The mobile duck farms in the haors

We were travelling from Austagram to Mithamain through the all-season road that pierces the vast haors of Kishoreganj. The sun had appeared on the right hand side of the road a while ago, and people were already busy doing their things.

Haor is a strange place where two extremities converge. During the dry season, from November to April, you'll only see open fields to the horizon and beyond. And during the rest of the year, the whole place turns into a sea of freshwater. Rising waters inundate the croplands and the difference between canals, rivers, and beels wither away.

I always wondered, how do the people living in the haor areas cope with these dramatic changes? How do they pursue what they do in the other season?

Five kilometres away from Austagram, in the middle of the Vatshala Haor, something interesting caught my eyes and interrupted my thoughts.

There was a tiny 'island' on the west side of the road. There were two tin-shed houses and a haystack. It looked like a family lived here. 

What caught my attention was what could be called the 'front yard' of the house if it were dry land. Obviously, it was under water, but the perimeter was visible as it was fenced with bright-blue fishing nets. 

Inside the fence were swimming ducks, hundreds of them.

Ducks love water, most of them don't even survive without it. So, the family actually built a pond in the haor where the ducks can swim, look for some food, and whenever they liked, they could rest on the land.

I have seen duck farms before, but never saw something like this. After a while, we found ourselves on a boat, heading towards the farmhouse. 

The farm was owned by Abu Kashem, but he was not there. Instead, there was his widowed sister with her three children. A bit later, Kashem's brother, Abu Kalam, joined us in the conversation.

There were 1,200 ducks in the farm. The fence was put up in order to restrain them from swimming away. It is not required in the dry land, because, as Kalam pointed out, "it is easy to control the ducks on the land. They do not move much once they are fed."

The fence was built a month ago, and the ducks were not here then. And once the monsoon is over, they will not be staying here anymore. They will be moved to some fields near the beels, where they will be swimming and feeding. 

This is how the mobile duck farms of the haor works. They utilise whatever in nature is available across the seasons.

Turned out, the ducks were being raised for eggs. 

"These ducks are young. They are five months old. They will lay eggs in two months' time," said Kalam.

There was also a shed for the ducks in the backyard, which was not submerged. The farmers will move this shed to the new place in the dry season. The 'island' was 20 decimal, and the netted front was about 15 decimal. The house was built just eight months back.

PHOTO: ASHRAFUL HAQUE

There were around 50 drakes (male ducks) in the flock, and the rest were female. 

"When it is time, all 1,150  ducks will lay eggs. If the food is good, they might give eggs all year round," Kalam said.

The marketing is not hard, fortunately. "Wholesalers will come to buy the eggs," he added.

Abundant natural resources have made haors a suitable place for duck farming. Just two kilometres away, we met another duck farmer, Mahfuz Ali.

His technique was different though. He was just lying on the side of the road, and his ducks were swimming in the open water. Mahfuz did not seem to be worried about his ducks floating away.

Our curiosity quenched as we talked to Mahfuz.

"There is no place for them to go. There is no high ground around, except this little patch of land," Mahfuz said, pointing to a small piece of land close to the road. These ducks were on the east side of the road, and there was no island village within the horizon. So it was just enough for Mahfuz to be posted on the road.

The ducks were bathing in the water, and some were resting on the ground. When it was time to feed the ducks, Mahfuz stood up and descended down to the waterline. Quacks got louder, and all the ducks rushed to him. They knew exactly what he was up to.

From a sack, Mahfuz poured paddy on three plastic bowls. And the ducks started feeding on them. 

During monsoon, it costs more to feed the ducks, both the farmers said, as they have to rely totally on purchased feed, such as paddy and snails. The snails are caught with specially designed nets.

Mahfuz lives two kilometres away in Kastul village. The ducks live there too. At sunrise, Mahfuz and two coworkers guided the ducks to this place. The ducks swam and the farmers took a boat. Together, they controlled the 1,500-strong flock.

Just like Abu Kashem, Mahfuz too moves from place to place with ducks. Just a month back, he took all his ducks to a char area in Bhairab by a large boat, where the ducks only fed on natural food.

The whole farm stayed there for only a week, because the fields had little natural feed. Then they returned to Austagram.

Mahfuz, too, raises the ducks for eggs. However, when the ducks age, they are sold for meat. "Ducks lay more eggs between the age of six months and two years," Mahfuz said.

For five months in a year, ducks can survive on nature. 

"During this time they feed on a variety of aquatic plants and grasses, invertebrates, fish - all naturally found in the haor," said Nomoj Kha, another duck farmer from Austagram. Nomoj has 2,500 ducks in his farm. His brother has another 1,400 ducks.

PHOTO: ASHRAFUL HAQUE

There is a symbiotic relationship between the flocks of ducks and crops. The ducks fertilise the crop field while finding food in there. Just during the time of harvest, ducks are kept in netted enclosures so they cannot feed on paddy.

There are 30 to 35 duck farms in Austagram, according to upazila livestock office data and farmers.

The number doubles during the dry season. During monsoon, many duck farmers sell off their ducks due to a shortage of land. In Vatshala village, we saw a duck farm on a raised bamboo platform over the water. Five hundred ducks huddled together in the small enclosure. 

The whole haor region has numerous duck farms, and hatcheries.

The local duck market is very healthy. A young duck which does not lay eggs is sold by the hatcheries for Tk600 to Tk700.

The egg is sold to wholesalers for Tk14 a piece. Eggs that will hatch can be sold at a higher price to the hatcheries, fetching Tk16 to Tk20 per piece.

When the ducks age, they are sold to wholesalers for around Tk700. Of course, a hefty duck sells for up to Tk900. The wholesalers usually buy the ducks in hundreds.