How much does a duck currently cost per bird on the market, plus farming prospects and how to tell males from females
Ducks were domesticated from wild mallards and spot-billed ducks. They are a common poultry species, an amphibious egg-laying animal. But they cannot stay in water for too long. So what is the current market price of a duck per bird? What are the farming prospects? How do you tell males from females?
What is the current market price of a duck per bird?
Price levels vary from place to place, so the market price of ducks naturally differs too. The image below shows the recent market price of ducks at Mawangdui in Changsha:
What are the current prospects for duck farming?
1. Because ducks have a short farming cycle and require little fixed-asset investment, ordinary farmers generally raise them on a large scale. Ducks also have broad market channels and can be sold on a large scale, and in the past two years the profits from ducks have been far greater than those from raising chickens. As the duck market keeps expanding, not only do Chinese people love them, but even international friends have fallen in love with the ever-changing duck banquet. So the prospects for duck farming are excellent.
2. Duck meat is delicious, nourishing and beautifying, clears heat and detoxifies, and has high nutritional value, so it is deeply loved by a wide range of diners. Steamed, stewed in soup, braised, or grilled, duck is an ever-changing delicacy, and it appears in almost every restaurant. Although there are already quite a few farmers raising them, the market still often sees supply fall short of demand. So the market for farmed ducks remains huge, and the prospects for duck farming are very bright.
3. A duck reaches market weight at about 4.5 jin, and at 6 yuan per jin, one duck sells for 27 yuan, for a total of 27 yuan * 3000 birds = 81000 yuan; the profit on 3000 ducks is 81000 yuan - 70800 yuan = 10200 yuan. For a household raising one batch of ducks with 45 days as one cycle, that is 10200 yuan in profit, and raising 6 batches a year would earn about 61200 yuan.
How do you tell male ducks from female ducks?
1. Appearance observation method
This method of telling male from female ducks is aimed at ducklings: one with a relatively large head, a relatively round body and a relatively pointed tail should be a male duck; conversely, if the head looks relatively small, the body relatively flat and the tail spread out, it should be a female duck.
2. Tail observation method
We hold the duck in our hand and press our thumb lightly on the duck's back, then observe the state of the duck's tail: one whose tail tilts upward is generally a female duck; conversely, if the tail points downward, it should be a male duck.
3. Cloaca feel method
We hold the duckling in the palm of the hand, press our thumb on the duckling's back, and feel below the duckling's cloaca with the hand: if you can feel a small granular protrusion, it should be a male duck; if there is none, it is a female duck.
4. Windpipe feel method
We hold the duckling, press the back of its neck with the hand to make the neck move up and down, and then feel the area of the duckling's crop: if you can feel a small granular protrusion, it should be a male duck; if there is none, it is a female duck.
5. Feather identification method
In adult ducks, if the feather color is bright and there is a ring of bright green feathers on the neck, it is a male duck; adult female ducks have feathers less bright than males and do not have that ring of bright feathers on the neck.
6. Voice identification method
For adult ducks we can also tell male from female by voice: hold the duck's neck with the hand and make it call; generally the male duck's voice is rather hoarse and more resonant, while the female duck's voice is rather crisp.