• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.10 no.2
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• pp.192-195
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• 1997

Thirty adults Desi and Khaki Campbell ducks were distributed to 6 farmers of Chakcharpur village of Mymensingh district. These ducks were subjected 3 types of mating e.g. Desi ${\times}$ Desi, Khaki Campbell ${\times}$ Khaki Campbell and Khaki Campbell ${\times}$ Desi-having 10 ducks (male : female = 1 : 4) in each mating group. Each mating group was then divided into two having 5 ducks(male : female = 1 : 4) and distributed to 2 farmers. After collecting eggs from each mating category, these were hatched by broody hens from which a total of 90 day old ducklings, 30 from each genotype were raised from birth to 90 days after the onest of laying. Although the weight of the day old chicks were similar in all genotypes (40-43 g), body weight was the highest (p <0.01) for Khaki Campbell ${\times}$ Desi (1,543) before the onset of laying followed by Khaki Campbell (1,552 g) and Desi (1,448 g) ducks. Khaki Campbell attained maturity at an earlier (p < 0.01) age (147 days) followed by Khaki Campbell ${\times}$ Desi, (154 days) and Desi (161 days) ducks. Khaki Campbell laid maximum (p < 0.01) number of eggs (46) compared to Khaki Campbell ${\times}$ Desi, (30) and Desi (18) ducks 90 days after the onset of laying. However, eggs were heavier (p < 0.01) in Desi (61.9) ducks compared to other genotypes. Fertility and hatchability were also higher in Desi ducks than the other two genotypes. Mortality was also lover in Desi ducks (3.33%) followed by Khaki Campbell ${\times}$ Desi (6.66%) and Khaki Campbell (16.66%) ducks. The results presented here indicated the superiority of Desi ducks over the other two genotypes with respect to egg weight, fertility, hatchability and mortality under village condition. Pure and crossbreds, on the other hand, were heavier at sexual maturity at relatively younger age and laid more eggs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.15 no.6
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• pp.866-871
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• 2002

An experiment was conducted at the experimental duck farm of Cantho University to determine the effects of feeding duckweed (Lemna minor) that replaced commercial protein supplements in diets for local and Cherry Valley breeding ducks. The experiment included a total of 180 ducks, with five treatments and three replicates and six breeding ducks (one male plus five females together) per replicate, for both local and exotic Cherry Valley ducks. The five diets were fed ad libitum and were based on rice byproducts supplemented with roasted soya bean meal plus dried fishmeal at levels of 100% (SF100, control), 75 (SF75), 50 (SF50), 25 (SF25) or zero (SF0) % of the protein in the control diet, corresponding to 18, 15, 13, 10 and 8% CP in the diets for both breeds, respectively. Fresh duckweed was supplied ad libitum for all treatments. These diets were fed to local breeding ducks from 7 to 12 months of age, and to exotic breeding ducks (Cherry Valley) from 8 to 13 months of age. Total mean daily dry matter (DM) intakes were 183, 178, 176, 177 and 174 g (p<0.05) for the local ducks, and 221, 208, 215, 219 and 210 g (p<0.01) for the exotic ducks for the SF100 (control), SF75, SF50, SF25 and SF0 diets, respectively. Laying rates of the local ducks were 66.5, 65.2, 62.9, 63.1 and 62.3%, and of the Cherry Valley ducks 61.9, 58.4, 58.9, 59.1 and 53.5% (p<0.001) for the control (SF100), SF75, SF50, SF25 and SF0 treatments, respectively. Fertile egg rates were 95.6, 95.6, 97.8, 97.8 and 92.2%, and hatchabilities 89.4, 80.6, 87.2, 88.6 and 77.8% (p<0.05) for the local breed, and 97.8, 97.8, 91.1, 92.2 and 90.0% (p<0.05) and 72.8, 74.7, 75.0, 74.3 and 76.7% for the Cherry Valley ducks for diets SF100, SF75, SF50, SF25 and SF0, respectively. Corresponding feed conversion ratios (dry matter basis) were 3.83, 3.82, 3.89, 4.01 and 3.96 kg feed per kg egg mass for the local ducks and 4.52, 4.56, 4.58, 4.73 and 5.02 kg feed per kg egg mass for the Cherry Valley ducks for the SF100, SF75, SF50, SF25 and SF0 treatments, respectively. Replacement of 100% of the protein supplement by fresh duckweed in the diets of the local laying ducks decreased the feed costs by 25% compared to the control diet.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.5 no.1
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• pp.173-181
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• 1992

