CHAPTER IX ANIMAL RAISING AND PLANT CULTIVATION ON AN INTEGRATED FISH FARM

Section 1. Animal raising on an integrated fish farm

The Purpose of raising animals on an integrated fish farm is to develop integrated fish farming and fully utilize the limited feedstuffs. The multi-stage utilization of feedstuffs and fertilizers makes it possible to supply the community with more produce and to increase the income for the fish farm as well. such activity in China is practised in line with local conditions, that is to say, different natural resources and farm conditions decide different items of management and animal raising, e.g. various integration of fish - livestock - poultry or integrated management of “aquaculture, agriculture, or a composite of animal husbandry, industry and commerce.”

1. Sericulture

Pond dykes, corner plots, etc. can be used to plant mulberry tree for sericulture on an integrated fish farm. The by-products of sericulture, dregs, which are comprised of the faeces and sloughs of silkworm and mulberry residues can be used as fertilizers for fish culture. On average, we can get 50 – 60 kg silkworm dregs out of 100 kg mulberry leaves after feeding silkworms. If they are used to feed fish, 1,000 kg of silkworm dregs can be converted into 100 kg of fish. By applying 5,000 kg of pond silt to mulberry plots, we can increase 250 kg of mulberry leaves, which can, in turn, raise the production of silkworm cocoon. Pupa occupies 80% of a wilkworm cocoon by weight, and 100 kg of raw silk and 600 kg of pupae can be obtained from every 700 – 800 kg of silkworm cocoon. Silkworm chrysalis is very rich in protein and fat, which are the good feedstuff for fish, livestock and poultry. Pupae have a special ordor, the feeding amount should be controlled. The nutritive components in silkworm drege and pupae are as follows (in percentage):

The collection and utilization of by-products from sericulture:

Silkworm dregs, mulberry residues could be collected at an early stage of silkworm breeding, but the amount is negligible. It is the right time to collect them after the dormant stage. Silkworm pupae are byproducts after reeling. There are two ways to collect above-mentioned by-products:

1. Sun-dry method: It is suitable for sunny days. Pulverize them after dry, and mix them with chicken feeds for broilers. The daily amount should not exceed 5% of the total feeds. This must be discontinued when the chicken are one month old, otherwise, the meat quality would be affected. The amount of pupae should not be over 10% of pigs' compound fodder. The pupae are allowed to feed sows, piglings, not hogs.

2. Water immersion method: It is for rainy days. As it is difficult to dry silkworm dregs and pupae, just stock these in big vats and fill the vats with water. The preserved ones can be fed to piglings only, never for the fatteners because of the stronger odor of the wet pupae, which may influence the quality of pork.

2. Chicken farming

The digestive tract of a chicken is very short, only 6 times of its own body length. Some of their feedstuffs are excreted out before being fully digested.

From the research results, it is found that about 80% of the feedstuffs are utilized and digested by the poultry (count by dry material); Therefore, various animals on the integrated fish farm can use 20% undigested feedstuffs from the chicken manure. Besides, chicken has the habit of pecking foods, more than 10–15 % of the feed are scattered over the ground these can also be reclaimed together with the chicken manure. The total protein contents of the dry chicken is as high as 20–30%. In it is satisfactory if the protein contents of feedstuffs are over 18%. In the past chicken manure used to be fertilizer for the crops which, we consider, is a world of waste.

a little slip will cost a big loss. It is very different from small scale family raising.

2) The utilization of good species and hybrid vigor of broilers that are suitable for an integrated fish farm: The most common species of broiler chicken in the world are hybrid offspring of White Cornish and White Rock. Some companies in the world are specifically engaged in chicken breeding. They have got some pure-bred for the hybrid experiments. From the results of their hybrid matching, they select the best combination of the hybrids. They have first generation hybrids (grandfather generation), and second generation hybrids (parent generation), and then produce broiler chickens for commercial production. Pure line reproduction (Great Grandfather) First Generation Hybrids (Grandfather generation) Second Generation Hybrids (Parent Generation) Produced Chickens (Commercial Generation)

The white feather broilers bred in China are Starbro System from Canada and Hybro System from Holland. We have established National Pure line Chicken Farm, selling grandfather generation to the first grade chicken farms, and the first grade chicken farms sell parent generations to the second grade chicken farms. The second grade chicken farms supplies double hybrid commercial chickens for the markets.

Chinese people prefer to eat yellow feather broiler chickens, therefore, most of the white feather broiler chickens are processed as fronen chicken for export. The live poultry for domestic market and , yellow feather chickens. They are “New Pudong Chicken” bred by the Institute of Rusbandary, Shanghai Academy of Agriculture. The meat of this species is better than Starbro chicken imported, but their growth is a little slower, their body weight reaches 1,500 grams after 10 weeks, a hen can lay 140 eggs per year. Their viability is .

