from June to September with some premonsoon showers in the month of May itself. Thus, the state has a typical tropical climate, all year round.
Distribution
The Muscuovy ducks (Figure 1) are found in almost all the districts of the state, i.e. from the coastal belt (Sunderbans) to the Terai zone (Jalpaiguri). They are reared predominantly by the Muslims who cherish the meat of these birds. The birds are allowed to roam freely during the day and are housed in make shift houses/pens (Figure 2). The birds are reared in a very primitive way and are not fed any grains so to say. The word chinae indicates the ancestry of the birds to be Chinese. The birds can consume a variety of aquatic and non-aquatic plants. They prefer to stay on the banks of the ponds rather than going into them. Every village has about two to three ponds, the water of which is used for day-today activities of the farmers.
Figure 1. A Muscuovy duck.
Figure 2. Muscuovy ducks in a village in Mandirbazar. The visible door is of the place where the birds are housed during the night
Productivity
The preferred Chinae hen strains prevalent in Bengal have black, white and brown plumage. However, those with greenish back and white markings on the neck, breast and the forewings are the most common. The shanks of this type are black and the feet are mostly white (95 percent) with black spots or markings. They have very sharp claws. The “caruncles” are red in colour and prominent in males. The “caruncles” start developing after the birds attain an age of about 14 weeks. The eggs are white shelled. The males are heavier than females and under a semi-intensive system of management they attain a body weight of 2 800±250 g at 10 weeks of age while in the same period, the females attained a body weight of 1 600+200 g. The adult body weight of the ducks ranges between 4 500±370 g for male and 2 700 ± 320 g for females. The females are poor layers. The birds are very good mothers.
Figure 3. Muscuovy ducklings (45 days old) at Livestock Instructional Farm, BCKV.
Behaviour
The birds seldom mix with other duck species and live in small flocks all by themselves. The females are strong fliers but the males prefer lying low due to their heavy build. They seldom make any sound and when sound is made, it is usually made by the males. The birds however attack any intruder trespassing in their territory and will sometimes even attack animals much larger than themselves. The birds spend their time loafing around and seldom swim deep.
Research and conservation
At the Livestock Instructional Farm, Bidhan Chandra Krishi Viswavidyalaya (Figure 3), a flock of Chinae hens is being successfully reared with the objectives of studying the breed under farm conditions; developing mule ducks of dual type i.e., for meat and eggs; and develop pure lines.
The objective of developing the dual mule (d’mule) is to provide eggs and meat to the farmers at an affordable price. In Bengal people prefer duck eggs to chicken eggs which fetch a higher price
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[20] Department of Animal
Science, Bidhan Chandra Krishi, Viswavidyalaya, Nadia, West Bengal,
B-Il87, Kalyani, India [21] K.V.K. Ramshai, WB UAFS, Jalpaiguri, West Bengal, India |
