Dedicated to duck farming: Duck breeding, for meat or for eggs, is an increasingly valuable part of the poultry market

摘要

NINETY PER CENT of the world's ducks are raised in the Asia-Pacific region. Domestication evolved in China around 4000 BC probably before chickens. So what does Asia know about and appreciate in ducks that rest of the world does not. Ducks grow fasterand produce heavier table birds than do chickens. Modern hybrid ducks easily achieve 3.0kg live weight at 53 days compared to nearer 2kg for a broiler of the same age. Duck meat is uniformly dark and more strongly flavoured than either chicken or turkeymeat. The duck egg is larger and heavier than a chicken egg, the difference depending on specific breed comparisons. Duck eggs have a slightly higher nutritive value (Table 1). And ducks are also farmed for feathers, especially the 'down'. Yield of unprocessed dry feathers can exceed lOOg per slaughtered bird. Up to 20 per cent will be 'down', used as high quality, high efficiency insulation in outdoor wear and bed covers such as 'eiderdowns' and 'duvets'.