The Impact of Different Environments on Productive Performance, Welfare, and the Health of Muscovy Ducks during the Summer Season

Ondřej Krunt, Lukáš Zita (), Adam Kraus, Kateřina Vejvodová, Ondřej Drábek, Jiří Kuře and Eva Chmelíková
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Ondřej Krunt: Department of Animal Science, Food and Natural Resources, Faculty of Agrobiology, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 00 Prague, Czech Republic
Lukáš Zita: Department of Animal Science, Food and Natural Resources, Faculty of Agrobiology, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 00 Prague, Czech Republic
Adam Kraus: Department of Animal Science, Food and Natural Resources, Faculty of Agrobiology, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 00 Prague, Czech Republic
Kateřina Vejvodová: Department of Soil Science and Soil Protection, Food and Natural Resources, Faculty of Agrobiology, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 00 Prague, Czech Republic
Ondřej Drábek: Department of Soil Science and Soil Protection, Food and Natural Resources, Faculty of Agrobiology, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 00 Prague, Czech Republic
Jiří Kuře: Department of Agricultural Machines, Faculty of Engineering, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 00 Prague, Czech Republic
Eva Chmelíková: Department of Veterinary Sciences, Food and Natural Resources, Faculty of Agrobiology, Czech University of Life Sciences Prague, Kamýcká 129, 165 00 Prague, Czech Republic

Agriculture, 2023, vol. 13, issue 7, 1-16

Abstract: The objective of this research was to evaluate the influence of the housing system (deep litter [DL] vs. deep litter with swimming pond [DLSP]) on productive performance, carcass traits, body temperature, blood profile, and the element composition of the femur and tibia in Muscovy ducks. At 5 weeks of age, sexed ducklings (264) were divided into 4 equal groups according to housing system and gender (drakes vs. ducks). The groups were as follows: 66 drakes/DL, 66 drakes/DLSP, 66 ducks/DL, and 66 ducks/DLSP. Each of the four groups was divided into three identical replicated subgroups of 22 animals. Regarding external body temperature, the DL birds had higher temperatures compared with the DLSP birds. In addition, drakes had lower temperature values than ducks. Regarding the blood analysis, the birds did not manifest any deviations in the biochemical traits of the blood. The DLSP birds had greater live weight, weight gain, and feed conversion ratio, but a lower proportion of breast meat than the DL birds. The housing conditions did not affect the fracture toughness of the tibia and femur of the birds; however, Muscovy ducks from the DLSP group had more Ca and Mg in the tibia and more Mg in the femur compared with the DL birds.

Keywords: femur; production; swimming; tibia (search for similar items in EconPapers)
JEL-codes: Q1 Q10 Q11 Q12 Q13 Q14 Q15 Q16 Q17 Q18 (search for similar items in EconPapers)
Date: 2023
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Persistent link: https://EconPapers.repec.org/RePEc:gam:jagris:v:13:y:2023:i:7:p:1319-:d:1181485

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