JP\/17\/DUCKS<\/p>\n
Locals turn Soge Sanden, Muneng into 'duck villages'<\/p>\n
Slamet Susanto
\nThe Jakarta Post\/Bantul, Yogyakarta<\/p>\n
"Quack! Quack! Quack! Quack!" That is the sound one will
\nalmost certainly hear every time they pass a village on the
\ncoastal area of Samas Beach in Bantul regency, Yogyakarta,
\nespecially in the hamlets of Soge Sanden and Muneng in Srigading
\nvillage, some 30 kilometers south of the city.<\/p>\n
For the last two years the two hamlets have become "duck
\nvillages", where hundreds of families breed ducks for their eggs.
\nWith some 30,000 estimated ducks bred there, the hamlets of some
\n700 families can produce some 15,000 to 20,000 duck eggs a day,
\nmaking them significant production centers.<\/p>\n
Agus Triyanto, a duck breeder, told The Jakarta Post that the
\nbusiness emerged accidentally in the village, thanks to a trial
\nprogram sponsored by Yogyakarta-based Gadjah Mada University
\nin 2001 to breed ducks on the village beach in coops, which local
\nvillagers perceived as strange.<\/p>\n
"It was not the way we local villagers used to breed
\nducks," Agus said.<\/p>\n
The program was initially carried out to produce duck eggs of
\nbetter quality, ones that contained a higher level of protein.
\nThat was expected because the ducks were bred on the beach, in
\ncoops. They benefited from additional nutrition from the beach,
\nsuch as small fish and shrimp, which contain a high level of
\nprotein, when they were released from their coops during the day.<\/p>\n
Although the trial reportedly was a success, meaning that it
\ndid produce duck eggs of better quality that commanded a higher
\nprice, the project was not continued. The sponsored group of
\nbreeders that previously reared ducks on the beach are no longer
\nthere.<\/p>\n
"What impressed us the most was the way they bred the ducks in
\ncoops, just like chickens. That was something that locals had
\nnever done before," said Agus of Soge Sanden.<\/p>\n
Locals, according to Agus, had not used coops to breed ducks
\nbefore. Instead, they just left them in an open area, sometimes
\nin their yards, and erected a fence to prevent them from
\nescaping.<\/p>\n
Inspired by the program, however, some villagers began to try
\nbreeding ducks in coops. They made use of the trial program as
\ntheir "information post", where they asked many things about how
\nto do it properly.<\/p>\n
"I have no idea who started it initially, but more and more
\npeople, including myself, started breeding ducks in coops, so now
\nalmost every family here has ducks at their homes," said Agus,
\nwho has about 600 ducks.<\/p>\n
Sukirman, 43, another duck breeder, said that to breed some
\n100 ducks he needed a five meter by 10 meter plot of land. A
\nplaited bamboo fence or net was placed around the edge of the
\nsite to secure it. A semipermanent roofed building some two-and-a
\nhalf meters by four meters was also built in the middle of the
\nsite for the ducks to take shelter in or sleep at night.<\/p>\n
To build it, he needed about 100 pieces of bamboos that cost
\nhim some Rp 2,500 each. He also needed Rp 300,000 to pay a
\nhandyman to build the coops.<\/p>\n
"A coop like that can last for over two years," Sukirman said.<\/p>\n
To breed the ducks, he needs an average of four kilograms of
\nkerak (rice leftovers), which he normally buys for Rp 900 per
\nkilogram, six kilograms of bekatul (rice siftings) and two
\nkilograms of what is known locally as sentrat.<\/p>\n
To maintain the productivity of the ducks, they are also given
\na high-protein supplement, which is usually done once a week by
\nfeeding the ducks with teri (tiny marine fish) or snails. For
\nthis, he does not need extra money because he can find such fish
\nat nearby fishing villages or snails in rice fields.<\/p>\n
"As teri is mostly worthless and cannot be sold in the market,
\nthe fishermen usually just dispose of it. As for snails, there
\nare many in the rice fields here," Sukirman said.<\/p>\n
For ducklings to be bred for eggs, local breeders usually
\nobtain them in two ways. They can either purchase ducklings from
\nvendors or hatch some of eggs on their own.<\/p>\n
After being bred for some five-and-a-half months, a duck
\nusually starts producing eggs. To breed a duck until it produces
\neggs, a breeder usually spends some Rp 12,500, which also covers
\nthe cost of the ducklings and their food.<\/p>\n
Some, however, prefer to buy egg-laying ducks, which are
\nnormally sold at about Rp 27,500 each. Their productivity for the
\nfirst four months in the breeding coops is usually between 60
\npercent and 70 percent of normal.<\/p>\n
During the second four months, however, the ducks'
\nproductivity can be up to 90 percent. Then it goes down again
\nto between 60 percent and 70 percent during the third four-month
\nperiod due to molting. For the next eight months, egg
\nproductivity will rise again up to 90 percent.<\/p>\n
"After that, it's better to exchange them with for other egg-
\nlayers, or breed new ducklings, as productivity will continue to
\ndecrease until they can no longer lay eggs," said Sukirman,
\nadding that ducks like that past their prime were usually for Rp
\n7,500 each.<\/p>\n
Sukirman's neighbor, Taryono, who has 170 ducks, said he
\nproduced 120 to 140 duck eggs per day. They are usually sold for
\nRp 550 to Rp 700 apiece, depending on the prevailing market
\nprice.<\/p>\n
Taryono said he never had trouble selling the eggs, because
\nalmost every day egg brokers came to the village to buy eggs from
\nthe breeders. Taryono said he made a net profit of Rp 30,000 to
\nRp 40,000 per day from the business.<\/p>\n
"That's good, because it means I can afford to pay my
\nchildren's school fees."<\/p>",
"url": "https:\/\/jawawa.id\/newsitem\/jp17ducks-1447899208",
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