Livestock Research for Rural Development 30 (1) 2018 Guide for preparation of papers LRRD Newsletter

Citation of this paper

Effects of different lysine and energy levels in diets on the performance and carcass traits of growing local Muscovy ducks

Nguyen Thuy Linh, Nguyen Thi Kim Dong1 and Nguyen Van Thu1

Department of Animal Husbandry, Faculty of Agriculture, Travinh University, Travinh City, Vietnam
1 Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture and Applied Biology, Cantho University, Cantho City, Vietnam
ntkdong@ctu.edu.vn

Abstract

A study was carried out to determine the optimum levels of dietary lysine (Lys) and apparent metabolizable energy (AME) and their interaction with respect to growth performance and carcass traits of growing local Muscovy ducks. For the period from 5-8 weeks of age, a total of 180 local Muscovy ducks was arranged in a factorial design with two factors, dietary Lys level (0.8, 1.0 and 1.2%) and AME levels (12.6 and 13.0 MJ/kg). The crude protein (CP) content of the diets was 19.0%. There were three replicates of 10 birds, balanced for sex per experimental unit. For the period of 9-12 weeks of age, 180 local Muscovy ducks were allocated to a similar design as for the first period, except that the Lys levels were 0.7, 0.9 and 1.1% and the AME levels were 13.4 and 13.8 MJ/kg. The CP content of the diets was 17.0%.

The results showed that in the period from 5 to 8 weeks of age, feed and CP intakes, daily weight gain (DWG) and final live weight of the ducks were significantly higher (P<0.05) for the Lys 1.20 treatment compared to the Lys 0.80 treatments, and for the AME 13.0 treatments (P<0.05) compared to the 12.6 MJ ME treatments. In the period 9 to 12 weeks of age higher DWG, carcass weight and breast and thigh meat were found for the Lys 1.1 and AME 13.8 treatments (P<0.05). It was concluded that levels of 1.2% Lys, and 13.0 MJ/kg DM in diets improved DWG and final live weight for the period from 5-8 weeks of age, while for the period of 9-12 weeks of age, dietary levels of 1.1% Lys, and 13.8 MJ/kg DM resulted in better DWG and carcass performance.

Key words: growth, meat quality, nutrition, water fowls, weight gain


Introduction

The duck has a great potential to meet the growing demand for high quality protein in human diets. In order to meet this potential, more research is needed to establish their dietary requirements (Adeola 2006). Lysine is typically the second limiting amino acid in poultry diets and the level of this amino acid is usually considered in diet formulation for ducks. Also, lysine is the basal amino acid used to calculate ratio of other essential amino acids in diets following the ideal protein (Mack et al 1999; Baker et al 2002). Furthermore, defining the optimum lysine requirement is economically important because feeding diets either deficient or in excess of the lysine requirement can translate to poor performance or increased diet cost, and increased environmental pollution due to nitrogen excretion (Moran 1992; Ospina-Roja 2012). Besides, ducks consume the amount of energy required for maintenance and normal growth (Adeola 2006). The appropriate combination of lysine and energy, as well as the optimum balance of essential amino acids in the ration iscorrelated positively with growth performance and carcass quality of ducks (Eits et al 2002; Collin et al 2003; Purba et al 2016).

Studies on the nutritional requirement of Muscovy ducks generally refer to the nutritional requirement of Peking ducks, as recommended by the NRC (1994), Chen (1996) and several authors (Adeola 2006; Liu and Niu 2008; Choo et al 2014). The lysine requirement of 0-2 weeks old Peking ducks is 0.90%, and at the age of 2-7 weeks 0.65% (NRC 1994). For Muscovy ducks, INRA (1989) recommended dietary levels of 19% CP and 0.91% lysine for the starter period and 16% CP and 0.76% lysine for the growing period. Ketaren et al (2011) recommended that the requirement of metabolizable energy and lysine for maximum body weight gain and minimum feed conversion ratio of growing crossbred Muscovy for the starter period was 12.13 MJ/kg and 1.15%, respectively, and in the finisher period 11.30 MJ/kg and 0.80%, respectively. However, lysine and energy contents for growing local Muscovy ducks still needs to be determined for optimum growth performance and carcass traits.

