Energy Values of Corn and Rice Bran and Energy Levels for Ducks – Basis in Establishing Energy Requirement for Improved Philippine Mallard Duck

Abstract

New breeds of Philippine Mallard Ducks (PMD) were developed to ensure the availability of outstanding stocks for egg production. Maximizing the potentials of these new breeds can be achieved with sound nutrition. Energy is considered the most important and occupy big fraction in the diet of duck as it influences feed intake and proportion of other nutrients in the diet. Optimaldietary energy levels for the new breeds of PMD is yet to be established.. Determining the energy values of common and locally abundant basal feeds such as corn and rice bran for PMDwill serve as a basis in the inclusion of these feeds to duck’s diet. Ducks are considered more efficient in maximizing the energy values of corn (CO) and rice bran (RB) despite of the large proportion of non-starch polysaccharides of RB compared to chickens. Dietary energy levels have not been established for PMD unlike in Pekin ducks (PD) and some indigenous or country ducks. Fast growing PD tend to require a denser energy ranging from 3008 to 3284 kcal/kg compared to 2700 to 2950 kcal/kg for indigenous breeds and khaki Campbell (KC) for optimal performance. It has been found out that the PMD is closely more related to KC than PD. Hence, the possibility of requiring a lower dietary energy than PD. The determination of energy values of CO and RB for PMD and establishment of optimal dietary energy level will facilitate the formulation of PMD specific diet. Thus, this condensed information will serve as concrete viewpoints in understanding bioenergetic dynamics of PMD.