Integrated Duck-cum-Fish Farming in Bangladesh

An experiment on integrated duck-cum-fish farming was conducted in 11 ponds of 0.1 ha each at the Fisheries Research Institute, Mymensingh, Bangladesh. Khaki Campbell layer ducks Anas platyrhychos were housed directly over the pond water surface at 200, 400 and 500 dncks/ha. Each density had three replicate ponds and two ponds had no ducks. Fish fingerlings were stocked at a total density of 8,850/ha. The species composition was silver carp Hypophthalmicthys molitrix 33.9%; catla Catla catla 12.4%; rohu Labeo rohita 18.1%; mrigal Cirrhina mrigala 28.8%. grass carp Ctenopharyngodon idella 1.4% and sor puti Puntius gonlonotus 5.4%. The fish were not given any supplemental feed, and the ponds were not fertilized except for the split duck feed and duck manure falling directly into the ponds. Ducks were fed with a feed formulated from locally available ingredients.
After one year the fish were harvested. The yield of fish increased with an increase in duck density. Highest net fish production of 4,250 kg/ha/yr was obtained from ponds with 500 ducks/ ha, compared to 490 kg/ha/yr from the control ponds. Manure of each duck contributed a net fish yield of 6.9–7.5/yr. Average egg production was 237 eggs per female duck per year. Economic analysis of the technology showed a net profit of about 100% of the total costs, indicating the economic viability of the technology.