In recent years, some of the developed countries use processed chicken manure to feed animals and poultry. “Chicken Manure Pelletining Production” which becomes the “Regenerative technology Industry” of 80's is of very important economical value. In China, dry saw-dust and pulverised dry stalk of crops are used as bedding material for chicken coops. The bedding material and chicken excreta are used to feed fish. Part of them may be eaten directly by fish as feedstuffs while the rest will become the nutrients of the fish pond water. In this way, we still cannot fully utilize all the nutrients of chicken manure. For a change, the excreta together with the bedding material are used as the feedstuffs for cattle or pigs, especially for sows and beef cattle. Thus, the undigested and unabsorbed fine feeds in chicken excreta are well utilized again by sow and cow, promoting the development of the hog and cow husbandry. The excreta of pigs and cattle can also be used to feed fishes. Fishes can utilize the undigested nutrients in pig manure and cow dung. The utilization rate of feedstuffs is then greatly increased. Besides, animal manures serve as fertilizers in the water to produce abundant plankton, which is a good natural food for fish. If animal excreta are used to culture fish, they enrich the pond silt, which can be used as fertilizer for the mulberry plot or on the pond dyke for green fodders resulting in high yield. Thus, we can raise silkworm, also raising chicken, pig, cow and rearing fish at the same time. In this way, the utilization of the feedstuffs and fertilizers can reach its maximum, and aquaculture and animal raising can be carried out in a more comprehensive way.

Commercial Broiler Production on an Integrated Fish Farm

1) Characteristics of broiler farming: The broiler farming has only developed for 20 years in China. Large flock and high density farming method is adopted. Broilers grow very quickly. In the feeding condition is favorable they can be sent to market after 8 weeks, usually not over 12 weeks. The average weight of the chicken is between 1,250–1,600 grams. The feedstuffs of broilers should be compound feed with all the essential nutrients. Special attention must be paid to the temperature, and of the house. broiler farming,

3) Chicken House Construction and Main Equipment Farms From the economical point of view, the open-type house with natural lighting and ventilation for chicken is practiced or fish farms.

Usually, it is a one-storeyed building with inverted “V” shape roof. Its length is about 6–8 meters. Its height from the ground to the caves is about 2.2–2.5 meters even 3 meters in the warmer area. Each room has an area of about 100 square meters, which can accomodate about 800 chickens. The width of the house should depend on the amount of chickens raised. Two workers can handle about 3,000–4,000 chickens at one time. The chicken house should face the sun, the ratio of the windows and the ground area is usually 1:8–1:10. The windows in the south should be bigger and nearer to the ground while the windows on the north side should be smaller and farther to the ground in the northern hemisphere. It's better to have a concrete ground 30 cm higher than the ground outdoor so that it will be easier to keep it dry and sterilized.

Main Equipment for Chicken Farming

1. Thermafication: Thermoelectric umbrellas are commonly used. It is square in shape, about 1–1.1 meters on each side, about 0.7 meters in height, with 45 degrees inclination upward. Each umbrella has a 300 W. thermoelectric wires and a thermostat which can keep 250–300 chicklings warm. In the cold winter, stoves with pipes should be installed in the house in order to keep the room warmer. (see Figure 1).

2. Feeding Trough: There are 2 types of feeding systems, the manuel and the mechanical chain type.

   The feeding trough for chicken is made of wood plate or iron sheet. The size and height depend upon the growth period of chickens. Usually there are small, medium and large sizes. There is a special rod on the trough to prevent the spilling of the feedstuffs and the contauination from chicken manure. There should be a certain number of troughs to guarantee the chicken to be fed evenly. This kind of troughs can also hold wet feedstuffs (see Figure 2). Cylindric feeding trough can also be used (see Figure 3).

   Chain-driven feeding system: It is a trough made of iron sheet. At one end of the trough, attached a feedstuff box, with a chain in the trough moving transversely, which can deliver the feedstuffs to the whole length of the trough. It is easy to use and save manpower. (see Figure 4).

3. Waterer: For chicklings a big opening jar with an aluminum plate beneath can be used. They should be installed around the thermoumbrella in order that the chicklings can easily get water. As the chicken grows, automatic barrel-like plastic waterer can be used instead of jar. It contains clean water for about 100 chickens to drink per day. (see Figure 5). Some farms use long trough with running water and the results is also promising.

4. Chicken Cage: The chick transportation cages are made of calciumplastic corrugated paper, which can hold 100 newly-hatched chickens (see Figure 6). For the chickens sent to market, they are usually kept in iron wire cage of 90 × 60 × 35 centimeters in size. Each cage can hold about 15–20 live chickens weighing 1.5 kilograms each (see Figure 7).

