Khaki Campbell and Muscovy ducks - Basic Needs

Tourist Destinations, Firefly Park, Malaysia

"Fireflies / lightning beetle" is Lampyridae in a family of insects in the beetle order Coleoptera. They are winged beetles, and commonly called fireflies or lightning bugs for their conspicuous crepuscular use of bioluminescence to attract mates or prey found in abundance along the Selangor River across Kuantan Village, Selangor, Malaysia. It's so beautiful. The amazing wonder that you have to see it with your own eye.    

Duck Farm
Layer duck and meat are become more popular among the local entrepreneurs.  This is indeed profitable if operated properly by understanding the basic needs and requirements in terms of duck housing, environment, nutritional, disease and other related matters.

Failure to understand the nature of this industry or not to provide its requirements can be the biggest cause of project failures.

Learning from experience is the utmost importance than the theory sometimes we read from the books, the knowledge obtained during the short course or a visit to the so called “success” duck farm sometimes do not meet the environment, facilities, equipment and capital we’re.

Duck house

The most important aspect in managing the duck house is to prevent stress to the ducks mainly to layer duck (Khaki Campbell) If stress occurs, the number of eggs will be down dramatically, sometimes can lead to disease and death. 

Stress in ducks can occur in many situations, for example: -

1-Congestion or the number of ducks too much in the narrow house.

2-Total food or beverage containers inadequate, result ducks have to fight over to eat and drink.

3-House conditions are wet and dirty, causing discomfort in ducks.

4-Harassment from the environment such as the present of other animals such as cattle, goats monkeys, dogs and others that frightened the duck. Although these disorders comes from outside the fence, but it still can cause stress. A good duck house should be lighted at night and covered with something like a canvas so that the ducks did not see anything outside the house. Although a frog jumping outside the fence, is enough to destabilize whole duck house, imagine if a dog or a cow crossing the coop.

5-Electricity, emergency lighting and generator backup. Sufficient emergency lighting should be placed in the house, as a precaution in the event of electrical outages.

Ducks must be locked up at night, this is to avoid predators such as wild dogs, pythons, foxes or thieves. Sometimes we forget to drove duck into the house during the night, the night was coincidental occurrence of heavy rain, when it rains duck will play regardless of the cold. tomorrow morning we will find a number of ducks cannot stand up because they get flu. On that day or later we found many of the ducks dead because we do not know how to treat them.Flu in humans is not dangerous, but for the duck / chicken can lead to death.

Good Duck Coop.

1-Have enough acreage with ducks, for example, the appropriate distance to an adult duck is 3 feet each.

2-Away from residential areas. (At least 500 meters)

3-Have good air ventilation.

Horizontal position to the sun on morning and evening. So that sunlight can enter the house in the early morning and evening.

 In the daytime, duck released out of the house and the sunlight can get in to dry the floor.When the night duck can rest comfortably

Duck Filth Management

 

One question that is rarely thought by duck farmer at the beginning of projects, but it will be a big problem once the project running a few months later. 

A lot of duck droppings are invited to foul odor and flies, then the duck house will be slander by nearby neighbors.  

Therefore, a duck coop design should be built by considering the ability to dispose of duck droppings easily.  Whether the stool is to be collected and then sold as fertilizer to the agricultural sector, or the stool is to be discharged into rivers or drains nearby as long as does not interfere with the environment.

Among the proposals can be thought of is the excrement flowing into nearby rivers or drains, for this you need to seek advice from the Department of Environment or the nearest District Council so that feces is passed down to the river to comply with the allowable percentage for disposal to the public river. So, there is no issue of river pollution.

Duck feces drain into the river with the appropriate rate (not more than 4% of the width of the river) please refer to the Department of Environment actually nourish the river itself. Duck droppings will promote the growth of phytoplankton and zooplankton that feed small fish, and indirectly this will encourage the fish population in the river.

For this proposal, you need to plan the duck house from the outset as to build the cement floor, and a suitable drain or ditch to drain the duck droppings properly.

