Effects of Duckling training on Behavior and Rice Yield in Paddy Fields

ABSTRACT Early introducing the ducks into the paddy field involves a variety of environmental changes such as new surroundings and contact with water, so that some free-ranged ducks show behavioral and physiological changes indicative of stress or die from not adapted for new circumstances. Moreover, the free-ranged ducks was tread on the rice plant, and required a great deal of labor and time for captured the ducks after finishing the introducing. The aim of the present study was to examine the effect of accustoming and imprinting of duckling on behavior patterns, body weight gain and yield of the rice plant in paddy fields. Three paddy plots were used as control (no imprinting and no contact with people), taming (imprinting and regular handling) and roughness (handling roughly and strike terror to ducks) plots. Right after introducing the ducks into the paddy field, eating and moving behaviour of taming plot ducks tended to be longer time spend than that of other treatments. However, eating and moving time tended to be longer in the control than that of other two treatments on the 2 weeks after. Flighting distance was not showed in the free-ranging period taming plot, but the control plot was significantly (Px0.05) longer than the roughness plot. The captured time of free-ranged ducks tended to be shorter in the order of taming, control and roughness plots. Body weight gains was not significant. The number of rice plants damaged by free-ranging ducks in the taming plot were significantly (Px0.05) less than that in the control plot, but the yield and yield components of the rice plant were not differ among 3 treatments. These results indicated that the imprinting or regular handling and related treatments of duckling was reducing badly damage of rice plants, captured time and labor of free-ranged ducks in paddy field, although the working behavior of ducks and yield ability of the rice plants were not affected.(