(4) Standards and formula of broiler chicken feeds:

In order to fully utilize the feedstuffs, to cut down the cost of the feed, to accelerate the growth and build up the health of the broiler chicken, we have to set the standards of the nutrition according to nutritional needs. The following nutritional requirements are adopted:

Nutritional Standards for Broiler Chicken

Nutritional Standards of Vitamins and Minerals for Broiler Chicken

For easy preparation of the feed, there are vitamin compounds and trace elements additives for broiler chickens manufactured in our country. We can just add them to the feed according to a certain proportion.

There are a number of feedstuff companies in the world, they prepare compound feed for broiler chickens. According to the requirements as well as local feed resources, the results are quite promising (See Table 9–1–1).

The metabolic energy, crude protein, amino acils, calcium, phosphates, vitamins and mineral contents of the feedstuffs' formula can fulfil the nutritional requirements.

Average Feeding Standards for Broiler Chicken

Table 9-1-1 Formula of the Feedstuffs for broiler Chicken Produces by the Wuxi Feedstuffs Company

(5) Feeding and Management of Broiler Chicken:

The most important thing in the Management of broiler chicken is the formula of the feed. The nutrient of the feed should be all-round. Second, the daily management of the poultry should be emphasized. Good environmental conditions are essential to the growth of the chicken. Better rewards could be obtained from the feedstuffs, if we follow the above-montioned criteria.

Simultaneously in-and-out system:

All chickens should start to feed at the same day and come to the market at the same day. After all the chickens are sold, complete cleaning and sterilization of the poultry farm should be carried out. Then rest for 7–14 days. This period of fallowness can break any cycle of any infectious disease. A “clean start” will be ready for the next batch of chickens, which can be prevented from the infectious diseases of the previous batch. As the growth speed of broiler chickens are not uniform, it is better to modify the simultaneously in-and-out system. Chicklings are received at the same time, but sold according to their body weight. For those growing slower, we keep them one to two weeks more, and sell them while their body weight reaches the requirements.

Good Preparatory Work:

After all the chickens are sold, the poultry house and equipment should be completely sterilized and a layer of clean and dry bedding is laid on the floor. Before chicklings are coming, the temperature of chicken nursery should be kept above 80°F, and the temperature beneath the nursing umbrella should be 90–95°F, lamps should be installed in the umbrella in order to attract chicklings to come under the umbrella to keep warm. The trough and waterers should be also installed around the umbrella. Protecting board is set up outside of the umbrella, thus keeping chicklings in the warm area of the umbrella. Waters and trough should be filled before the introduction of chicklings. Chicklings should come to the poultry house in the morning. In this way, they can learn to eat and drink in the day time. The lamps should be ligned on in the first two weeks Fresh food and water should be given and the daily consumption of the feedstuffs recorded. The temperature of the nursing umbrella should be checked in the night to prevent chicklings from crowding together if it is not warm enough. No light is needed all the night after 48 hours. The protective board of the nursing umbrella should extend and the temperature lowers one degree F daily. The air should be kept fresh, water and feedstuffs should be clean. The bedding of the chicken house should be dry and the environment quiet. As chicklings grow, the protective board can be removed on the 7th day to avoid too many chickens gathering together. The trough and waterers should also be changed to larger size as the chickens grow. The nursing umbrella should be gradually raised up in height. If feed is given all day long, the feed and water should not be interrupted. If artificial feeding is carried out, the feeding time should be fixed. Weaker chickens should be separated into groups for feeding. The bedding on the ground should be changed frequently and exposed to the sun as often as possible. The chicken house should be kept warm in winter and well ventilated and proper measures should be taken to lower the temperature in summer. Chicklings are fed with special diet during the first 5 weeks and then fed with fattening diet gradually. Prevention of diseases should be emphasized during the whole course of raising. When those chickens reach 10 weeks old, with body weight of 1.5 kg, they can be sold first. It is better to catch the chickens in the early morning and each cage can hold 15 chickens in the summer and 20 chickens in the winter. A layer of dry grass is laid on the base of the cage. Tender can during the catching can avoid injuries.

(6) Prevention and Treatment of Common Disease:

The raising time of broiler chickens is short, but the density is high. The prevention of disease should stress nursing management, cleanness and hygiene. The prevention program should be outlined ahead of raising. Medical treatment is carried out only hen the prevention fails.

The common chicken diseases are Pullorum disease, coccidiosis avium, infectious bronchitis of chicken, chronic respiratory diseases, variola avium, Newcastle disease, cholera avium, Marek's disease, ascariasis avium and deficiency disease, e.g. lack of certain nutrients, such as vitamins and minerals.

Some of the chicken diseases can be prevented by inoculation of vaccine or by medication. Some big manufacturers have produced mixed whole feedstuffs including vitamins, trace elements and drugs, thus, it can effectively prevent the occurrence of certain diseases. Some of drugs may produce resistance after long application, such as anti-coccidiosis medication. Therefore, the most helpful way to prevent the outbreak of chicken diseases is good nursing management, cleanness and hygeine as well as isolation and sterilization.