The present study aimed to determine optimum levels of dietary lysine and ME by evaluating feed intakes, growth performance and carcass traits of local Muscovy ducks for the periods from 5-8 weeks and 9-12 weeks of age.


Methods and materials

Location and time of experiment

The experiment was carried out at Experimental farm of Tra Vinh University in Tra Vinh City and then feeds, refusals and feces were analyzed at the Laboratory of Dept. of Animal Sciences of Can Tho University. The experimental time was from April to August 2016.

Experimental animals

The experiment was carried out using local Muscovy ducks produced in Cang Long district, Tra Vinh province. One-day-old ducklings were selected, brooded and fed a commercial diet that contained 20% CP and 12.5 MJ/kg fed ad-libitum from 1 to 28 days of age. The trial was carried out in 2 stages when the birds were 5-8 and 9-12 weeks of age. The birds were identified and then all were individually weighed with average initial live weights being around 750 ± 13.1 g at 5 weeks and 2,050 ± 18.8 g at 9 weeks of age. All birds were vaccinated with Duck Plague and Influenza vaccines at two and three weeks against these diseases.

Experimental feeds

Maize, broken rice, rice bran, fish meal, soybean meal and dicalciphosphate (DCP) were bought at a local feed store in Tra Vinh province, on one occasion during the trial. All feed ingredients were analyzed for chemical composition, and the experimental diets were formulated and offered in mash form. The chemical composition of the feed ingredients is shown in Table 1.

Table 1. Chemical composition of the feed ingredients used in the experimental diets

Item (%)

Maize

Rice
bran

Broken
rice

Fish
meal

Soybean
meal

DCP

Premix-
vitamin

Lysine

Methionine

DM

88.6

87.1

87.1

92.1

94.3

100

100

97.4

99.3

OM

99.0

90.9

98.5

79.5

94.5

14.8

-

-

-

CP

8.71

12.3

8.72

60.2

43.1

-

-

-

-

EE

3.96

9.10

2.28

8.55

18.2

-

-

-

-

NFE

83.0

64.2

89.2

9.55

23.9

-

-

-

-

CF

3.34

5.27

3.34

1.18

9.33

-

-

-

-

NDF

19.6

25.7

19.6

7.15

17.2

-

-

-

-

ADF

3.96

10.2

1.79

1.84

11.6

-

-

-

-

Ash

0.99

9.06

0.65

20.5

4.57

85.2

-

-

-

Lysine

0.27

0.49

0.23

3.38

1.92

-

-

74.5

-

Methionine

0.17

0.23

0.19

1.42

0.57

-

-

-

87.1

Ca

0.16

0.32

0.22

5.83

0.56

23.5

-

-

-

P

0.03

1.30

0.24

2.52

0.65

18.6

-

-

-

AME (MJ/kg)

15.67

11.50

14.30

12.40

14.53

-

-

-

-

Dry matter (DM), Organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), crude fiber (CF), Neutral detergent fiber (NDF),
ether extract (EE), DCP: Dicalcium phosphate, Lys: lysine, Met: methionine, AME: metabolizable energy

Experimental design and diets
Period from 5 – 8 weeks of age

A total of 180 local Muscovy ducks at four weeks of age was allotted in a factorial design with two factors, dietary lysine, including levels of 0.8, 1.0 and 1.2% and apparent metabolizable energy (AME), with levels of 12.6 and 13.0 MJ/ kg DM, with 19% CP. There were thus 6 treatments and three replicate cages of 10 birds, balanced for sex per experimental unit.

Dietary feed ingredient composition for 5-8 week old Muscovy ducks presented in Table 2.

