Indigenous Muscovy Ducks in Congo Brazzaville. 2. Preliminary observations on indigenous Muscovy ducks reared under moderate inputs in Congolese conditions

Abstract

To evaluate the potential of the native Muscovy ducks in Congo, a trial was conducted with closed housing, commercial feeding and veterinary care. The characterization included reproductive performance, daily weight gain, live body weight, feed conversion ratio, body live weight productivity, and meat productivity. The experimental genetic stock was bred under natural mating and natural incubation. The number of eggs recorded per female and per clutch was 14.6 +/- 3 eggs with 2 clutches per year. The average (+/-SD) hatchability was 75% +/- 3% and the average egg weight was 72 +/- 8 g. The sexual dimorphism for body weight appeared after 3 weeks (p < 0.05). The maximum daily weight gain in males reached 55 +/- 8 g/day and occurred at 5 weeks, whereas in females it occurred at 4 weeks and reached 35 +/- 5 g/day. The carcass yield was 70% +/- 5% and 51 +/- 8% in males and females, respectively. The meat productivity was 26.7 and 11.5 kg/m2 per year in males and females, respectively. From these findings, it can be concluded that the incubation by mother duck is preferred in the small farming duck and that males should be raised for meat and females for egg production. Further studies including local poultry-related issues are needed to optimize the performance of the native Muscovy duck in Congo-Brazzaville.

Effect of management and probiotic supplementation on growth performance of Muscovy ducks

“…The average weight gain in this study is similar to results found in a previous study in Colombia that reported an average final weight of 2.9 kg for males and 1.6 kg for females (Ortiz et al 1997). Likewise, it is similar to other studies in non-improved lines of Muscovy ducks that found a weight of 2.0-2.8 kg in males and 1.5-1.7 kg in females (Banga-Mboko et al, 2007;Etuk et al, 2006;Omojola, 2007;Ramos, 2009;Yakubu, 2011).…”

Production benefits of the crossbreeding of indigenous and non-indigenous ducks—growing and laying period body weight and production performance

“…However, the body weight observed in the present study in KK and DD were higher than the report of Nageswar et al (2005) and DD body weight was comparable to the findings of Nageswar et al (2007). Banga-Mboko et al (2007) reported comparable weight in Muscovy female. Higher body weight of crosses during early laying period was reported by Nageswar et al (2005).…”

Characterisation of the local Muscovy duck in Nigeria and its potential for egg and meat production

“…Eggs from ducks in IO and IW were significantly heavier (76.4 g and 76.3 g, respectively) than eggs from those in SI. However, in Congo-Brazzaville, Banga-Mboko et al (2007) reported that laying recorded per female and per clutch was 14.6 eggs ± 3.0, while Nickolova (2004) reported greater egg weights (78.36g-85.32g) for Muscovy ducks in Bulgaria. There was however, no significant difference between ducks in IO and IW in all the parameters measured.…”

“…Huang et al (2012) reported a range of 4.7-5.1kg body weight for male Muscovy ducks at slaughter. Meat productivity was 26.7 and 11.5 kg/m 2 per year in males and females, respectively (Banga-Mboko et al, 2007). Meat productivity was 26.7 and 11.5 kg/m 2 per year in males and females, respectively (Banga-Mboko et al, 2007).…”