Wet Barn Floor and Rotten Egg.

What duck coop floor is the best?? Among popular material is ordinary soil, sand, sawdust, rice husk and other. 

The biggest problem is to ensure that the eggs are dry. If duck eggs is exposed to the wet floor, it  did not last long, in several day after that, it will become  a rotten egg and you will get the angry from the buyer. Eggs are not exposed to water (dry) can last for a month.

All materials used as floor as described above did not last long. After a week it will be filled with wet duck poop. when the rainy season it become worst, wet floor would affect the quality of duck eggs.

This is where the problem would be great.  The quickest way to resolve it is to provide nesting for ducks to lay their egg by using planks or wooden boxes. In it to be filled with sawdust or rice husks. This nest must be provided before duck start to laying egg. Normally eggs produced from this nest is dry.

Based on experience, not all ducks will lay eggs in nests that are available, half duck will lay eggs all over the place and it would get wet.

The solution I always used is, dried eggs are collected and sold to middlemen, wet eggs are cleaned and to be processed as salted egg. Problem solved. 


Another recommendation is to build house or barn as stage  shaped on the height of at least 6 feet so that employees can get down to collect the stool, the floor using a stacked wooden rarely or nets as commercial chicken coops as familiar to us. Such floors will allow feces and spilled drinking water continues to fall to the ground and this reduces the risk of eggs becoming wet. Rainy season it would have been problematic. After that, add the adequate nest. I'm sure this is the best proposal to overcome wet eggs. However, high capital is required to implement this proposal.

Layer duck (khaki Campbell ) is very sensitive and easy become stress, to ensure a success, we have to create a very quiet and calm environment around a coop, so that they can live, grow and provide maximum results.

Avoid build a house near the industrial area or noisy places, only employees who are familiar with the nature of these ducks are allowed in the house, visitors to be restricted in certain areas. Children are not allowed to enter the house. They’ll become very excited to catch a duck, this action can cause a stress to the duck and therefore the productivity will going down.

Breeding ducks 

-Natural Incubation 

For those who intend to start a layer duck (khaki Campbell ) I recommend to purchased about  20-30 Muscovy ducklings with it. 

When the time for this Muscovy ducks lay eggs and start incubating, you can mix Muscovy egg with Khaki Campbell that once incubated. Or you can change all Muscovy egg with Khaki Campbell’s. But it must be done with caution. 

Why incubation naturally?

-No need to purchase egg incubator

-No need to keep the temperature or humidity.

-Her mother will care for the child, we only feed them.

Incubation Using Incubator 

Incubator is a tool designed to replace the mother duck / chicken to do the job. The main components in a incubator are:  

1-Heater using bulbs, heating element and others. 
2-Fan that serves to distribute the warm air in incubator. 
3-Small water reservoirs. Water is necessary to keep the level of moisture so that the egg not become too dry to be difficult for children duck / chicken hatch. 
4- Thermostat. Temperature control device by setting the minimum and maximum temperature in the incubator. When the temperature reaches a maximum, this device will automatically turn off the heater,  when the temperature dropped to a minimum, this tool will bring back the heater. 

Benefits of Using Incubator 

Can produce ducklings in large numbers simultaneously. But you need a knowledge about the temperature controll, humidity, period of incubation and others. 

Egg incubator - Able to  hatch 100 eggs simultaneously, the  tray will automatically change position up and down 2 times per hour.

Barn nursery, total ducklings / chicken should not be too dense, has its own food and beverage containers and heater from electric bulbs or flames from gas (hover) the right time to switch on the heater is at 6.00 pm until 10.00 am (tropical climate)

How to get a fertile eggs?

Have you ever buy chicken or duck eggs and incubates it? When incubated these eggs hatch or not? The answer is no, because the eggs are produced from a breed that has been scientifically modified so that they will produce eggs even without the "contribution" of the male. when you feed them enough they will lay eggs every day.