Table 2. Dietary feed ingredient composition for the period from 5-8 weeks (%, DM)

Feed

AME 12.55

AME 12.97

Lys 0.8

Lys 1.0

Lys 1.2

Lys 0.8

Lys 1.0

Lys 1.2

Maize

7.00

9.00

10.0

16.5

15.0

15.5

Rice bran

59.0

54.1

52.7

48.8

44.6

43.1

Broken rice

13.1

18.0

18.0

13.1

20.0

20.0

Fish meal

5.00

11.5

11.7

5.70

9.40

9.20

Soybean meal

15.0

6.30

6.30

15.0

10.0

11.0

Premix -mineral-vitamin

0.30

0.30

0.30

0.30

0.30

0.30

Lysine

-

0.17

0.41

-

0.20

0.44

Methionine

0.05

-

-

0.04

0.02

0.02

DCP

0.50

0.50

0.50

0.50

0.50

0.50

Total

100

100

100

100

100

100

LLys 0.8; Lys 1.0; Lys 1.2: treatments had lysine levels of 0.8, 1.0 and 1.2% lysine; AME 12.56 and AME 12.97: treatments had metablisable energy levels of 12.6and 13.0MJ/kg DM, respectively. Premix-mineral-Vitamin per kg: vitamin A: 2,500,000UI; vitamin D3: 600,000UI; vitamin E: 4000mg; vitamin K3:400mg; folic acid: 80mg; choline: 100,000mg; manganese: 14g; Zn: 40g; Fe: 32g; Cu: 48g; I: 0.5g; Cobalt: 0.28g; Selenium: 0.04g; DCP: dicalcium phosphate

Chemical composition and AME values of diets for the 5 - 8 week old period are shown in Table 3.

Table 3. Chemical composition and AME values of diets for the period from 5-8 weeks (%, DM)

Item (%)

AME 12.6

AME 13.0

Lys 0.8

Lys 1.0

Lys 1.2

Lys 0.8

Lys 1.0

Lys 1.2

DM

88.7

88.4

88.5

88.8

88.7

88.8

OM

91.6

90.9

90.7

92.3

91.8

91.7

CP

18.9

19.0

19.0

18.9

18.9

19.0

EE

9.19

7.86

7.79

8.70

7.80

7.85

NFE

58.5

59.8

59.7

60.0

61.0

60.6

CF

5.01

4.12

4.08

4.80

4.18

4.21

NDF

20.0

18.3

18.1

19.3

17.6

17.5

ADF

8.37

7.12

7.01

7.72

6.83

6.81

Ash

7.68

8.28

8.20

7.00

7.21

7.07

Lysine

0.81

1.00

1.20

0.81

1.00

1.20

Methionine

0.38

0.38

0.38

0.38

0.38

0.38

Ca

0.75

1.09

1.10

0.77

0.97

0.96

P

1.13

1.19

1.18

1.02

1.04

1.02

AME (MJ/kg)

12.56

12.55

12.56

12.96

12.94

12.96

Period from 9 - 12 weeks of age

A total of 180 local Muscovy ducks at 9 weeks of age was selected based on evarage live weight from the birds used for the 5-8 week period. Then, they were allocated to six treatments in a factorial design with two factors, three levels of dietary lysine (0.7, 0.9 and 1.1%) and two levels of apparent metabolizable energy (AME) (13.4 and 13.8 MJ/kg DM), with 17.0% CP, and with three replicates of 10 birds, balanced for sex per experimental unit.

Feed ingredient composition in diets of the 9-12 week old local Muscovy ducks is shown in Table 4.

