Seasonal variation in egg production and mortality of Muscovy ducks (Cairina Moschata)

A.O. Oguntunji,K.L. Ayorinde,O.A. Oladejo

doi:10.2298/bah1502181o

A.O. Oguntunji, K.L. Ayorinde + Show 1 more

Open Access

https://doi.org/10.2298/bah1502181o

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Abstract

Seasonal variation is one of the principal non-genetic factors influencing performance of poultry in tropical environment. This study was conducted to investigate influence of seasonal variation on egg production and incidence of mortality in intensively-reared non-descript Muscovy ducks in Nigeria. Egg production and incidence of mortality in sixty two (62) female Muscovy ducks was studied in a 12-month trial divided into two major seasons: wet (April - September) and dry (October - March) and four sub-seasons: early rainy season (April - June), late rainy season (July - September), early dry season (October - December) and late dry season (January - March). Student?s t-test and Completely Randomized Design was used to analyse seasonal and sub-seasonal effect on performance, respectively. Season and sub-season significantly (P < 0.05) affected egg production; higher egg production was recorded in wet season compared with dry season (16.18% vs. 1.32%). Among sub-seasons, highest egg production was recorded in late rainy season (20.92%) while the least (0.00%) was obtained in late dry season. Conversely, there was no significant (P > 0.05) effect of season and sub-season on mortality. It is evident that seasonal variation had no effect on incidence of mortality but significantly affected egg production of Muscovy duck and the adverse effect is more pronounced in dry season most especially in late dry season.

Highlights

Poultry is by far the largest livestock species world-wide (FAO, 2000), accounting for more than 30 % of all animal protein consumption (Permin and Pedersen, 2000)
It is worthy of note that Nigerian poultry sector is dominated by local/indigenous breeds
Muscovy duck constitutes about 10% of local poultry sector in Nigeria (Oluyemi and Ologhobo, 1997) representing 74% of ducks reared in Nigeria (Adesope and Nodu, 2002)

Summary

Introduction

Poultry is by far the largest livestock species world-wide (FAO, 2000), accounting for more than 30 % of all animal protein consumption (Permin and Pedersen, 2000). It is worthy of note that Nigerian poultry sector is dominated by local/indigenous breeds These local avian species are bred under traditional breeding systems and constitute a fast means of bridging the protein deficiency gap in most developing countries (Jibir and Usman, 2003). Muscovy duck is commonly referred to as local duck in Nigeria It is an integral part of local poultry sector in Nigeria and are concentrated mostly in rural areas in the hands of small-holder farmers (Oguntunji and Ayorinde, 2014). They are estimated to be approximately 11million and were reported to be distributed all over the agro-ecological zones in village settings (FLDPCS, 1992). Muscovy duck constitutes about 10% of local poultry sector in Nigeria (Oluyemi and Ologhobo, 1997) representing 74% of ducks reared in Nigeria (Adesope and Nodu, 2002)

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