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Bangladesh: Rearing ducks on the roof-top to improve food security in the inner city of Dhaka

By and large, the war has imposed restrictions on the export of grains from Russia and Ukraine, thus citizens of Bangladesh should shoulder the responsibility to boost food production by leaving no land uncultivated –it was a Government’s call.

By Dr.Mohammed Habibur Rahman, Professor of Pathology
Owner/ Practioner, The Blue Crescent Veterinary Hospital, Mirpur,Dhaka-1216, Bangladesh
January 26, 2023

Except:

I had long been working to use available spaces to produce food on the roof-top. Although started growing vegetables in the past, realized that it is not sustainable since there was no answer to the supply of organic matter that was needed. Thus, in order to address this problem incorporated goats, pigeons, hybrid and local poultry and finally used both meat egg laying ducks on the roof-top. In this article, the impact of duck rearing technology that has evolved as one of the very successful way to supply farm fresh eggs daily from the roof-top without disturbing other lives and plants that are already there.

Dragging ducks from the pond to the roof-top and collecting eggs is an innovation. The duck population in Bangladesh is commonly reared for meat and egg. It comprises about 10% of the total poultry population, occupying second place to chicken in the production of table eggs in the country. It is an important component of farming system and plays a significant role to the lively hood of about 80 per cent rural population in Bangladesh. It provides cash income and creates employment opportunity for rural people, particularly for small and landless farmers. Ducks can be raised at lesser cost than broiler if market is properly organized. They are mainly kept in the traditional scavenging system, but are also reared in flocks in large water bodies (Haor) from around one hundred to more than one thousand per herd.

You might be thinking about starting a duck farm business. Your new venture can be quite profitable, as long as the proper planning and animal husbandry tactics are used from the beginning stages of the process.

Just like chickens, I started raising Xinding ducks for eggs besides my Pekin, meat breed. I received ducklings from the Government Hatchery and brood them on the roo-ftop. They have started laying at the age of four and half a month and will continue producing quality eggs until they are about six years old.
Finding a market for duck eggs which is sold over Tk.20/per egg and is not a difficult thing to fetch in significantly more money per duck than a chicken (Tk.10/ egg) and at a lower cost. They roam on the floor surface and do not require expensive three tiered steel cage like chickens. In Bangladesh, ladies who love to bake already knows the great value of using duck eggs to make crusts, cakes, donuts, and a host of other table favorites.

The investment into starting a duck farm business is decidedly low. Ducks are not expensive to purchase – they often cost less than day-old chicks and are generally equally in price to chicks even though they grow much larger in size.

Full paper.