From Pennsylvania To Chinatown
Start-To-Finish Duck Operation Supplies East Coast Oriental Markets
MICHELLE KUNJAPPU
Lancaster Farming Staff
SHARTLESVILLE (Berks
Co.) Tucked amidst green
rolling hills in Berks County, at
the end of an unpaved lane, lies
long white barns typically seen
on poultry farms.
Inside the barns, a scattering of
white downy feathers lie on the
floor, red plastic waterers hang
from the ceiling, and long rows of
ventilation openings are also
present, typical of a poultry farm.
If you were expecting chickens,
however, you will be surprised
nfr.
The ducklings hatch after 28 days in 99 degree heat.
The ducks are unconfined in the layer house. Most of
the eggs are laid and collected in the morning.
An employee sets the eggs on a tray which will be
moved to a 60-degree cooler before their move to the in
cubator. The extra eggs are sent to Oriental markets in
nearby East Coast cities.
when you take a second look into
the open ends of the bam.
Ducks are the feature of the
Joe Jurgielewicz & Son Duck
Farm, a supplier for Oriental
markets in several major East
Coast cities.
The host of recent agribusiness
tours that include a tour for
county school superintendents,
and later for economic develop
ment representatives, the start
to-finish operation is the source
of ducks for Chinatowns in Phil
adelphia, New York City, Wash
ington, D.C., Boston, and Balti
more.
Bronislaw Jurgielwicz began
the operation in Long Island,
N.Y. Later his son, Joseph Jur
gielewicz, Sr., relocated the oper
ation, Joe Jurgielewicz &, Son
Ltd., to Berks County. At that
time the business included his
son, Dr. Joseph Jurgielewicz, the
third generation of the family to
oversee the production and distri
bution company.
The business, which has over
100 employees, also includes the
efforts of 20 duck growers in
Pennsylvania, most of them
growing an average of more than
4,000 ducks every two weeks.
Five layer houses, each holding
approximately 4,200 ducks
apiece, produce over two million
baby ducks each year.
To start the layer flock, the
ducks move from the “develop
er” stage to the layer stage (mov
ing to the layer house) at 26-27
weeks old. They will lay for ap
proximately six months then will
be replaced by another flock.
The layers perform best in an
unconfined situation, since “you
can’t confine a duck like you can
a chicken,” said Michael Werner,
environmental coordinator. Con
sequently the ducks have free
range of the long barns that in
clude a laying area with sections
of boxes and a raised area with a
nipple watering system.
Fresh straw is distributed in
the bam each day. After each
flock, which is rotated after six
months, the house is cleaned out.
The litter and manure is either
distributed on the company’s 240
tillable acres or on nearby farms.
The fertilization rate is over 90
percent, said Wemer. Of that 90
percent of fertilized eggs, 75-80
percent will hatch. There is one
drake for every five hens.
The eggs are hand-gathered
twice each morning beginning at
6 a.m. and then again to “get the
stragglers,” said Wemer, since
“most of them lay the eggs in the
early morning.”
Next they are moved to a
60-degree cooler for up to two
days before entering one of the 28
incubators used on the operation.
Each incubator can hold 9,000
eggs. The eggs stay in their rain
forest environment approxi
mately 99.5 degrees and 99 per
cent humidity for 25 days. The
high humidity keeps the duck
lings from sticking to the egg
shell. In the final three days the
eggs are moved to a hatching
tray and moved to a cooler incu
bator.
The farm hatches four days a
week, as “we can hatch all we
need in those four days,” said
Werner.
Next the ducklings are loaded
onto trucks and taken to a grow
er or one of three four-stage
houses on the premises.
The farm produces Peking
ducks, the preferred breed of the
Oriental market.
Besides layer houses, the com
pany has grower houses on the
property. The houses, which hold
between 4,200-4,500 ducks, are
divided into four rooms with the
same amount of ducks in each
room,
The birds are grown in four
stage houses. “They go in one
end as babies and come out at
seven weeks ready for process
ing,” said Werner.
