The following points highlight the twenty-four main advantages of duck rearing.
1. Ducks are less hazardous bird.
2. Ducks are disease resistant.
3. Ducks have longer egg-production life.
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4. Their eggs are heavier and fetch a better price.
5. Their meat is also a delicacy and relished by the people.
6. They do not need elaborate housing.
7. They lay 95% to 98% eggs in early morning before 9 : 00 am after which the flock can be taken for foraging to nearby ponds, by the duck farmer or his family members.
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8. They kill snails, slugs and other crop pests.
9. Ducks lay on an average 40-50 more eggs than the layers of hen.
10. Duck’s eggs are about 15 to 20 grams heavier than hen’s egg.
11. They require less care and attention compared to other birds.
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12. They are good foragers and are able to meet part of their feed requirements from the wild.
13. Ducks have longer, economically laying period than chicken.
14. They are hardy and more easily resistant to many avian diseases.
15. Ducks flourish well in marshy and wetland where most other domestic animals cannot survive.
16. Ducks are free from cannibalism and other objectionable tendencies.
17. Ducks lay their eggs before 9:00 am and hence egg collection is easy for the keeper.
18. They are easily trained to manage themselves.
19. They live longer than chicken.
20. They are suitable for integrated farming systems such as duck-cum-fish farming, duck- cum-pig-cum-fish and duck-cum-kitchen garden.
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21. They are resistant to a number of diseases that are usually found among chicken.
22. Ducklings become sexually mature earlier compared to chicks.
23. They are good predators of insect pests.
24. Ducks do not need elaborate housing.