The effects of plastic slatted floor and a deep- litter system on the growth performance of hybrid Pekin ducks.

Abstract

This research was conducted to evaluate the effects of plastic slatted floors and a deep-litter system using wood shavings on the growth performance of current commercial hybrid Pekin ducks. A total of 96 Pekin ducks (Star 53) were reared for 42 d. Live weight, live-weight gain, feed consumption, feed conversion ratio, water consumption, and water feed consumption ratio were investigated as the performance criteria. With the use of plastic slatted floors, the feed conversion rate dropped and the water feed consumption ratio showed an incline (). This is a very favourable result for the poultry industry and growers. The remaining parameters did not change by altering the ground system (). Generally, it can be stated that plastic slatted floor use has advantages concerning the performance criteria of the feed consumption ratio and the water feed consumption ratio in comparison to the deep-litter system. Furthermore, improvement in the feed conversion ratio is known to benefit the overall performance of poultry as well as having a positive economic impact. It should also be noted that as the birds grew, they were visually less stained, which is another important factor determining feather quality. However, this should be further investigated in future research.