Improving fertility and hatchability in ducks during summer months

Fertility and hatchability of duck eggs during summer months are usually poor. This causes major setback for supply of sufficient number of ducklings to duck farmer. Many factors are responsible for this poor fertility and hatchability in ducks. Poor quality of semen production in drakes during these months is one of the major predisposing factors. To improve semen quality and to achieve optimum fertility and hatchability in duck, experiment was conducted with different management practice. A total of 96 adult laying Khaki Campbell female ducks randomly divided into four groups and reared with uniform floor-space provision and feeding regimen. Water channel is provided in two groups in the run-space where they got accessibility to swim in water. Mating sex ratio for two groups (with and without water channel) were fixed 1:3 and for other two groups 1:4. Simultaneously two groups (six in each) of drakes were maintained separately with and without water channel. A total of 36 semen samples were collected and evaluated from each group during the period under study. Eggs collected from laying ducks were incubated (12 hatches) and fertility, hatchability along with production percent was recorded. It was observed that drakes maintained with water channel showed better semen quality. Fertility and hatchability is significantly higher in the group of ducks maintained with water channel having 1:3 mating sex ratio.