Of Duck and Duck Eggs - IELTS Reading

 

Of Ducks and Duck Eggs

 

For people who like to keep poultry, ducks offer certain advantages over hens. Ducks are immune to some common diseases found in hens and are less vulnerable to others. Some breeds of duck produce bigger eggs than hens. In addition, ducks lay eggs over a longer season than do hens.

 Poultry keepers with gardens have less to worry about if they keep ducks rather than hens because the former are less apt to dig up plants and destroy roots. While both hens and ducks benefit the garden by eating pests, hens are known to damage herb and grass beds. Ducks, on the other hand, will search for insects and snails more carefully. Only very delicate plants are at risk from the broad, webbed feet of ducks.

 Like all water birds, ducks need access to water, and duck keepers typically provide this by building a pond. Something this large is not absolutely necessary, however; ducks need only to be able to dip their heads in the water to keep their nostrils clean. If a pond is provided, though, it is important to keep ducklings away from it until they are old enough to withstand the cool temperature of the water – about eight weeks.

When keeping ducks, one has to consider just how many will the land support. Generally the rule is 100 ducks per half hectare. If more than this proportion is introduced, there is a risk of compacting the soil, which can lead to muddy conditions for long periods as the rain is not easily absorbed into the ground.

 

While ducks offer many advantages over hens, they must be given a greater quantity of food, especially if regular eggs are desired. An adult duck will eat between 170 to 200 grams of food a day. If the ducks have access to grass and a pond, they will be able to find for themselves approximately 70% of their daily dietary requirements in warmer months but less than half than that in colder times. Therefore, it is important that they be fed enough food, such as grain, every day.

 Experienced duck keepers raise ducklings every three years or so because it is after this period of time that ducks’ egg-laying powers begin to seriously weaken. If the aim is to hatch ducklings, keepers should be aware that not all ducks make good mothers, and that certain breeds of duck appear to be worse than others. The poor mothers abandon their eggs a few days after laying them. A sure way of making sure the rejected eggs hatch is to place them next to chicken eggs under a hen.

The eggs of ducks as food for humans have a mixed reputation. This is because of a number of cases of salmonella food poisoning in Europe in the 1970s. Although it was never conclusively shown that duck eggs were to blame, the egg-eating public stopped buying and many duck egg producers went bankrupt. Indeed, there is a risk of salmonella poisoning when ducks lay their eggs in damp conditions, such as on ground that is constantly wet, but the same can be said for the eggs of hens. And commercial duck egg production in France and England, where the outbreaks of salmonella poisoning took place, followed the same standards as those used in the hen egg industry, which experienced no salmonella problems. (Storage of eggs, whether those of hen or duck, can also be a factor in contamination). Studies have found that bacterial growth reaches potentially dangerous levels at storage temperatures of 5°C or greater.

 

The salmonella scare was over by the early 1980s, but, at least in smaller markets like Australia and New Zealand, few producers wished to risk investment in ducks for fear of problems. No large-scale commercial duck egg production exists in these countries. It has thus been left to small producers, and more commonly, home duck keepers.

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poultry: farm birds (e.g., chickens, geese, ducks)

Questions 17 – 22

 

Classify the characteristics listed below as belonging to:

D         Ducks

H         Hens

      or

NI        if there is no information in the reading passage

 

Example

         More vulnerable to illness                  Answer:    H

 

 

17.  more eggs per week

18.  lengthier laying period

19.  less likely to uproot plants

20.  dangerous to grass

21.  eat more grain

22. better mothers

Questions 23 – 26

 

Complete the partial summary below. Choose ONE or TWO words from the passage for each answer.

 

To prevent their ......(23)..... from getting dirty, ducks should have access to water. This may be provided by building a pond, but ducklings under .....(24)...... of age should be prevented from entering it because of the .....(25)..... of the water. If too many ducks are kept on a plot of land, the soil may eventually become ....(26).... as a result of compaction. For this reason, it is advised that one limits the number of ducks per half hectare of land to 100.

 

 

Questions 27 and 28

 

27. Salmonella food poisoning ....

 

        A  resulted from consumption of duck eggs.

        B  created difficulties for the duck egg business.

        C  occurred all over Europe

        D  was found in both duck and hen eggs.

 

28.  Duck eggs...

 

        A   have been produced in large quantities in New Zealand since the early 1980s.

        B  are more at risk of salmonella contamination than hen eggs.

        C  may be contaminated when laid in wet conditions.

        D  should be kept at 5°C to prevent contamination.

Of Duck and Duck Eggs - Answer Key