Desert animal ‘Dumba’ (Fat-tailed sheep) is being reared commercially at Damurhuda of Chuadanga district and the farm owners are earning a big profit by rearing the ‘Dumba.’
The ‘Dumba’ farm operated by Wave Foundation, was set up in an artificially created desert-like environment at village Koshaghata in the upazila. The climate being favourable, the farm has been extended further on 42 bighas of land beside the Chuadanga-Darshona highway. In addition to ‘Dumba’, goats and poultry birds are also reared in the farm. A hatchery has also been set up inside the farm.
It is learnt, ‘Dumbas’ are being reared in the farm from 2019. At the first stage, six Dumbas of Ayoshi and Red Masai species were purchased at a cost of Tk 8.75 lakh from Sadek Agro in Dhaka. Of them, one was male and the rest are females. Those kids
consume green grass, straw, wheat and gram. At present, the farm has 24 Dumbas. Of them, 16 are matured and eight are kids. Moreover, 19 Dumbas were sold at Tk 8.34 lakh from the farm during the last four years.
Farm official Enamul Haque informed the Dumba farm has been set up for last four years. Dumbas like the desert and a small artificial desert-like environment has been created inside the farm. Duma rearing is a profitable business. The female Dumbas yield kids two times a year. At first, the farm started with six Dumbas but now there are 24 Dumbas in the farm.
He further informed, Dumbas are sold according to their weight. A dumba weighing 1 to 30 kgs is sold at Tk 2,000 per kg, one weighing from 31 to 50 kg is sold at Tk 1,750 per kg and over 50 kgs is sold at Tk 1,500 per kg. It is easy to rear a Dumba, he said, the Dumba like a sheep or goat consumes all the fodders like chaff of wheat, paddy, maize, oil cake, Chita gur (molasses), straw etc.
It also consumes green grass and jackfruit leaves. He further informed it costs Tk 8,000 per month for the rearing of 24-Dumbas. He said, all the Dumba rearers in the country are earning profits as the animal can be reared like goat and sheep and it also yields kids like that of goat or sheep. It is suited to our local climate and the disease attack on the animal is rare. A Dumba takes three to four years to reach adulthood when it weighs 100 to 120 kgs. The price of an adult Dumba would be Tk 200,000 to 250,000.
Damurhuda Upazila Animal Resource Officer Dr Neelima Akhter Happy informed, Dumba and Sheep are identical. Dumba is an easily adaptable animal. It looks like a sheep but its buttocks are extended and weighty. It reproduces like that of a sheep. It also yields more meat than a sheep. There is a huge commercial possibility of rearing Dumba, especially it has a tremendous demand during the Eid-ul-Azha (Qurbani).