Example of Preventive Project:

Marek's vaccine is given to chicklings within 48 hours after hatching.

0.01% furazolidonum is added into the drinking water for 1–7 dayold chicklings to prevent Pullorum disease.

Nose drops of weak toxic Newcastle disease II vaccine are given to the 7 day-old chickens, and they are inoculated with variola avium vaccine at the same time.

Robenidine of 30 ppm is added into the feed after 10 days old to prevent coccidiosis and discontinued one week before marketing.

The beak should be cut in the middle with a beak cutter and hemostasic is done by cautery at 15 days old to prevent bad pecking habit.

H₁₂₀ vaccine of infectious bronchitis is given with the drinking water to 20 day-old chickens at the dilution of 1:500–1000. The dosage is 5–10 ml per chicken.

Subcutaneous inoculation or Newcastle disease vaccine at 45 days old. If ascarid is found, tetrametrasol is given.

Control of coccidiosis: Coccidiosis is the most serious disease of broiler chickens and usually happens after the chickens are 8 weeks old. It is mainly transmitted through manure, especially in the hot and humid season. If the bedding material is thick, the transmission will be more serious because the wet bedding increases the chance of hatching of occyst. The most effective approach for preventing coccidiosis is to raise chicklings in cages above the ground. Thus, the chickens are isolated from their own excrement. If thick grass bedding is used, the most common approach is some anti-coccidiosic medication given with the feedstuffs right after initial feeding, and should be carried out through the whole period of growth. For instance, 125 ppm of sulfadimethoxine (SDM) or 30 ppm of chlorophenyl-quanide can be added into the feedstuffs. Dinitolmide (Zoalene) can also be added into the feed, up to the concentration of 0.0125%. Attention should be paid to that continuous application of anti-coccidiosis drugs for a period of time may bring about the drug-fast and drug-fast strain. As a result, coccidiosis could break out again then, the treatment of coccidiosis is only one of the approaches in the whole process of prevention. If the result of the first trial is not promising, other medications should be considered. Two kinds of medications can be applied alternatively. Besides the medical control of coccidiosis, cleanness and hygiene of the chicken house and the dryness of the ground bedding are also essential. The addition of vitamin A and K in the feed can increase the resistance of the chicken.

(7) Collection and Utilization of Chicken Manure:

Nutrient Constituents in Chicken Manure (Dry)

Deodorizing of Chicken Manure:

The chicken manure is fermented and decomposed a few hours after excretion, and a bad smell will occur. Animals instinctively refuse to eat chicken manure unless they are accustomed to it. It is better to deodorize the chicken manure before feeding.

(i) Adding ferrous sulphate: Ferrous sulphate for industrial use (FeSO₄ 7H₂O, green vitriol) has a mild bactericidal function. After mixing it with chicken manure, there will be no fermentation, no decomposition and no foul smell. But ferrous sulphate will absorb moisture, which makes the pulverization and spreading of the powder difficult. Therefore, the process of defouling is limited. Half amount of chimney dust can be added and mixed, then baked dry at 60–80°C, the mixture will not absorb moisture, and this makes the spreading easier. 7% of ferrous sulphate and 3.5% pulverized coal dust are blended with chicken manure. After drying, it will become odorless chicken manure, which can be tolerated by pig, cow, fish, even chicken itself. Their nutritional value are very high (see table below), and can be used up to 20% in the feedstuffs.

(ii) Fermentation Method: If dried grasses are used as bedding, the chicken manure and the dried and pulverised grass (about 14%) are put together into a fermontation pool with dimensions of 2 × 2 × 0.5 m and then, add in equal amount of dried and pulverized grass, silage, wheat bran and a small amount of table salt. The mixture will be filled with water, which occupies 70% and be sincked to 15 cm in height, fermenting for 4 hours in summer. If the temperature is over 40 degrees C, spread out the fermented material. It should be heaped up to 20–30 cm in the spring and fall, let it ferment for about a day, and it should be stacked up to 40–50 cm in height in winter, and covered with a plastic sheet for about 3–4 days. This kind of formented feed has no foul smell at all, but with some wine flavor, good for taste, and pigs like it very much.

Utilization of Fresh Chicken Manure: The nutritional value of the manure of less than 5-week-old chicken are very high; pigs like it even without any treatment. From the experiments, the manure of the egg-laying hens contains about 60% of the crude protein in the feedstuffs. There are 4 grams of digestible protein in the excreta of the egg-laying hen per day. The fresh chicken manure from the cage-cultured hens can be collected by the manure collector and mixed with the feed immediately for the pigs feed. If pigs are accustomed to such a kind of food, they can be utilized more efficiently. It is better to feed sows, and should not be fed to fatteners, which may influence the quality of pork.

