Egg production and economic efficiency of Khaki Campbell ducks reared on locally available feedstuffs in the coastal land stretch of the Red River Delta

Luong Tat Nho and Hoang Van Tieu

National Institute of Animal Husbandry, Hanoi

Abstract

An egg-type duck breed namely Khaki Campbell was imported from Thailand in 1990 and tested for egg production and economic efficiency under two management conditions: herding and confinement. The tested groups consisted of 6248 laying ducks, of which 3105 ducks for herding and 3143 ducks for confinement. Ducks were fully fed on local feedstuffs.

Khaki Campbell ducks showed normal physiological status and yielded high egg productivity under both management conditions tested. There were significant differences between ducks under two management conditions for age at first egg, egg productivity and feed consumption in favour of the herding system.

Key words: Ducks, scavenging, herding, confinement, local feed resources

Introduction

The Khaki Campbell is a high producing egg-type duck breed which has been widely reared around the world. In Vietnam, ducks were imported from Thailand in 1990. A major concern of the duck producer is the response of this imported duck breed when fed on local feedstuffs under the traditional management system.

This study deals mainly with egg production and economic efficiency of Khaki Campbell ducks fed on locally available feedstuffs in the coastal land stretch of the Red River delta.

Materials and methods

A total of 6248 Khaki Campbell layers was used and divided into two groups: herding and confinement. A similar number of the local "Co" breed were used as controls.

The herding group:

There were 31 flocks which consisted of 3105 layers. The ducks were herded in the tidal seashore and provided with only paddy rice grain during the days of ebb. In the days of flow, ducks were confined and were provided with not only paddy but also aquatic creatures such as petty shrimp, fish, Aloidis laevis and Glaucomya cerea (sea feedstuffs).

The confinement group:

There were 24 flocks which consisted of 3143 layers. The ducks were confined in pens built on ponds and canals and were provided with paddy rice and seasonally available sea feedstuffs.

Table 1: Age at first egg of Khaki Campbell ducks in comparison with Co ducks under the same rearing condition (Means±SE)

Breed	Management	Age first egg	CV

		(days)*	%
KC	Herded	144±1.06	4.09
KC	Confined	156±2.82	8.67
Co	Herded	142±1.87	6.3
Co	Confined	166±2.79	7.73

Measurements

Egg productivity and economic efficiency were determined.

Results and Discussion

Age at first egg:

Khaki Campbell ducks reared in the coastal land stretch of the RRD showed normal physiological status for age at first egg under both management conditions as can be seen in table 1.

Table 2: Egg production parameters of the Khaki Campbell ducks according to the two systems of management (mean ± SE)

Item	Herded	Confined

Duration of lay, weeks	52	52
Laying rate, %	74.1	66.5
Eggs produced	271±3	242±4
Egg weight, g	71±1	70±1

The age at first egg was similar for the KC breed and for the local "Co" breed, but was significantly later for the confinement compared with herded management for both breeds. The results are comparable with those reported by Hetzel (1985) in Indonesia and by Nguyen Song Hoan et al (1993) in Vietnam.

Egg production and feed consumption

Egg production parameters are shown in table 2. Egg production was higher for the herding compared with the confinement system (P<00.001) but there were no differences in egg weight.

The amounts of paddy rice and sea feedstuffs consumed for every 10 eggs in the confined management treatment were significantly higher than those in the herded treatment (Table 3).

Economic efficiency

The economic efficiency of rearing Khaki Campbell ducks under two management systems is shown in table 4.

Table 3: Feed consumption of Khaki Campbell ducks in the coastal land under two management systems (kg feed/10 eggs)

	Herded		Confined

Period	Paddy	Sea feeds	Paddy	Sea feeds
Growing	0.59±0.01	0	0.57±0.03	0
Laying	1.29±0.03	0.69±0.01	1.66±0.05	1.89±0.05
Total	1.87±0.04	0.69 ±0.1	2.25±0.14	1.89±0.05

The net cash returns generated from rearing 100 Khaki Campbell layers under the tested management conditions were 5.04 and 9.33 million VND (about USD 500 and 900) for confined and herded management systems, respectively. The net cash returns per labour day were 27,772 VND for confined management and 33,675 VND for herded management. The net cash return generated for ducks in the herded management group was significantly higher than that in the confined management group.

Table 4: Economic efficiency of rearing 100 Khaki Campbell layer ducks

	Confined	Herded

Costs (‘000 VND)
Day-old ducklings	600	600
Paddy	10884	10126
Sea feedstuffs	1832	779
Medicines	385	385
Facilities	660	660
Sub total	14361	12570
Bank interest	1378	1206
Total	15739	13776
Total labour days	182	277
Benefit (‘000 VND)
Sale of table eggs	19360	21680
Sale of culled layers	1425	1425
Gross benefit	20785	23105
Net cash return (NCR)
Total	5045	9328
Per labour day	27	33

Conclusions

The results of the study showed that:

Khaki Campbell ducks reared in the coastal land stretch of the Red river delta on locally available feedstuffs exhibited normal physiological status for laying age. They had high egg productivity under both management conditions tested - herding and confinement.
Both age at first egg and egg laying rate were better for the herding than for the confinement management system.
There was a good profit on rearing Khaki Campbell ducks for egg production in the coastal land stretch of the Red River delta, particularly for the herding system of management.

References

Nguyen Song Hoan, Luong Tat Nho, Hoang van Tieu and Nguyen Bach Yen 1993 Study and development of egg type duck breed Khaki Campbell under extensive management in Thanh hoa province. In: Selection of Scientific Works on ducks production (1988-1992). Agricultural Publishing house, Hanoi 1993, pp 104-107

Hezel P J S 1985 Duck Breeding Strategies - The Indonesian example. In: Duck Production Science and World Practice (Editors: D Farrell and P J Stapleton). University of New England, Armidale NSW, pp. 204-233

Received 20 August 1996