These ducks, like the layers,
are not confined in cages “be
cause of their lifestyle,” said Dr.
Jurgielewicz. “Being a waterfowl
they need more room,” he said.
Mike Werner, environmental coordinator, stands in one
of the grower houses.
“They’re also a bigger bird, so
they get approximately double
the space that chickens get.”
The youngest ducklings fill the
first and smallest room with their
high-pitched whistles. They are
herded after approximately two
weeks to the next room, a pro
gression that ends in the last
room, where they leave at seven
weeks of age and weigh 6-7
pounds.
By this time their whistle has
evolved to a full-fledged quack.
They receive differently formu
lated food at each stage.
“The nutritional demands
change just like any kind of a
baby,” said Dr. Joseph Jurgiele
wicz Jr., company president and
veterinarian of the business.
“They get a high-density for
mula when they start, and as
they get older they don’t need
high-density feed, so the quality
of the feed would decrease as the
bird gets older.”
The feed is also varied with the
season. Since the birds will eat
The eggs are collected
twice each morning in bas
kets of 100 eggs per bas
ket.
less in summer weather, the feed
is fortified so that the Utile food
that they do get gives them
enough nutrients. The feed is a
corn soybean mix with other nu
trients.
The structure of a duck’s biU,
which prohibits the fowl from
eating mash, also means a high
er-priced feed. AdditionaUy there
is an increase over chickens in
processing costs “because it’s so
much harder to get feathers off
waterfowl they’re just tighter.
Combining these elements with
the increase in square footage
necessary means a more expen
sive meat than chicken, said Dr.
Jurgielewicz.
The operation includes a
slaughter faciUty, also. There the
ducks are processed fresh and
frozen for market. The brand
“Keystone Katie” is sold to most
ly to Oriental markets and the
“Bay Brand” variety goes to
more conventional markets that
prefer that the head and feet are
removed.
The birds may be eviscerated
or intact as dictated by the buyers
in each market. The facility also
prepare kosher ducks.
Although most of the process is
completed by hand, each duck is
weighed and sorted by computer
so the same ducks of the same
weight will be packed in the same
box.
“When they cook duck, they
may cook several at once and
they want them all to be done at
the same time,” said Wemer.
The skin quality of a duckling
is very important because of the
way the Oriental chefs present
the duck for sale. Their cooking
methods leave little fat on the
bird by the time it is ready for
consumption, according to Wem
er.
According to HACCP plans,
the ducks must be either chilled
to 40 degrees or in the freezer six
hours after they are killed, he
said.
A full-time USDA inspector
checks the ducks for whole
someness, enforces the HACCP
plan, and is in charge of sanita
tion. A USDA grader grades the
ducks to ensure quality and en
sure that it is an “A” grade prod
uct.
The ducks are delivered fresh
or frozen six days a week on com
pany-owned trucks. The business
uses outside hauling, Stoltzfus
Trucking Brokerage, for long-dis
tance customers.
As for the future of the busi
ness, “we’re leaning toward stay
ing in that niche market,”
according to Dr. Jurgielewicz.
“We’re a sales-oriented company.
Our production numbers will in
crease as dictated by our sales.”
“This is a truly unique business
are in,” said Paul Steinmetz, di
rector of operations. “We are
start-to-f!nish operation. Our cus
tomers tell us what their needs
are and we do everything we can
to accommodate them in a timely
and efficient manner.
“The cornerstone of any suc
cessful business is their employ
ees,” continued Steinmetz. “We
are very fortunate to have dedi
cated, hardworking people on all
levels and in all areas working for
us.
“We have experienced signifi
cant growth over the last five
years and I feel that as long as we
stay on top of all the issues in
volved with that growth Joe Jur
gielewicz & Son will have a
bright and exciting future.”