GROWTH PERFORMANCE, CARCASS TRAITS AND ECONOMIC VALUES OF PEKIN, MUSCOVY, AND MULARD DUCKS

This study aimed to reconnoiter breed variations in productivity, traits of carcass, economic rate, and IGF-1 gene regulation for meat production among Pekin, Muscovy, and Mulard ducks. A 10-week trial was conducted, using 120 ducklings (2-week old) that were divided into three groups based on breed. Each breed was kept in a separate group, divided into four replicates of 10 birds each. Muscovy ducks exhibited superior body weight, weight gain, feed conversion ratio, dressing and breast percentage compared to the other breeds (P < 0.001). The highest percentage of crude protein was observed in the meat of Mulard ducks leg (23.17) and breast (50.55), and in Muscovy breast meat (51.04). Pekin ducks yielded a significantly higher (P < 0.001) leg and breast fat content (6.27, 6.40 respectively) than Muscovy (4.58, 4.26 respectively) or Mulard ducks (4.13, 3.88 respectively). Notably, Muscovy ducks in comparison to the other breeds yielded the highest gross margin ($1.12) and lowest budget to produce 1kg of live body weight ($2.08) (P=0.004). Furthermore, hepatic IGF-1 and IGF1R expression was higher in the Muscovy breed than in the other breeds. These genes increase the growth and development of muscles. Therefore, the Muscovy ducks are generally superior in terms of performance, carcass traits, and economic values.