Table 4. Dietary feed ingredient composition for the period 9-12 weeks (%, DM)

Feed

AME 13.4

AME 13.8

Lys 0.7

Lys 0.9

Lys 1.1

Lys 0.7

Lys 0.9

Lys 1.1

Maize

25.0

25.0

26.0

36.5

38.5

39.2

Rice bran

37.7

37.4

36.0

27.2

26.0

25.0

Broken rice

20.0

20.0

20.0

18.0

18.0

18.0

Fish meal

5.50

5.56

5.57

6.00

8.50

8.50

Soybean meal

11.0

11.0

11.0

11.5

8.00

8.00

Premix- mineral-vitamin

0.30

0.30

0.30

0.30

0.30

0.30

Lysine

-

0.23

0.47

-

0.21

0.45

Methionine

0.05

0

0

0.04

0.02

0.02

DCP

0.50

0.50

0.50

0.50

0.50

0,50

Total

100

100

100

100

100

100

LLys 0.7; Lys 0.9; Lys 1.1: treatments had lysine levels of 0.7, 0.9 and 1.1% ; ME 13.4 and ME 13.8: treatments had metablisable energy levels of 13.4 and 13.8 MJ/kg DM, respectively. Vitamin-mineral premix per kg: vitamin A: 2.500.000UI; vitamin D3: 600.000UI; vitamin E: 4000mg; vitamin K3:400mg; folic acid: 80mg; choline:100,000mg; manganese:14g; Zn:40g; Fe:32g; Cu:48g; I:0.5g; cobalt:0.28g; selenium:0.04g; DCP: dicalcium phosphate

Chemical composition and AME values of diets for the 9 - 12 week period are shown in Table 5.

Table 5. Chemical composition and AME values for diets for the 9 - 12 week period (%, DM)

Item (%)

AME 13.4

AME 13.8

Lys 0.7

Lys 0.9

Lys 1.1

Lys 0.7

Lys 0.9

Lys 1.1

DM

88.6

88.7

88.7

88.8

88.8

88.79

OM

93.5

93.2

93.0

94.2

93.7

93.5

CP

16.9

16.9

16.9

16.9

17.0

16.9

EE

7.43

7.40

7.33

7.02

6.54

6.48

NFE

64.8

64.6

64.6

66.0

66.3

66.3

CF

4.21

4.19

4.15

4.07

3.76

3.73

NDF

17.7

17.7

17.5

17.3

17.0

16.9

ADF

6.58

6.55

6.45

6.01

5.59

5.51

Ash

5.92

5.91

5.82

5.20

5.48

5.40

Lysine

0.71

0.90

1.10

0.71

0.90

1.10

Methionine

0.33

0.33

0.33

0.33

0.33

0.33

Ca

0.73

0.74

0.74

0.75

0.88

0.87

P

0.86

0.86

0.84

0.74

0.77

0.76

AME (MJ/kg)

13.4

13.37

13.38

13.83

13.80

113.80

Housing and management

The birds were housed in sheds divided into pens by wire netting, with a thatched roof and concrete floors covered with rice husks for bedding, and with an average density of four birds per m2. The temperature in the house averaged 23-250C in the morning, 32-370C at noon and 21-250C at night, with a maximum of 370CC. Natural light was used in the day and electric bulbs at night to allow eating as well as to deter mice. The manure and litter were removed once every week. Both drinkers and feeders were cleaned daily each morning. Drinkers were filled with fresh water for the drinking and bathing requirements of the birds. The ducks were offered feed three times a day, at 7:30, 13:30 and 17:00 h and refusals were collected and weighed daily each morning for calculating feed intakes.

Chemical analysis

The feed ingredients, maize, broken rice, rice bran, fish meal and soybean meal were analyzed for DM, OM, CP, EE, CF, Ash (AOAC 1990) and NDF and ADF (Van Soest et al 1991), Ca, P and amino acid composition (Amino Quant 1990). The breast and thigh meat was analysed for DM, CP, EE and ash by standard AOAC methods (AOAC 1990).

Measurements
Statistical analysis

The data were analyzed by analysis of variance using the ANOVA of General Linear Model of Minitab Reference Manual Release 16.1.0 (Minitab 2010). The Tukey test was used to compare the means of the criteria (Minitab 2010).

