"Wherever there is ripe rice, there is me and the ducks"
More than 20 years of raising ducks in the fields is also the same amount of time Mr. Huynh Thanh Phuong (52 years old, Thanh Tan commune, Thanh Tri district, Soc Trang province) has been away from home.
Mr. Phuong said that every year he only stays at home for about a month when the rice harvest season comes. When people start sowing rice, he and his flock of ducks move to other fields to find food for them.
“I have been to all of Soc Trang province. I have also set foot in Dong Thap, An Giang, Kien Giang, Vinh Long, Hau Giang. Wherever there is ripe rice, there is me and my flock of ducks,” said Mr. Phuong.
Talking about the job of raising ducks in the fields, Mr. Phuong said that this job requires living here and there, eating on the road and sleeping on the ground, living far from home. Knowing where the rice is about to be harvested means arranging the time to go, set up a temporary tent to eat, stay and live there.
“Every time they move from one field to another, duck farmers often rent a car or boat from people who move duck flocks. Depending on the distance, the price is different, sometimes 5-7 million VND, that’s just one way, not including the return trip,” said Mr. Phuong.
Mr. Phuong explained that in addition to feeding the ducks with rice, they must also run around the fields so that they can get snails, insects, and leftover rice grains after the harvest. Only then will the ducks lay more eggs, and the eggs will be bigger and sell for a higher price.
According to Mr. Phuong, this profession costs a lot of money such as transportation, disease prevention, food, and money to buy rice (fields after harvesting). “To have rice for feeding, duck farmers have to ask local brokers to negotiate in advance with the field owners. The price is from 40,000 to 100,000 VND/cong (1,000m2). This includes the fee for the broker,” Mr. Phuong said.
Mrs. Le Thi Thanh and her husband in Chau Thanh district (Soc Trang province) have also been raising ducks for over 20 years. They said that she brought 2,000 ducks to Dai Tam commune (My Xuyen district, Soc Trang province), more than 40 km from home, nearly a month ago. When she got there, she had to ask a broker to buy 500 hectares of harvested rice fields for 50,000 VND/hectare. In about 10 days, she has to move to An Giang province because people there are preparing to sow rice.
“Usually, each place we go to only lasts about 2-4 weeks, depending on the size of the field and the amount of bait (food). However, sometimes the field owner needs to sow early, so they use the plow and harrow, which means the ducks will lose their place to eat and will be forced to go elsewhere,” Ms. Thanh said.
According to Ms. Thanh, in the past, duck herders had to constantly observe the ducks, otherwise they would get lost and join another flock, wasting time looking for them. Now, she has set up a net around the field so she is no longer afraid of the ducks getting lost. However, the rain and wind are unavoidable.
“Sometimes when it rains in the middle of the field, I have to wear a raincoat and sit there because there is no place to take shelter. Many times I get caught in the rain and get a fever, but I get used to it and always have medicine with me,” said Ms. Thanh.
Seeing duck eggs makes me forget my tiredness.
Mr. Huynh Thanh Phuong said that his flock of ducks currently has 4,500 ducks. Each night they produce 2,000 - 2,500 eggs. The current selling price is 2,200 VND/egg, helping him earn over 4 million VND. According to Mr. Phuong, egg prices will remain high until the end of the year because people need to use eggs to make cakes and cook for Tet.
“From 1 to 2 a.m., we collect eggs from the coop, then clean them and put them in the sorting bins. If we collect them early, the duck eggs will be clean. If we collect them too late, the ducks will wake up and run around, trampling on broken or dirty eggs, so traders will buy them at a low price,” Mr. Phuong informed.
Ms. Le Thi Thanh said that no matter how far the ducks run, the buyers will still come to the place to count the eggs. Usually, it takes about 2-3 days for the buyers to come and collect the eggs.
“Currently, with 2,000 laying ducks, we collect 1,800 eggs a day, selling them for 2,200 VND/egg, earning nearly 4 million VND. Looking at the nests full of eggs in the early morning, we forget our fatigue. The more tired we are picking, the more income we earn that day,” said Ms. Thanh.
