The duck with a capacity of 25,000 ducks is locatedon the land that was previouslyarice field. Interestingly, the height of the cage can be set at any time. The principle is simple. The cage isnot planted into the ground but only put on the ground. And the height adjustment is done by placing bamboo under the cage.
Wiwot Fahmi, a duck farmer and the owner of thecage in Karawang, West Java, as quoted byTROBOS Livestock said that the height change was made following the weather conditions. "Duringthe rainy season, the cage is usually raised by 20-30 cm to avoid flooding," he said. In addition, he continued, the cage was also onceelevated when the temperature reached40 °C. At that time, the height of the cage was raised up to1 meter to addthe vertical spacebetween the roof andthe floor in order to reduce the heat.
The cage Wiwot has used since 3 months ago is called a postaltype, where the floorispaved with chaff. According to him, until now nothing can replace chaff. Prior to the use of the cage in the middle of the rice field, Wiwot used a stagecage which wasnot in the ricefield. "I use a cage stage from December 2012 until December 2014," he explained.
According to Wiwot, actually a stage cage has advantages, among others, duck feet do not touch the soil and the dirt directlygodown into the pit. So, the chance that ducks eat their own dirtbecomes small.
Cleaning the cage becomesmuch easier. He designed a cagewith a place to eat and drink on top, so that when thedrinkcontaineris cleaned, the dirt belowthe cage will be automatically washed away. Cleaning drinking containers regularly can minimize the bad smell of the cage.The eggs producedare certainly good in terms of quality and quantity.
In addition, Wiwotadded, he does not need to spend more money onchaff. "And the cageis safeall year round, either in dry or wet season. The ducks are not disturbed since the water flow underthe cage," he added.
However, Wiwot further recounted, although in some cases the stagecage has advantages and is more easily handled, the construction cost is relatively high. Bamboo as the main material is also easily damaged, and duckshave toadapt to the uncommon stage design.