Sterilization of Chicken Manure: The chicken manure collected contains latent pathogens, sterilization is needed so as to prevent other animals from chicken diseases. It is considered to be the most appropriate approach in the foreign countries to use methyl alcohol bromide (MeBr) to fumigate manures including bedding. Fumigation can be carried out in the storage basement of silage, or in the special designed tanks.

Another method is to stir up the manure with formalin solution at a dose of 0.5–2% and to put it into use after air-dry.

Chicken manure fed to cow and pig should be limited within 10–30%. If 15–25%, the results will be promising.

C. Goose Production

Both goose and duck are water fowl. Goose raising is mainly for human consumption. Goose is herbivorous animal, which can utilize some of the green scarse feeds. Not like ducks, geese don't have to use feeds of animal origin. Therefore the cost of the feeds for geese is much lower than that for ducks. The well known Chinese goose has strong ability to graze with early maturation and high output. The ratio of the feeds and meat, that is the reward of feed, is higher for the goose than for the duck. It is more economical to raise goose. Fishpond can also be used to raise goose. The goose droppings go directly into the fishpond, which can fertilize the pond water and can be fed to fish as well. If ducks are raised in the fishpond, they will take small fishes as their food. With geese in the pond is a good natural scenery, “white feathers float on green water; Red palms pluck blue ripples.”

1) Taihu Lake Goose is a Fine Species for an Integrated Fish Farm:

Chinese goose is famous for its early maturity and high output. They can be divided into large and small body-types according to their size. Lion-head goose is the largest variety of Chinese goose, and also one of the largest varieties in the world. Matured goose weighs about 10–12 kilograms, gosling grows very quickly, 75–90 day-old meat goose can weigh about 5–7.5 kilograms. But their ability to seek food is poor and they need more feedstuffs, bringing forth only 25–35 eggs per year. Taihu goose is famous for small body-type white goose in China, its size is not big, the matured goose only weighs about 3.5–4.5 kilograms. But they mature earlier and can lay about 80 eggs per year. High yield species can lay more than 100 eggs per year. They have a good ability to seek food and the consumption of foodstuffs is less; therefore, Taihu goose is better than others from the economical point of view. We take small size, early matured, high yield Taihu goose as maternal-line and large size lionhead goose as paternal-line, through artificial insemination, cross matching and heterosis to produce meat gosling.

2) Grazing of Meat Gosling:

Spring is the grazing season for the meat goslings. The weather in spring gradually becomes warm and grasses sprout. It's good time for the growth and grazing of the goslings. After wheat harvest, goslings can graze in the wheat field and they can seek the remaining wheats to fatten themselves, therefore, less feedstuffs are required. Only about one kilogram of feedstuffs is required for each gosling up to 70 days old.

The newly -born goslings are very timid and afraid of cold and like to get together, therefore, they should be kept warmer and divided into small groups. They have to be fed for at least six times per day at a fixed time, and midnight feeding is essential. Feedstuffs can be fragmentary rices, chopped green cabbages or green grass. After 4 or 5 days, they are allowed to graze and the distance of the grazing can increase gradually. After 15 days they can go out for camping. They should be kept in the hut for the night to prevent injuries from the wild animals. During the fattening stage, if the weather is hot, they are kept in the rivers, lakes and ponds for the night. Up to 70 days, the average weight reaches 2.5 kilograms, and then they can be marketed.

3) Management and Feeding of Breed Goose:

Goose is a water fowl. Integrated fish farm can use fishpond to raise goose. A simple goose house can be erected on the bank of the fishpond. The goosehouse should face the south, the southern side is open or enclosed by low walls. There should be a dry run of at least 5 meters in width for feeding and resting. A slope of less than 30 degrees is to connect the dry run with the fish pond. The fishpond is enclosed with hedges about 60 centimeters in height. The ground of the goose-house is 20 centimeters higher than the outside and grass is used as bedding to keep the house dry. In one corner of the house, straws are stacked for laying eggs. Each square meter of the house can hold about 4 Taihu geese, but the water area should be as large as possible. In order to get high fertilization rate of seed egg, there should be 15 male geese matched with 100 female geese. Taihu goose can utilize green fodders; therefore, during non-egg laying season, raising breed geese depends on grazing with a small amount of blighted rices as supplementary food. The feedstuffs should be increased upon the egg-laying stage. With the increasing production of the eggs, the ratio of fine feeds should increase in proportion and special attention should be paid to the green feeds and minerals supplies. In order to promote the egg-laying of the breed geese, lamps should be put on in the night so as to prolong the lighting time from 12 hours to 15 hours. Grazing should be performed as much as possible. The feedstuffs ingradient and amount of feeding of the Taihu goose would be as follows:

The ratio of Feeds for the Breed Goose

In the above-mentioned ratio of the feedstuffs, the nutrients, especially the crude protein and metabolic energy are too low, but it is due to limitation of the food source and raising cost, this is the best ratio we can obtain. As Taihu geese have good propensity to graze and good ability to utilize coarse feed, they can adjust their intake according to the requirements of the energy and protein. Thus, they can overcome the disadvantages in the formula. If we can improve the formula of feeding, the egg-laying rate can be raised.