Picture 1. Experiment design and birds


Results and discussion

Period from 5 – 8 weeks of age
Daily intakes of feed, nutrients and metabolizable energy

Daily intakes of feed, nutrients and AME of local Muscovy ducks are shown in Table 6.

Table 6. Daily intakes of feed, nutrients (g/duck) and AME of Muscovy ducks from 5-8 week old

Item

Lysine levels

A ME level s

SE/P

Lys 0.8

Lys 1.0

Lys 1.2

AME 12.6

AME 13.0

Lysine level

AME level

Lys*AME

DM

96.1b

98.9ab

103a

96.6

102

1.73/0.039

1.41/0.016

2.44/0.815

OM

88.4

90.4

94.1

87.9

93.9

1.58/0.066

1.29/0.007

2.23/0.848

CP

18.2b

18.7ab

19.6a

18.3

19.3

0.33/0.027

0.27/0.019

0.46/0.793

EE

8.59a

7.74b

8.07ab

7.98

8.29

0.15/0.005

0.12/0.092

0.21/0.868

NFE

56.9b

59.8ab

62.1a

57.3

61.8

1.03/0.013

0.84/0.003

1.45/0.745

CF

4.71a

4.11b

4.28b

4.24

4.49

0.08/0.001

0.06/0.018

0.11/0.776

NDF

18.9

17.8

18.4

18.1

18.5

0.32/0.090

0.27/0.343

0.46/0.749

ADF

7.72a

6.89b

7.13b

7.23

7.27

0.13/0.002

0.11/0.785

0.18/0.938

Ash

7.04b

7.65a

7.87a

7.79

7.25

0.13/0.002

0.11/0.004

0.19/0.172

Lysine

0.78c

0.99b

1.24a

0.97

1.03

0.02/0.001

0.01/0.018

0.02/0.980

Methionine

0.36b

0.37ab

0.39a

0.37

0.39

0.01/0.039

0.01/0.016

0.01/0.815

Ca

0.73b

1.02a

1.06a

0.95

0.92

0.01/0.001

0.01/0.121

0.02/0.001

P tổng số

1.03b

1.10ab

1.13a

1.13

1.05

0.02/0.008

0.02/0.004

0.03/0.264

AME (MJ/duck)

1.23b

1.26ab

1.32a

1.21

1.32

0.02/0.038

0.02/0.001

0.03/0.830

a, b, c Means with different letters within the same row are significantly different at the 5% level

The results of Table 6 show that, daily DM intake significantly (P<0.039) increased with increasing lysine levels, with the highest value (103 g/bird) for the Lys 1.2 treatment. The DM intake was significantly (P<0.016) higher for the AME 13.0 treatment. The result was consistent with the intake data of 103 g/bird in a previous study on 4-10 week old Muscovy ducks fed duckweed as replacement for soybean meal in a broken rice basal diet in the Mekong Delta (Bui Xuan Men et al 1996). However, DM intake in our experiment was lower than the value of 118 g/bird in an earlier trial on 3-6 week old Muscovy ducks fed diets that contained 18% CP and 12.23 MJ ME/kg (Laila et al 2012). Similarly, the daily CP intakes were significantly (P<0.027) different among lysine and between ME levels. The higher results were for the Lys 1.2 and AME 13.0 treatments, probably due to higher DM intakes in these treatments. Daily intakes of CF and ADF were significantly (P<0.001); P<0.002, respectively) lower for the Lys 1.0, Lys 1.2 and AME 12.6 treatments. Daily intake of lysine significantly (P<0.001) increased with increasing lysine levels in the diets, which corresponded with the experimental design, with the highest values in the Lys 1.2 and AME 13.0 treatments. Methionine intake was significantly (P<0.039) higher for the birds fed the Lys 1.2 diet. Daily intakes of Ca were singificantly lower for the Lys0.8 treatment and the interaction between two factors was unexpected. Daily AME intakes significantly increased with increasing lysine in the diet, with the highest intakes (P<0.038) for ducks fed the Lys 1.2 and AME 13.0 diets, possibly due to higher DM intakes.

Daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio

The weight gain, live weight and feed conversion ratio of 5-8 week old Muscovy ducks are shown in Table 7.

Table 7. Daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio of Muscovy ducks from 5-8 week old (g/bird)

Item

Lysine level

AME level

SE/P

Lys 0.8

Lys 1.0

Lys 1.2

ME 12.6

ME 13.0

Lysine level

ME level

Lys*ME

Initial weight

753

746

745

747

749

13.1/0.898

10.7/0.911

18.5/0.97

Final weight

1991b

2044ab

2071a

1999

2072

20.6/0.049

16.8/0.010

19.2/0.81

Daily weight gain

44.2b

46.3ab

47.4a

44.7

47.2

0.77/0.039

0.63/0.015

1.09/0.85

FCR

2.17

2.14

2.19

2.16

2.19

0.06/0.835

0.05/0.92

0.08/0.97

CP/weight gain (g/kg)

411

405

415

410

411

11.1/0.812

9.03/0.97

15.6/0.98

ME/weight gain (MJ/kg)

27.7

27.2

27.9

27.2

28.1

0.74/0.819

0.61/0.30

1.06/0.98

a, b Means with different letters within the same row are significantly different at the 5% level

The effect of lysine level was significant, with the highest daily weight gains (DWG) foundon the Lys 1.2 treatment and the lowest on the Lys 0.8 (P<0.039). Also, DWG was significantly (P<0.015) higher on the AME 13.0 treatment than that on the AME 12.6 treatment (Table 7). The explanation is the higher DM, CP, lysine, methionine and AME intakes of these treatments. The results in our study were higher than those in a study on 4-8 week old Muscovy ducks fed a diet that contained 18% CP and 12.6MJ ME/kg (34.9g/day), reported by Miclosanu and Roibu (2001).The different results obtained between these studies can be explained by the different diets and management. Significantly (P<0.049) higher final live weights (FLW) were found in the Lys 1.2 treatment and in the AME 12.97, corresponding with the results of daily weight gains. The results in our experiment were consistent with those (1,973- 2,142 g) of a study on 3-6 week old Muscovy ducks reported by Gaafar et al (2013).

There were no significant differences in feed conversion ratio (FCR) among lysine levels and between AME levels (P>0.835). These values are in agreement with reports of Gaafar et al (2013) that Muscovy ducks had FCR of 2.04, but were lower than the value of 2.71 in a study on crossbred Muscovy ducks reported by Baéza et al (2012). In this period the CP/weight gain (g/kg) and AME/weight gain (g/MJ) of the ducks was similar for the Lys treatments, and for the AME treatments (from 405 to 415 and from 27.2 to 28.1, respectively). Feeding duckweed as replacement for soybean meal in a rice bran basal diet for local Muscovy ducks from 5 to 12 weeks of age, Dang Thi My Tu et al (2012) reported values from 653 to 700 and from 55.2 to 56.1, respectively.

Period from 9-12 weeks of age
Daily intakes of feed, nutrients and AME

Daily intakes of feed, nutrients and AME of 9-12 week old Muscovy ducks are shown inTable 8.

Table 8. Daily intakes of feed, nutrients and AME of Muscovy ducks from 9-12 weeks old (g/bird)

