Carcass composition and meat characteristics of Pekin ducks in relation to age at slaughter and level of maize distiller’s dried grains with solubles in diets
Journal Title: Journal of Animal and Feed Sciences - Year 2012, Vol 21, Issue 1
Abstract
The effect of the level of maize distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) in diets for ducks and duration of the fattening period on feed efficiency, body weight, carcass and meat quality was studied. One hundred and sixty commercial Pekin ducklings were divided randomly into four groups (four replicates, each). From 1 to 21 days of age all birds received the same commercial feed, then from day 22 to 56 the ducks were fed with a diet containing one of four levels of DDGS (%): 0 (control), 15, 25 or 30. All ducks were weighed individually at 1, 21, 49 and 56 days of age and feed intake and feed efficiency were calculated. At 49 and 56 days of rearing, 10 birds with body weights close to the average weight for the group were chosen from each group, slaughtered and the following parameters were evaluated: weight of eviscerated carcass with neck, neck without skin, wings with skin, breast and leg muscle, edible giblets (heart, liver, gizzard), skin with subcutaneous fat, abdominal fat, remainder of carcass, as well as the physical and chemical characteristics of breast meat. Inclusion of maize DDGS in amounts up to 25% in the diet of ducks from day 22 of rearing had no adverse effect on the variables studied, regardless of age at slaughter. Moreover, it allowed decreasing the soyabean meal and wheat contents from 18.0 and 41.6% in the control feed to 10.0 and 24.1% in the 25% DDGS feed, respectively.
Authors and Affiliations
A. Kowalczyk, E. Łukaszewicz, M. Adamski, J. Kuźniacka
Keywords
Related Articles
- EP ID EP76027
- DOI -
- Views 61
- Downloads 0
Milk and cheese fatty acid profiles in Alpine goat fed green maize forage
Twenty lactating Alpine goats were randomly allocated to two treatment groups to investigate the effect of feeding green maize on the fatty acid profile of milk and cheese. The control goats were fed lucerne hay ad libit...
The effects of adding lucerne protein concentrate to diets on the reproductive traits and blood metabolic profiles of sows and piglets
The aim of the study was to estimate the effects of supplementing different amounts of lucerne protein concentrate (LPC) on performance, blood haematological and biochemical parameters of sows and their offspring. LPC wa...
The effects of dietary medium-chain triacylglycerols on growth performance and intestinal microflora in young pigs
Ninety-six young pigs were used to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation with medium-chain triacylglycerols (MCT) on growth performance and intestinal microbial counts. The pigs were divided into four treatme...
Diurnal and seasonal changes in IL-6 and IL-18 gene expression in blood leukocytes of male chickens with experimental peritonitis: the impact of lighting conditions and melatonin
The aim of this study was to examine the involvement of melatonin in the photoperiod-related development of inflammation in chickens. Newly hatched birds obtained in summer and winter were kept in a light : dark (LD) cyc...
A note on the effect of pre-slaughter transport duration on nutrient composition and fatty acid profile of broiler breast meat
The aim of this study was to investigate the influence of pre-slaughter transport duration, as a stress factor, on nutrient and fatty acid composition of broiler breast meat. The study was conducted on 48 breast muscles...