Ducks are usually water birds, but they can also be reared without any water, kept indoors like chickens on bedding spread over the floor, because apart from breeding, ducks do not need water. Anyone rearing ducks, however, must pay close attention to their feed.

Remember that ducklings need timely feed. For the first 2 days, soak muri (puffed rice) or chira (flattened rice) until soft and scatter it on the floor. From then until one month of age, give the ducklings only broiler starter pellet feed moistened with water, because ducklings cannot eat dry feed. Take care that the feed does not get too wet.

Apart from the foreign goose, all breeds of duck are omnivorous. Their feed is rich in both protein and starch. In short, duck feed follows the chicken pattern, but not entirely, so feeding ducks balanced chicken feed will not give normal duck production.

Until recently ducks were not kept for business or trade. Times have changed: because the Khaki Campbell lays even more eggs than chickens, it is now fed a balanced diet in a fully scientific way, following scientists' advice.

Native ducks kept for household eggs, however, should be fed rice bran, any oilcake (except castor and mahua), wheat bran, fish and meat scraps and discards, and plenty of snails.

Remember that ducks eat a great deal and always seem to want to eat this and that. So to rear ducks properly you must pay special attention to their feeding; only then can you get a real supply of meat and eggs.

Source: Jagonews24. First published in Bengali on The Agro News.