The effect of feed consumption levels on growth performance and apparent digestibility of nutrients in White Pekin ducks

Abstract

An experiment was designed to contain eight feed consumption levels (ad libitum, 300, 330, 360, 390, 420, 450, 480 g/day/bird) to evaluate the effects of feed consumption levels on growth performance and apparent digestibility of nutrients for White Pekin ducks from 35 days to 42 days of age. Ninety-six 35-day-old male Pekin ducks were randomly assigned into eight treatments, each containing six replicate pens with two birds per pen. All birds of the treatment group 1 as the control group was fed ad libitum and the birds of the treatment groups from 2 to 8 were quantitatively fed by force-feeding. The feed intake was 300, 330, 360, 390, 420, 450, 480 g/day/bird for treatment groups 2 through 8, respectively. Results of growth performance showed that feed consumption levels affected final body weight and average daily gain significantly (P < 0.05) but not feed/gain (P > 0.05). Based on the broken-line regression model analysis with body weight gain data, the optimum feed consumption level for Pekin ducks was 414.2 g/day, which was close to group 6 (420 g/day) that achieved the best growth performance as compared with other groups. Apparent digestibility of nutrients did not differ significantly among the groups at the first 2 days of the experimental period (P > 0.05), whereas apparent digestibility of dry matter and crude protein significantly decreased (P < 0.05) with increasing feed consumption level at the final 2 days of experimental period. Therefore, the results indicated that excess feed consumption could not improve body weight gain further but make apparent digestibility of nutrients decline in overfed Pekin ducks.

Keywords:

• Pekin duck
• growth performance
• feed consumption level
• nutrient digestibility

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Corrigendum

Funding

This work was supported by the Earmarked fund for the Modern Waterfowl Industry Technology System of China [CARS-43] and the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program [ASTIP-ISS09].

Additional information

Funding

Funding: This work was supported by the Earmarked fund for the Modern Waterfowl Industry Technology System of China [CARS-43] and the Agricultural Science and Technology Innovation Program [ASTIP-ISS09].