The Influence of Male Biostimulation on Cloacal Anatomy and Egg-Laying Behavior in Young Female Muscovy Ducks (Cairina moschata forma domestica)

Abstract

The importance of Muscovy ducks in industrial poultry production is growing; however, little is known about the physiology of their reproductive cycles. This study investigated the influence of male biostimulation on female ducks before the commencement of the laying phase. A total of 30 muscovy ducks, hatched in the same year at 289–341 days of age, were divided into two groups of 15 birds each and kept with and without contact with a male duck until the day of first egg-laying—319 ± 14 and 335 ± 13, respectively. Before reaching egg-laying maturity, the cloacae of 29 adult ducks were subjected to daily clinical assessments. The evaluations yielded four unique categories of outcomes, determined by assessing factors such as the degree of redness and protrusion of the mucous membrane, the moisture level, and swelling of the cloacal sphincter muscle. The results of this study on biostimulation revealed that, on average, female ducks that had contact with males laid their first egg 16 days earlier, weighing 78.7 ± 3.0 g, compared to the isolated female ducks, weighing 79.1 ± 7.0 g. Furthermore, there was no significant difference observed in the mean initial egg weight between the groups (p = 0.841). The cloacal morphology indicated significant morphological changes 25–26 days before laying. Efforts to improve Muscovy production and develop biotechnological techniques to modify these ducks’ reproductive cycle will benefit from these advancements.