4) Common Goose Diseases:

Matured geese are rather strong and have good resistance against diseases and do not easily get sick. But the resistance of the goslings are very weak.

If they are kept in large goosery with dense population, any little slip in the management, that is against the physiological requirements of the goslings will cause death. The best preventive approaches to the goose disease are good rearing management, sanitary environment and proper vaccination

The common infectious diseases among the goosery are gosling pest, cholera avium and yolk peritonitis. Gosling pest vaccine is now available in China to prevent its occurrence. The mother goose should be inoculated with diluted 1:100 gosling pest vaccine one month before egg laying, once a year, and then the goslings hatched will have a strong immunity. Regular inoculation of cholera avium vaccine can prevent cholera of the geese. If the goosery is already infected, streptomycin should be injected at a dose of 100,000 IU for each goose at four-hour interval for three times, and the result is promising. Yolk peritonitis is usually occuring during the egg-laying season and there is no such vaccine for prevention now. However, streptomycin can be used for treatment, and the whole goosery should be fed with furazolidonum mixed with the feeds at a dose of 25 mg for each goose for 3–4 consecutive days. No matter what communicable disease is, besides medical control, other measures such as sterilization, isolation and deep bury of carcase ought to be taken timely to prevent the spreading of disease.

4. Duck Production

Chinese people have a tradition of eating duck eggs and processing them into salted or preserved eggs. Raising of egg-laying duck needs less and simpler equipment. They mature earlier, produce more eggs, and the size of the egg is rather large. Ducks live in groups, and feed on natural feeds through grazing. Therefore, the raising of egg-laying duck is more profitable than that of egg-laying hen. On an integrated fish farm, grow-out pond can be used to raise egg-laying duck. Duck is an omnivorous water fowl which can use the by-products of the crops and animal feeds as well. Duck manure has higher nitrogen contents, which doubles that of goose manure, and the phosphate contents are nearly twice that of goose manure.

1. Shaoxing duck is one of the good egg-laying species in China: Its somatotype is rather small, the average weight of the matured duck is about 1.25– 1.5 kilograms. Its ability to seek food is rather strong, so it needs less artificial feed. It matures earlier and usually lays eggs at the age of 120 days. 250–300 eggs can be produced every year. High productive groups can give more than 300 eggs/duck per annum. Each egg weights about 55–65 grams. We have introduced drake of Khaki-Compbell strains from Holland and crossed them with Shaoxing female duck. The hybrid vigor is rather obvious: the first generation hybrids start to lay eggs after 102 days, averagely producing 287.7 eggs per year. Each egg weighs about 64.5 grams. It can produce about 18.8 kilograms of eggs per annum. The economic benefit is about 50% higher than that of Shaoxing duck.

2. Maximum utilization of natural resources for grazing: Duck is an omnivorous water fowl. Their ability to seek food is very great; therefore, they should be raised by grazing as much as possible. We can utilize the natural resources in the rice fields, lakes and marshes, trenches and ditches or river shoals. Egg-laying ducks usually hatch their ducklings in the early fall, the paddy field can be used for grazing. Ducklings eat grass, snails, small fishes and shrimps and injurious insects in the paddy field. After the rice grows up, transfer the ducks into the rivers, channels, ditches, lakes or marshes for grazing. After the harvest of rice crops, duck can be driven back to rice paddy fields where there must be some left-over rice, barnyard grass, snails and mole crickets. The natural feeds are seasonally available, duck raising must take advantage of natural resources so as to save artificial feeds. When grazing stops by November, ducks start to lay eggs.

3. Raising Ducks in Fishponds: Fishponds on an integrated fish farm can be used to raise ducks, but ducks eat small fishes, and they dive into water competing with black carp for snails. Therefore, we had better raise the ducks in grow-out ponds with much bigger water area, or within an enclosed section in a large fishpond. The construction of duck coops is similar to the construction of goose house, but egg-laying ducks are more sensitive to cold in comparison with geese. Lower temperature will affect the egg laying, so duck coops should be kept warm, there should be windows and doors on the southern wall to keep coops cool in summer and warm in winter.