Item

Lysine level

AME level

SE/P

Lys 0.7

Lys 0.9

Lys 1.1

AME 13.4

AME 13.8

Lysine level

AME level

Lys*AME

DM

98.6b

102ab

109a

99.6

106

2.53/0.047

2.07/0.040

3.58/0.313

OM

92.6

95.1

101

92.8

99.7

2.38/0.063

1.94/0.027

3.36/0.305

CP

16.7b

17.3ab

18.4a

16,9

18.0

0.43/0.050

0.35/0.035

0.61/0.295

EE

7.11

7.07

7.49

7.35

7.09

0.18/0.231

0.15/0.242

0.25/0.066

NFE

64.5b

66.6ab

71.0a

64.4

70.4

1.66/0.048

1.36/0.008

2.35/0.371

CF

4.08

4.03

4.28

4.16

4.09

0.10/0.251

0.08/0.566

0.15/0.058

NDF

17.3

17.6

18.6

17.6

18.1

0.44/0.111

0.36/0.284

0.62/0.228

ADF

6.19

6.15

6.49

6.49

6.06

0.16/0.290

0.13/0.032

0.22/0.064

Ash

5.46b

5.78ab

6.09a

5.86

5.70

0.14/0.027

0.11/0.353

0.20/0.492

Lysine

0.70c

0.92b

1.19a

0.91

0.96

0.02/0.001

0.02/0.043

0.03/0.368

Methionine

0.33b

0.34ab

0.36a

0.33

0.35

0.01/0.047

0.01/0.040

0.01/0.314

Ca

0.73b

0.83a

0.87a

0.73

0.89

0.02/0.001

0.02/0.001

0.03/0.209

P

0.79b

0.83ab

0.87a

0.85

0.80

0.02/0.042

0.01/0.079

0.02/0.517

AME (MJ/day)

1.34b

1.38ab

1.47a

1.33

1.47

0.03/0.050

0.03/0.005

0.05/0.326

a, b, c Means with different letters within the same row are significantly different at the 5% level

The results in Table 8 show that, daily DM intake significantly (P<0,047) increased with increasing lysine levels, with the highest value (109 g/bird) for the Lys 1.1 treatment. The DM intake of the AME 13.8 treatment was significantly (P<0.040) higher than that of the AME 13.4 treatment. The DM intakes are in agreement with ranges of 103 -115 g/bird and 102-110 g/bird found in previous studies on local Muscovy ducks fed brewery waste as replacement for concentrate (Nguyen Thi Kim Dong and Ogle 2003), and in a study where duckweed replaced soybean meal in a rice bran basal diet (Dang Thi My Tu et al 2012), respectively. The daily CP intakes were significantly (P<0.05) different among lysine and between AME levels. The CP intakes were higher (P<0.05) for the Lys 1.1 and AME 13.8 treatments, probably due to higher DM intakes in these treatments. The results obtained were similar to findings of 15.6-19.8 g CP/bird reported in a previous study on local Muscovy ducks fed duckweed as a replacement for soybean meal in a rice bran basal diet (Dang Thi My Tu et al 2012). Daily intake of lysine and methionine significantly (P<0.05) increased with increasing lysine levels in diets, corresponding with the experimental design. The highest values were in the Lys 1.1 and AME 13.8 treatments. Daily AME intakes were highest (P<0.05) for birds fed the Lys 1.1 and AME 13.8 diets, as a result of the higher DM intakes.

Daily weight gain, final live weight and feed conversion ratio (FCR)

The weight gain, final weight and FCR of 9-12 week old Muscovy ducks are shown in Table 9.

Table 9. Daily weight gain and feed conversion ratio of Muscovy ducks from 9-12 weeks old (g/bird)

Item

Lysine level

AME level

SE/P

Lys 0.7

Lys 0.9

Lys 1.1

AME 13,4

AME 13,8

Lysine level

AME level

Lys*AME

Initial weight (g/bird)

2051

2061

2041

2041

2060

18.8/0.756

15.3/0.388

26.6/0.633

Final weight (g/bird)

2450b

2520b

2647a

2499

2.578

24.7/0.001

20.1/0.017

34.9/0.500

Daily weight gain(g/bird/day)

14.3b

16.4b

21.6a

16.4

18.5

0.63/0.001

0.52/0.013

0.90/0.100

FCR

7.02a

6.33ab

5.04b

6.28

5.98

0.38/0.011

0.31/0.509

0.54/0.245

CP/weight gain (g/kg)

1191a

1074ab

853b

1063

1015

65.4/0.010

53.4/0.530

92.5/0.242

AME/ weight gain (MJ/kg)