Duck is an important domestic animal, especially in Asia. Eighty five percent of ducks in the world are kept in Asia, especially in the East and South Asia regions. The ancestor of domesticated ducks was mallard (Anas platylhynchos), which are still migrating between north and southern parts in Eurasia. Ducks have been domesticated in China for at least 3000 years ago. Phylogenetic studies on ducks, employing electrophoresis of blood proteins, indicate a marked difference of genetic constitution between duck breeds in southeast Asia and those in northeast Asia. Duck embryonic ovary is much more active in secretion of sex steroid hormones especially estradiol than the embryonic testes. Estradiol secreted by the embryonic left ovary has an important role in female sexual differentiation in ducks. In the female ducks, plasma LH, estradiol and testosterone levels increase and reach peaks shortly before the first egg, while progesterone level reach a peak shortly after the first egg. In laying ducks oviposition mostly occurs in the last 3 hr of darkness and first hr of light ranging 02:00-06:00 under 14 hr light (05:00-19:00) and 10 hr darkness photoperiodic condition. Measurements of plasma hormone levels reveal that onset of darkness is a major signal for LH release from the pituitary and the subsequent release of progesterone from ovary, and for induction of ovulation in the female duck.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.25 no.10
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• pp.1445-1450
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• 2012

A study was conducted to evaluate effects of alfalfa meal on growth performance and gastrointestinal tract development of growing layer ducks to provide evidence for application of alfalfa meal in the duck industry. Two hundred and fifty-six healthy Shaoxing 7-wk old growing layer ducks were selected and randomly allocated to 1 of 4 dietary treatments based on corn and soybean meal and containing 0, 3, 6, and 9% of alfalfa meal for 8 wks. Each treatment consisted of 4 replicates of 16 ducks each. Briefly, birds were raised in separate compartments, and each compartment consisted of three parts: indoor floor house, adjacent open area and a connecting water area. The results showed: i) Growing ducks fed alfalfa meal diet were not significantly different in average daily gain, feed intake and gain-to-feed ratio from those fed no alfalfa diet (p>0.05). ii) Alfalfa meal increased the ratio crop, gizzard to live weight, caecum to live weight, the caecum index of growing ducks (p<0.05). iii) Villus height in duodenum and jejunum of growing ducks increased significantly with the increase of alfalfa meal levels (p<0.05). Crypt depth in duodenum and jejunum of growing ducks decreased significantly with the increase of alfalfa meal levels (p<0.05). This experiment showed that feeding of alfalfa meal to growing layer ducks could improve gastrointestinal tract growth and small intestinal morphology without effect on performance. This experiment provides evidence that alfalfa meal is a very valuable feedstuff for growing layer ducks.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.33 no.3
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• pp.341-347
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• 2013

This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of early diet dilution with 40% rice hull on growth performance, carcass characteristic and composition of meat-type ducks, and to reveal the possible mechanism for decreased body fat deposition. 160 1-day-old White Peking ducks with initial body weight of $44.5{\pm}1.0$ g were allotted to two treatments with 8 replicate pens per treatment and 10 ducks per pen (5 male and 5 female). Ducks were fed with the experimental starter diets diluted with 0% (control, RH0), 40% rice hull (RH40) during 8 to 14 d of age, respectively. Thereafter, all ducks were fed with grower diet. Ducks fed with RH40 diet from 8 to 14 d of age increased (p<0.05) feed intake, decreased (p<0.05) body weight, body weight gain and adjusted feed intake (excluded rice hull), abdominal fat, skin with fat, and fat content in carcass, and reduced (p<0.05) activities of hepatic malic dehydrogenase, glucose-6-phosphate dehydrogenase and fatty acid synthetase. When diet dilution was withdrawn in the re-fed period from 15 to 42 d of age, full compensatory growth of body weight, breast meat and leg meat weight were attained. However, ducks were still less (p<0.05) carcass fat content and showed continually lower (p<0.05) hepatic lipogenic enzyme activities at the market age in RH40 ducks than the control. These results indicated that diluting diet with 40% rice hull during 8 to 14 d of age might be a suitable method to improve feed efficiency, and to reduce carcass fat deposition in the production of meat-type ducks.

• Food Science of Animal Resources
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• v.33 no.1
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• pp.89-95
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• 2013

This research was conducted to compare the meat characteristics of Korean native duck and imported commercial duck. The Korean native ducks and imported commercial ducks (broiler duck: Grimaud) were raised under identical rearing and feeding conditions for 8 wk and 6 wk, respectively. At the end of the rearing period, ten ducks from each group were slaughtered, and breast and leg meat were obtained 24 h after slaughtering for analyses of meat characteristics. The results showed that the breast of Korean native ducks contained lower moisture and fat, and higher protein and water holding capacity (WHC) than those of imported commercial ducks (p<0.05). The breast of Korean native ducks also had higher CIE $a^*$ and lower CIE $L^*$ (p<0.05). After cooking, the breast meat of Korean native ducks had higher shear-force, sensory attributes of texture, taste and overall likeness (p<0.05). Also, the breast meat of Korean native ducks contained a higher percentage of palmitic acid ($C_{16:0}$) and arachidonic acid ($C_{20:4}$) (p<0.05) than those of imported commercial ducks. Furthermore, the leg meat of Korean native ducks contained higher percentages of total unsaturated fatty acid and lower percentages of total saturated fatty acid (p<0.05). It is concluded that the meat from Korean native ducks, especially breast meat, had better quality parameters and contained higher amounts of unsaturated fatty acids.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.2
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• pp.247-259
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• 2022