   If there are some lakes, marshes, river shoals with plenty of natural feeds nearby the duck farm, grazing should be utilized to its utmost. Otherwise, they could be bred in suck shed, moving around in dryrun, wetrun and fishpond for food and rest, and all the egg-laying ducks will live mainly on artificial feeds. Each Shaoxing duck has to be fed with 110–120 grams of mixed feedstuffs, including blighted rices, barnyard grass, rice bran and fragmentary rices, and 50 grams of animal feeds, such as fresh fishes and pupae. Besides 100–200 grams of green vegetables for each duck per day, snails and Corbicula spp. are often to be supplemented to meet their calcium needs. The green fodder should be chopped and fresh fishes should be cooked and then be mixed with green fodder. Feeds are given three times daily at set time. Shaoxing duck is rather nervous, easily to be disturbed, which may influence their egg-laying ability. Therefore, we should keep the environment very peaceful and quiet. Although egg-laying duck is a water fowl, they have to rest on land and thus, the duck house should be dry and grass bedding should be thick in winter in order to keep it warm and dry.

4. Prevention and Treatment of Common Diseases:

   The most important infectious diseases of egg-laying duck are duck pest and fowl cholera. We now have vaccine for preventive inoculation against the pest. The results are very promising, while the immunological effects of the fowl cholera is still un-satisfactory. To treat fowl cholera, each egg-laying duck is injected intramuscularly with 50,000 IU of streptomycin at an interval of 4 hours for three consecutive times, then followed by oral ingestion of 0.2 grams of sulfadimethoxinum daily for 3 consecutive days. Sterilization, isolation and deep bury of carcase should be taken to prevent the spreading of the disease.

5. Pig Farming

   Pig is an omnivorous animal, the length of pig's digestive tracts is 14 times of its body length. Feedstuffs are much better utilized by pig than by chicken. Chinese pigs can tolerate and fully utilize coarse fodder, even chicken excrement including the bedding. After being accustomed to it, pigs can take a large amount of these fodders. Pig has become one of the main animals in the complete set of “fish-livestock-poultry” system on an integrated fish farm.

1. Pigsty on the pond dyke:

   Pigsties usually are built on pond dyke on an integrated fish farm, so that the excreta of pigs can be directly flushed into the pond. Because the pond dyke is not too wide, the pigsty is usually of single row, facing the south with inverted “V” -shaped roof. The depth of the pigsty from south to north is 4 meters, the width of every house 3 meters. There is a veranda about one meter in width on the southern side. Each house has an area of about 11 square meters and can hold 10 fattening hogs. The height from the ground to the eaves can be 2–2.2 meters. In order to reduce the expenses, no wall is needed on the southern side, but only a fence about 1.2 meters in height. The cement ground is a little higher in the northern side, and slightly sloping down toward the south. Thus, pigs' excreta can easily pass out directly into the fishpond through discharge ditches. This kind semi-open type pigsty has the advantage of less building cost, good ventilation, sufficient sun-light, cooler in summer and warmer in winter. The feeding trough is installed on the southern side and pigs sleep on the northern side. Thus, the ground can be kept dry and it is convenient for operation and management.

2. Utilization of Hybrid Vigor in Pig Farming:

   Taihu pig bred in the Wuxi district can copulate when it reaches 30 kilograms in weight at 5 months old. Each litter has about 15.5 piglets on average. Matured sow weighs about 125 kilograms. They mature earlier and give more piglets for each litter. The quality of the pork is good, less fodders are used and they can tolerate coarse fodder, but the growth rate for the fattening pig is not satisfactory. We use yorkshire stud pig for matching and use their first generation hybrid to produce fattening hogs with a good result. As people's living standard has been improving, more lean meat is required. Landrace hog for salted meat is being recommended for cross matching. In the district where fodders are abundant, the first generation hybrid sow from the Yorkshire stud pig and Taihu sow is intercrossed with Landrace stud pig. The offsprings of this kind of triple hybrids grow very rapidly, and their hybrid vigor is more evident. In order to fully utilize the good stock, artificial insemination is often adopted for matching.

3. Fodders of the Pig and Rearing Management:

   On an integrated fish farm, there are various kinds of fodders which can be used as pig feeds, but we should have reasonable arrangements in order to increase their nutritional value, and promote the growth and fattening of the hogs.

   In order to lower the cost of pig farming, local produce and by-products of the farm should be utilized to the maxium. The feeds should be complete in nutrition, including 55–60% of corn, barley, wheat bran and rice bran, 5% of soya bean cake and cotton-seed cake, 15–25% of chicken manure, 15–20% of wine lees and bean dregs, with an addition of 0.5% of table salt and 2–3% bone power and calcium carbonates. Green fodder is about 15–30% of the total fodder.

   The following formula of the feed can be used in the area where is rich in fodder crops;

The piglets may be the ones reproduced from the sow of the same farm, but usually the piglets are bought from the breeding farm. Piglet fodder should be given to the newly bought piglings and young pig-fodder given after the body weight reaches over 20 kilograms. When the body weight reaches 30 kilograms or more, fattening fodders are maintained until the body weight is over 90 kilograms.

