Smallholder Duck Farmers’ Breeding Practices and Trait Preferences in Nasarawa State, Nigeria

Abstract

Duck keeping is a very important sector in resource-constrained families as it provides for family proteins and income and other social needs. The present study was carried out to determine the influence of gender on livestock breeding practices of duck farmers in Nasarawa State, Nigeria. A total of 100 duck keepers (36 males and 64 females) were randomly sampled. Primary data were collected through individual structured questionnaire administration. Chi-square (χ²) statistics were used to compare categorical variables based on gender. Arithmetic means of continuous variables between gender were tested using the T-Test. Rank means were also calculated for between-gender comparisons of the continuous variables. On the choice of traits of preference (body size, body conformation, mothering ability, survival, heat tolerance, disease resistance, birth interval, plumage color, fertility, hatchability, egg number and size, meat taste, ease of sale, and cultural significance) for breeding, the non-parametric Kruskal–Wallis test followed by Mann–Whitney U tests (P ≤ 0.05) was used for comparison between gender. Age of respondents, household size, and personal savings were significantly (P<0.05) higher among the male than female farmers. Flock size was also higher (40.33±7.06 vs. 22.70±2.55; P<0.05) in farms owned by males compared to their female counterparts. However, both sexes ranked income, meat, egg, and cultural/religious significance the same as reasons for keeping ducks. The number of foundation stock and feed quantity per day (kg) were higher (P<0.05) in male flocks. Productivity measure in terms of the number of death of ducks was significantly (P<0.05) in the direction of male farmers (0.03±0.03 vs. 0.23±0.08). The ranking of the traits preferred in the choice of breeding stock of ducks was the same for both sexes  except for cultural/religious significance which the female farmers rated lower (1.14 vs. 1.56; P=0.030). Breeding programs and development interventions targeting the improvement of indigenous ducks should focus on gender equality to boost production and stimulate sustainability.