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the effects of age and diet forms on growth-development patterns, serum metabolism indicators, and parameters of body fat deposition in Cherry Valley ducks. Methods: According to the hatching age and initial weight, a total of 150 1-day-old male SM3 Cherry Valley ducks were randomly assigned to two diet forms (pellet vs powder form). Each treatment had with 5 replicates per treatment and 15 meat ducks per replicate. The study lasted 42 d, which was divided into two periods (1 to 21 vs 22 to 42 d). Results: Our results showed that compared with powder group, ducks in pellet group had greater growth performance during different period (p<0.05). The inflection point was 24 d and was not numerically affected by diet forms. Increasing age (42 vs 21 d) significantly increased the weight of body fat and hepatic fat metabolism related enzyme activities in ducks (p<0.05), meanwhile, increasing age (42 vs 21 d) improved serum metabolism indicators and decreased mRNA expression levels of fat metabolism-related genes in liver (p<0.05). Ducks fed different diets (pellet vs powder form) increased growth performance as well as the weight of body fat and improved serum metabolism indicators (p<0.05). In addition, interactions were found between age and diet forms on the levels of serum metabolism indicators in ducks (p<0.05). Conclusion: In conclusion, powder feed reduced growth performance of ducks, and the day of inflection point was 24 days old. Ducks with higher age or fed with pellet diet showed higher fat deposition. The effect of age and feed forms on body fat deposition might result from changes in the contents of serum metabolism indicators, key enzyme activity of lipid production, and hepatic gene expressions.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.1
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• pp.84-97
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• 2023

Objective: One hundred hybrid male ducks (Mojosari×Alabio) were used to examine the efficacy of chicory supplementation as nutritional feed manipulation on production performance, and blood lipid profile of hybrid ducks. Methods: The ducks were tagged, weighed, and then allotted randomly to one of the four treatment diets using a completely randomized design. The experimental diets were: i) P0 (100% basal diets+0% chicory as control), ii) P1 (95% basal diets+5% chicory), iii) P2 (90% basal diets+10% chicory) and iv) P3 (85% basal diets+15% chicory). For each treatment group, there were 5 replicates of 5 birds each. All experimental diets were isonitrogenous and isocaloric using locally available ingredients. Results: Hybrid ducks with fed diets supplemented fresh chicory (5%, 10%, and 15%) showed increased feed intake and body weight gain, as well as feed conversion ratio to be smaller than those ducks fed diets without chicory supplementation (control). The ducks fed 10% chicory supplementation contained significantly (p<0.05) lower ash and higher organic matter contents of meat than those ducks fed other diets. The ducks fed 15% chicory supplementation showed the lowest crude protein and cholesterol content of meat among the treatment diets. Ducks fed chicory supplementation showed lower (p<0.05) blood cholesterol and triglyceride levels than those ducks fed without chicory supplementation, while dietary interventions had no major (p>0.05) influence on low-density lipoprotein and high-density lipoprotein levels in duck blood. Conclusion: In this study, 10% chicory supplementation showed the best results characterized by an increase in growth performance, carcass quality, small intestinal histomorphology, and lower cholesterol levels of meat.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.4
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• pp.471-478
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• 2016

Native duck populations have lower productivity, and have not been developed as much as commercials duck breeds. However, native ducks have more importance in terms of genetic diversity and potentially valuable economic traits. For this reason, population discriminable genetic markers are needed for conservation and development of native ducks. In this study, 24 highly polymorphic microsatellite (MS) markers were investigated using commercial ducks and native East and South Asian ducks. The average polymorphic information content (PIC) value for all MS markers was 0.584, indicating high discrimination power. All populations were discriminated using 14 highly polymorphic MS markers by genetic distance and phylogenetic analysis. The results indicated that there were close genetic relationships among populations. In the structure analysis, East Asian ducks shared more haplotypes with commercial ducks than South Asian ducks, and they had more independent haplotypes than others did. These results will provide useful information for genetic diversity studies in ducks and for the development of duck traceability systems in the market.

• Journal of the Korean Society of Food Science and Nutrition
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• v.7 no.2
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• pp.29-34
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• 1978

It was conducted to find out that the influence of lipids on blood cholesterol level of chicks and ducks. In this experiments, a comparative study was carried out using chicks and ducks divided into four groups with various diet for the period of four weeks. The results were as follows: 1. The mean value of hematocrit was significantly lower for the chicks fed sesame oil and soybean oil than the chicks fed duck meat. The value of hematocrit was higher for the ducks fed sesame oil, soybean oil and duck meat than for the control group. 2. Blood glucose level was higher for the ducks group than the chicks group. It was lower blood glucose level for the chicks and ducks fed duck meat than any other groups. 3. Blood cholesterol level was lower for the chicks fed sesame oil, soybean oil, and duck meat than for those fed the basal diet(control group). In the ducks group, blood cholesterol level was high. But in the liver organ, it was lower blood cholesterol level for the chicks and ducks fed sesame oil, soybean oil and duck meat, respectively than for those fed the basal diet(control group). 4. Phospholipid of the chicks which were control groups was lower value than for those fed sesame oil and duck meat fed, the value of phospholipid was higher value.