The piglets should be trained right upon arrival in the pigsty. They are trained to eat, sleep and discharge at a fixed place. The feeding trough is usually placed on the southern side of the hogpen, and a small amount of manure is put near the corner of the manure exit on the southern side in order that the newly-arrived piglets smell the excreta, and then have a habit of discharging at that place. Clean grass bedding is stacked on higher place on the northern side for sleeping. Sometimes, piglets discharge every-where in the hogpen, the stockman should sweep the excreta into a fixed corner to keep the sleeping place clean. After several days, piglings could form a good habit and keep their sleeping place dry and clean. The piglets are fed three times a day with a fixed feeding time and amount. Hoghouse needs to be cleaned 2–3 times every day to make the piglings sleep and eat well.

4) Prevention and Treatment of Common disease:

The resistance of pig is stronger than that of chicken. If we can take good care of their health, including proper management, sanitary environment and preventive measure, pigs are not easy to get sick.

The common infectious diseases of pigs are: pig pest, pig erysipelas, pig pasteurellosis, piglet parathyphoid, and pig astheme. There are vaccines for the former four diseases, and “triple vaccine” for these three fulmingating infectious diseases, pig pest, pig erysipelas and pig pasteurellosis. It is convenient to use and very effective. There has been no vaccine for pig asthema so far. The main measures are quarantine, eliminating diseased pigs and raising healthy pigs. Intramuscular injection of kanamycin, 20,000– 40,000 IU/kg of body weight once a day for 5 consecutive days or intramuscular injection of oxytetracycline, 20–40 mg/kg of body weight once a day for 5–7 consecutive days will have certain curative effects. The sick pig should be isolated, sterilized and dead pigs should be deeply buried or burned in order to stop the spreading of the disease.

6. Milk Cow Production

Cow is a herbivorous ruminant animal, and it can better utilize green forage, especially the chicken manure including grass bedding. Chicken manure contains a large amount of non-protein nitrogen compounds which exist in a state of uric acid or amide and can not be effectively absorbed by the pigs, but milk cow as a ruminant animal, can well utilize them. That's why milk cow is one of animals raised in “fish-livestock-and-poultry” integration. The milk output of the cow is high, economic benefit great, and excreta considerable.

The main approach of raising milk cow is grazing. So a pasture is needed and stall feeding is practised in winter. Because of lack of large pasture, intensive stall feeding is adopted for raising milk cow on fish farms. In front of double-rowed cowbarn, a play ground is enclosed for cows. They are fed and milked in the stall, and walk around in the play ground. All the forages needed by the milk cow are supplied during stall breeding.

1) Black and white cows suitable for fish farm to raise:

Black and white cow is the highest milk yielding species. Most of the countries in the world raise this kind of milk cow, which originated in the Netherland, but they all had bred their own species named after their own countries such as, American black and white cow, Japanese black and white cow etc. Chinese black and white cow is one of the main species of our milk cows which can acclimate the natural conditions of the local district, and with high productivity of milk. The primiparous cow could yield 4,000 kilograms of milk during 305 days of lactation, and over 5,000 kilograms of milk can be expected after third pregnancies. The milk fat index is 3.2– 3.5%. The Chinese black and white cow has high productivity, strong body and good adaptation, therefore, it is a good species for raising.

2) Establishing sound cow groups:

Tuberculosis and brucellosis are common infectious diseases for both man and cow. The characteristics of tuberculosis is to cause caseous degeneration of the tubercle nodes on the lung and lymph nodes while brucellosis is to cause abortion, infertility and decrease of lactation of cow. These two diseases will influence both milk cow and human being, therefore, strict quaratine : measures should be taken in case a fish farm wants to develop dairy enterprise. Newly-bought milk cow should be isolated for 3 months and tuberculin tests should be performed thrice, by both intradermal inoculation and intraocular instillation. They can not mix with other cows until we are sure that they are disease free. Quarantine test should be performed twice yearly for those cows without tuberculosis. If there is any cow getting tuberculosis, it should be either isolated immediately or checked out. In that case, all the other cows should be examined again 30–45 days later until there is no positive case found for thrice. All the workers in the dairy should be regularly examined by X-ray. If any tuberculosis case is found, the patient should be transferred out from the dairy. If calf is born from a diseased cow, it should be fed separately. Enhance the breeding of healthy calf to replace diseased cow and thus, new healthy cow group can be established. Serum agglutination test can be used for the quarantine control of brucellosis of milk cow. It should be performed yearly. Healthy cow uses sheep type No. 5 brucellus bacillus (or pig type No. 2) attenuated vaccine for prevention, but they have some bad effect on the quarantine test.