The easiest way is to buy a breed of chicken / duck from the store, but what if we want to propagate them ourself? This question I have ask those who have been involved in this field. Answer received is vague and ambiguous. Some of the answer is that the egg was processed in the laboratory or eggs are injected with certain medications before incubated. I'm not sure why this kind of answers received. I thought maybe they did not want to reveal the actual way that the secret was not known to the public like me and they can continue to monopolize the industry.

Unsatisfied with that answer, I started to do an investigation, after a few times doing a survey, observation and evaluation, eventually I will get the answer that I want to mentioned here. 

Although layer duck and chicken are produced from genetically modified, but when the time they reached maturity (5 months and above) they will mate. Logically eggs produced by mating can be incubate. I have try to incubate a Khaki Campbell egg using a surrogate mother (Muscovy) and found the eggs hatch.

Large duck farms usually have special house to accommodate breeders to produce fertile eggs for incubate. Food given is better and has a high protein content. 

Female and male ducks are selected from healthy ducks at a rate of 1 male 3 females (ratio 1:3). Eggs produced from these house can be incubate.

Khaki Campbell Ducks (Layer)

This species is the result of a cross of Indian Runner ducks and Rouen . Produced by Sir Adele Campbell in the late 1940s in England. Having the egg production rate better than other types of ducks.

Khaki Campbell have a very sensitive in nature, wild and easily become stress. Any form of harassment will cause them to flee in fear. These things should to be taken care so it will not affect the productivity of eggs.

Muscovy duck

Most popular for the meat. This ducks are more easily to cultured than layer duck because of its hardiness and not much hassle in terms of food and nutrition. Rearing period is  approximately 3 months. When their weight reached up to 2 kg, this duck is ready for sale.

Female muscovy weight was around 2 to 3 kg, while males muscovy can reach 6 to 7 kg. 

Female muscovy lay eggs and incubate it. When  you start farming. Within 6-7  month you will get additional ducklings that are incubated by the female muscovy. Therefore you should provide a nesting sites made by suitable wooden or plastic box in the duck house.

The female muscovy  will lay 10-15 eggs before she begin to incubate it. Ducklings will begin to hatch after 28-30 days incubation.

Nature of Muscovy duck

Once seen look like very slow and tame. But so difficult to follow the  instructions (stubborn). A problem that often arises is this duck can fly like a  birds, especially female muscovy. Sometimes this can duck lost away so easily.

This problem can be overcome by cutting half a hard wing (flying wing) single side is enough, surely it is not able to fly again.

Duck does'nt need a bath??

Some person claim this layer duck does not need a bath, just give them enough food and drink and they will lay eggs properly.

Based on this statement, there are some entrepreneurs make a duck house without providing a bath facility to the ducks. I admit the truth of this statement, however, based on my experience, the pens will stink. From a distance of 300-400 meters further we can already smell the stench.

When I check, the strong odor was not coming from duck faeces, but the body of the unbath duck, moreover if ducks are holed up in the house 24 hours, they will wallow in filth, mud and so on, that is the source of a strong odor.

Finally, I see the  duck owner who claims his duck doesnt need a bath had to spray water from tap water, then it smells become less.

Male duck is not required??

How to distinguish the gender of duck? During the seedling stage is a bit difficult to recognize unless who are involved in the duck breeding. For the public, like we’re, the simple way is when the feathers of duck become full (a month old or later) the gender of duck can be identified. 

Look at the sound issued, if it’s loud, it’s female duck. This is comfirm. Duck males produce sound slow like a whisper. Males head is bigger than females. The male body are more robust, female duck looks smaller and lower. Look at the tail, if the tail end up with some knot shaped like a circle of curly hair is male duck, the end of tail for female ducks look straight. 

Some entrepreneurs think they do not want to keep a male duck because of food waste when no income is obtained. So, from the beginning they will eliminate / slaughter the male duck.

Personally, I think the action is inhuman. Imagine a society only a women without a man. Of course, the aim is for profit, but, dont be very cruel. At least for a thousand female  ducks give them 100 males, let there a little happiness in the life of the duck.