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309464

Effect of stocking density on behavior, performance and some blood parameters of Muscovy ducks

Article

Last updated: 03 Jan 2025

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Abstract

The aim of this experiment was to examine the effect of different stocking densities on behavior, performance, and some blood parameters of Muscovy ducks. One hundred thirty-five-1-day old male Muscovy ducklings were divided in to 3 treatments with 5 replicates per treatment for a 60-day trial. Birds were housed at 6 birds per m2 (Control), 9 birds per m2 (Moderate stocking density) or 12 birds per m2 (High stocking density). The stocking density effects on duckling's behavior, performance, and some blood parameters were investigated. At the end of the experiment, production and blood parameters were examined. The results showed that, stocking density birds exhibited less feeding, crouching, standing, walking and feather ruffling but more drinking, huddling, sitting, preening, feather pecking and wall pecking behaviors compared control ducklings (P < 0.05). The stocking density ducklings also had lower body weight, feed intake, body weight gain, eviscerated weight, dressing % compared to control birds (P < 0.05). At day 60, the serum calcium, phosphorus, total protein, thyroxine (T4) and total antioxidant of stocking density birds were lower, however, malondialdehyde and corticosterone were higher than that of control ducklings (P < 0.05), T3 and total albumin showed significant decrease only in high stocking density compared to control one (P < 0.05). These findings propose that rearing Muscovy ducks at 9 or 12 birds per m2 during fattening phase led to harmful influence on duck behaviors, performance, carcass characteristics and physiological parameters, with the potential to rear six birds on one square meter.

DOI

10.21608/svu.2023.213586.1274

Keywords

stocking density, Muscovy ducks, Behavior, production, blood parameters

Authors

First Name

Eman

Last Name

Negm

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Physiology, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut, Egypt

Email

emannegm@vet.aun.edu.eg

City

Assiut

Orcid

0000000167419074

First Name

Ahmed

Last Name

Mohammed

MiddleName

-

Affiliation

Department of Behavior and Management of Animal, Poultry and Aquatics, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Assiut University, Assiut 71526, Egypt

Email

ahmed.abd_elhafez@vet.au.edu.eg

City

Assiut

Orcid

-

Volume

6

Article Issue

3

Related Issue

40712

Issue Date

2023-09-01

Receive Date

2023-05-26

Publish Date

2023-07-24

Page Start

17

Page End

32

Print ISSN

2535-1826

Online ISSN

2535-1877

Link

https://svu.journals.ekb.eg/article_309464.html

Detail API

https://svu.journals.ekb.eg/service?article_code=309464

Order

309,464

Type

Research article

Type Code

712

Publication Type

Journal

Publication Title

SVU-International Journal of Veterinary Sciences

Publication Link

https://svu.journals.ekb.eg/

MainTitle

Effect of stocking density on behavior, performance and some blood parameters of Muscovy ducks

Details

Type

Article

Created At

24 Dec 2024