River ducks sell for high prices, supply cannot meet demand

In 2021, when the Covid-19 pandemic broke out, Mr. Bo and his wife, Ms. Vo Thi An, returned to their hometown to avoid the pandemic. “The children were still young, the couple was away from home, their jobs were unstable, and their income was not high. Meanwhile, there was an unused plot of land in their hometown. Therefore, the couple discussed and decided to stay and start a business on their own land,” Mr. Bo shared.

But what to plant and what to raise to have high economic efficiency and a stable consumption market is something that needs to be calculated and considered carefully. Finally, he and his wife decided to raise ducks in the ground, and grow corn and rice to raise pigs, chickens, buffaloes and cows. The farm is close to the river bank, so he decided to experiment with the model of raising ducks in the river.

Accordingly, after selecting healthy ducks, he fully vaccinated them, kept them in captivity for the first month, and fed them with powdered food and roughage to increase their resistance.

In the second month, he herded the ducks to the river next to his house to release them. Every morning, he herded the ducks to the river, using a rowboat to monitor them. The ducks would stay on the river from morning until evening before being herded back to the coop.

During that time, the ducks foraged for food and swam freely. “This is a branch of the river, the locals call it the Gang fence, the riverbed is narrow and the river water is not too high so it is very suitable for raising ducks.

On the river, there are all kinds of plankton such as moss, duckweed to fish, snails, mussels for the ducks to find food. Starting from the second month onwards, we only need to supplement the ducks' food every few days, or on rainy days, the ducks have to be locked in the cage," Mr. Bo shared.

Thanks to eating a variety of natural foods and exercising continuously all day, the ducks grow quickly, have good resistance, are less susceptible to diseases, and have delicious, firm meat, which is popular in the market. In the first batch, he only raised 70 ducks. After 4 months, each duck weighed an average of more than 2.5 kg, selling for 140,000 VND/duck, but it was not enough to supply the market. In the following batches, he continued to expand the flock. The largest batch was up to 500 ducks.

“I raise ducks in 4-5 batches each year, which brings in a revenue of 200-250 million VND/year. I take advantage of natural food from the river and am self-sufficient in rice and corn for the ducks, so the investment cost is not much,” Mr. Bo shared.

Because the flock size is 300-500 ducks/batch, the ducks are delicious and very popular, just enough to meet the needs of local people, not enough to import to big restaurants or wholesalers.

“Currently, most people invest in raising ducks using high technology, feeding them industrial feed, and keeping them in cold cages. Raising them this way requires high costs and requires cooperation to have a stable output. My wife and I have just started a business, and we don’t have much capital, so we choose to raise them on farms, and the main market is retail to the people.

Compared to industrial ducks, free-range ducks have higher selling prices and are more popular in the market. In the near future, when I have enough experience in raising ducks, I will expand the flock, build the brand "Gang fence duck" and connect to consume the products," Mr. Bo shared his plan.

On the other hand, to equip themselves with livestock knowledge, the couple learned on YouTube and TikTok and applied it in practice.

At the same time, to promote and gradually build a brand for the family's duck products, the couple also regularly updates the process of raising and caring for ducks on social networks, and do not hesitate to live-stream to invite people to the farm to experience and enjoy... Thanks to that, his family's river ducks are known and ordered by many people.