Half a century of progress in breeding and management of ducks in the Philippines

The domesticated ducks was introduced in the Philippines from time immemorial. Mallard ducks were introduced from China by traders while Muscovy ducks were introduced through the Spanish conquistadors. The Philippine Mallard ducks known as Pateros ducks predominated the population and raised primarily for the production of a Filipino special delicacy - the "balut". Duck eggs have also been used for the production of salted eggs and century eggs. Duck meat production were mostly coming from slaughtered excess males and culled layers. The rest of the meat supply came from Muscovy ducks and imported Pekin and crosses. The total value for duck eggs and meat amounted to P5.49 billions. From 1953 to 2002, duck production grew at the rate of 5.95%. Per capita consumption of duck eggs (0.57-0.73 kg) and meat (0.1-0.15 kg) were low compared to that of chicken. About three-fourths of ducks were raised under backyard level. Genetic improvement efforts were basically focused on performance evaluation and crossbreeding of locally-available and exotic breeds. No organized selection and systematic mating have been made yet hence, present population is composed of non-pedigreed crosses. Management system is mostly herding particularly in newly-harvested lowland ricefields. In recent years, the number of medium- and commercial scale raisers utilizing commercially-mixed feeds has been increasing. Housing requirements, feeding system, lighting and culling among others had been studied but many raisers still used the age-old practices. Until now, no definite vaccination and medication program is being undertaken by the raisers. Investment on duck RDE during the period was very low. Considering the efforts that had been done on duck breeding and management during the last 50 years and the slow growth of the industry, a more consolidated approach must be made for this multibillion industry to survive and be competitive.