Abstract
A prolonged period without feed access negatively impacts the growth and development of poultry. This study evaluated the effect of early post-hatch feeding times on the growth and carcass performance of Mule ducks reared intensively in the tropics. A total of 48 Mule ducklings were obtained from a local hatchery and assigned in a completely randomized design to 4 treatments based on 4 feeding regimes, (T) as follows: T1 3hrs, T2 24hrs, T3 36hrs and T4 48hrs post-hatch. On day 1 the ducklings were individually weighed, followed by weekly weighing until harvest at 63 days. Feed and feed refusal was measured daily for a period of 63 days. At harvest the body weight at slaughter, eviscerated and hot carcass weight, as well as the initial pH and pH24 of the breast, leg, and thigh quarters was evaluated. Weights of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract were then taken. The feed conversion ratio (FCR), feed intake and meat: skin: bone ratio was calculated. At 0-7 days cumulative feed intake and FCR was influenced by treatment (p=0.022, p=0.026; respectively). Body weight at slaughter ranged from 2969-3382.5g. Treatment did not affect the weights of the bone, fat, muscle and skin, of the breast quarter (p=0.698, p=0.893, p=0.940; respectively). However, weight of the bone for the leg and thigh quarter differed among treatments. A lower pH24 was observed for both breast and leg and thigh quarters. The study suggests that early post-hatch feeding at 3-48hrs does not affect the performance of Mule ducks.
Highlights
In Trinidad and Tobago, duck production is generally done on a subsistence level with farmers rearing ducks in their backyards
A total of 48 Mule ducklings were obtained from a local hatchery and assigned in a completely randomized design to four treatment groups based on four feeding regimes, (T) as follows: T1 3h, T2 24h, T3 36h and T4 48h post-hatch
At 0-7 days cumulative feed intake and feed conversion was affected by treatment (p=0.022), (p=0.026); respectively
Summary
In Trinidad and Tobago, duck production is generally done on a subsistence level with farmers rearing ducks in their backyards. There has been an increase in the demand for duck meat partly due to the influx of Chinese restaurants, as well as an improvement in housing development and technology. This has led to the expansion of the sector towards more commercial semi-intensive and intensive operations (Lallo & Ramraj, 2008). There is currently a lag time in the movement of birds from the hatchery to the grow-out operations This increase in holding time post-hatch without access to feed has been said to have a negative effect on the growth and development of poultry (Noy & Sklan, 2001). One major disadvantage of delayed feeding is body weight loss due to a decrease in the weights of tissues and organs (Nir & Levanan, 1993)
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