The present aim of duck raising in these three farms is to produce ducklings for distribution to rural people in order to use them for fish-cum-farming or for farming ducks. Nepalese are not used to taking duck's eggs. It is, therefore, best to rear only Pekin ducks. Hong-Kong cross ducks may also be good as meat-duck produce but not for breeding purposes. Pekin ducks are very well accepted to be the best producers of duck meat and tolerate well extreme climatic conditions. An estimated cost of egg production of Pekin duck is Rs. 1.62 and Rs. 1.95 per infertile and fertile eggs, respectively (Appendix 4).
The possibility of introducing khaki campbell, an egg-type duck, should be considered.
At the present time there seems to be very good demand for duck eggs all year around at Hetauda commercial fish farm. It is suggested to also try to establish a small flock of khaki campbell ducks, say 20 males and 100 females. Estimated cost of egg production of khaki campbell ducks is Rs. 0.77 each (Appendix 5).
The cost of duckling production of Pekin duck is estimated to be Rs. 4.13 (Appendix 6). Therefore, a duckling should be sold for at least Rs. 4.50.
An estimated cost of meat-duck production is Rs. 14.73/kg liveweight (Appendix 10). As the Government farm is not aiming at getting any profit, taking into consideration only costs of ducklings and feed, these amount to Rs. 12.90. So, the selling price of meat-ducks should be Rs. 13.00/kg liveweight.
To be successful in duck culture, it is always necessary to maintain the superior quality of the foundation flock. Unless good care is taken and good quality of feed is given to the flock, the layers will not be able to perform their best; therefore, it will be impossible to do selection work. The most important operations in the process of breeding are the creation, selection and fixation of genetic variations.
Doing breeding work is a very laborious job and rather expensive but it is of great importance.
Considered from the economic point of view, Hetauda commercial fish farm seems to be a very good place to do breeding work because of its large area and number of ponds. There is also plenty of good fresh feed readily available in the city and neighbouring area. However it is understood that the Hetauda commercial fish farm will be turned into a commercial enterprise. It would, therefore, not be suited to the purpose.
Next to that, Bhairawa farm should be selected, since there are a number of ponds and ample space. There is also a plan for establishing a feed plant at the centre.
The technician in charge should be well equipped with technical know-how and sufficient knowledge in duck husbandry, He should also possess good working ability.
An officer well-trained in duck husbandry must be assigned to handle the duck-raising programme of the country.
Bhairawa farm should have as its function the maintenance of separate pure lines of Pekin duck for multiplication of the flock and to supply breeding ducks when needed to Pokhara farm and Hetauda farm and also to distribute ducklings to the people as usual.
Pokhara farm and Hetauda farm should engage in their previous activities in distribution of ducklings to the people as before but need not be involved in maintaining separate pure lines of ducks.
If this is agreed, all the facilities needed for Bhairawa farm, as already stated in Section 3, must be implemented as soon as possible. The old flock must be discarded and a new foundation flock selected from Hetauda and Pokhara farms.
At least a post-graduate level officer and a junior technician should be given an opportunity for training abroad in duck raising.
Successful commercial duck raising depends largely upon one's technical know-how in the fundamental principles and one's ability to produce and market the products efficiently. One must also be proficient and capable of taking every opportunity to secure increased returns from his enterprise.
Since duck raising is becoming very popular in Nepal, some of the private sector should be assisted in their launching into duck raising on a small commercial scale, either for duckling production or meat-duck production. The Government must encourage those who wish to start in this business by providing loans at low interest and utilizing the Government farms for promotional and demonstration roles in transferring skill and knowledge.
It is interesting to note that, according to the sub-branch manager of the Agriculture Development Bank, Pokhara, the ADB is ready to grant loans to interested farmers for raising ducks, provided proper technical guidance from the Government farm is made available.
For the purpose of encouraging people in the private sector to launch into duck raising, the Project Manager of the FAO/UNDP Project, Pokhara, has agreed to provide financial assistance from FAO for the construction of a simple duck house for demonstrations.
The consultant and his counterpart also took several opportunities to go among the farmers and advise them on various aspects of proper duck raising.
4.5.1 Duckling Production
If there is a steady demand for 500 day-old ducklings per week, it will be necessary to keep between 200–300 female ducks with, of course, 40–60 male ducks, to provide a constant supply of eggs for hatching. The surplus eggs could be sold for hatching or for consumption.
It will be necessary to install two 1 600-egg incubators. The incubation period of ducks' eggs is exactly four weeks. It must be noted here that a delivery of day-old ducklings should be made on the first day after taking them out from the hatcher. This helps avoid giving any stress to the ducklings.
An estimated cost of duckling production on a commercial scale for distribution of 500 day-old ducklings weekly is shown in Appendix 7.
4.5.2 Meat-duck Production
It was noticed that the selling price of table meat-duck in the villages during religious occasions was Rs. 16–18/kg liveweight. If these prices can be expected all year round, it is, therefore, a profitable business to anyone who wishes to start this type of enterprise.
An estimated cost for construction of a duck finisher house for 100 birds is Rs. 2 177 (Appendix 9) and the estimated costs for feed trough and water trough are Rs. 115 and Rs. 241 (Appendix 8) respectively, totalling Rs. 2 533. The expected lifetime of the house and equipment is five years.
The estimated cost of meat-duck production is Rs. 14.73 and Rs. 9.05/kg liveweight for 100 ducklings started per lot, with full feeding and partial feeding respectively (Appendix 10).
The cost of production in the case of full feeding can be lessened if proper care and management is given to the flock, thereby shortening the raising period to 2 or 2 ½ months only. The cost of production can further be cut if the farmer mixes his own feed, rather than buying the feed ready-made from the factory.
With regard to partial feeding, ducks may need to be fed with starter mash only for one month, thereafter they can be allowed to go out from the confined area and they can eat whatever they can get, such as paddy grains. The ducks should be provided with some small amount of rice bran or wheat flour when they return to the house in the evening. With this practice, the raising period will definitely be extended up to three or four months and the average liveweight of a duck may be around 2 kg only but the cost of production is less.
In addition to the schemes recommended above, rural people should be encouraged to try backyard duck raising. Ducks can subsist on kitchen waste or whatever they can search out. This would help to made protein available for home consumption and if there is a surplus, increase income through sales to neighbours.