95.7a

85.7ab

68.4b

84.1

82.6

5.25/0.010

4.28/0.812

7.43/0.235

a, b Means with different letters within the same row are significantly different at the 5% level

Daily weight gain (DWG) on the Lys 1.1 treatment was significantly (P<0.001) higher than on the Lys 0.7 and Lys 0.9 treatments, and was higher (P<0.013) for the AME 13.8 treatment (Table 9). These differences can be explained that higher DM, CP, lysine, methionine and AME intakes in these treatments resulting in higher DWG. The results of our trial were similar to findings of previous studies on 9-12 week old Muscovy ducks reported by Laila et al (2012) and on Muscovy ducks fed a broken rice basal diet supplemented with protein sources from water spinach, duckweed and wild taro leaves found by Phongphanith et al (2012) (18.9 g/day, 17,1-27,6 g/day, respectively). The significantly (P<0.001) higher final weights were found in the Lys 1.1 and AME 13.8 treatments (2,647 g and 2,578 g, respectively). These values are consistent with the data of studies on Muscovy ducks reported by Miclosanu and Roibu (2001), Nguyen Thi Kim Dong and Ogle (2003), Laila et al (2012) and Tu et al (2012), (2.45 kg, 2.35-2.54 kg; and 2.59 kg, 2.20-2.53 kg, respectively).

Feed conversion ratio (FCR) was significantly (P<0.011) lower for the group fed the 1.1% lysine diet (Lys 1.1), probably due to higher weight gain, while the highest value was for the birds fed 0.7% lysine in the diet (Lys 0.7) (Table 9). These results are in agreement with the data (6.03) of 9-12 week old Muscovy ducks reported by Laila et al (2012). The FCRs in the 9-12 week period were higher than those in the 5-8 week old duck period, probably because of lower daily gains, especially for the female Muscovy ducks which reach mature body weight at 10 weeks of age (Swatland 1981). The FCRs were calculated for whole experimental period from 5-12 weeks, with values of 3.62 - 4.60 which are consistent with the values of 4.32-4.63 reported by Dang Thi My Tu et al (2012). In an experiment where a concentrate was replaced by brewery waste in diets of local Muscovy ducks, Nguyen Thi Kim Dong and Ogle (2003) reported values from 607 to 918 g/kg and from 37.5 to 40.7 MJ/kg, respectively. In general these values were higher for this period compared to the period from 5 to 8 weeks of age.

Mean values for slaughter weights, carcass traits and internal organs

Mean values for slaughter weights, carcass traits and internal organs of local Muscovy ducks are shown in Table 10.

Table 10. Mean values for slaughter weights, carcass traits and internal organs of local Muscovy ducks

Item

Lysine level

AME level

SE/P

Lys 0.7

Lys 0.9

Lys 1.1

AME 13.4

AME 13.8

Lysine level

AME level

Lys*AME

Live weight, g/bird

2425c

2519b

2621a

2494

2549

17.5/0.001

14.3/0.019

24.7/0.708

Carcass weight, g

1616b

1672a

1706a

1637

1692

13.1/0.001

10.7/0.003

18.5/0.547

Carcass, %

66.6

66.4

65.1

65.6

66.4

0.47/0.095

0.39/0.186

0.67/0.791

Breast muscle, g

297b

345ab

356a

310

354

15.4/0.042

12.6/0.027

21.7/0.89

Breast muscle, %

18.3

20.6

20.8

18.9

20.9

0.80/0.10

0.66/0.054

1.14/0.97

Thigh muscle, g

252b

257ab

274a

252

270

5.49/0.035

4.48/0.018

7.76/0.416

Thigh muscle, %

15.6

15.4

16.1

15.4

16.0

0.32/0.315

0.27/0.181

0.46/0.280

Breast + Thigh muscle, g

564b

619ab

645a

594

624

16.6/0.014

13.5/0.008

23.4/0.926

Breast + Thigh muscle, %

34.9

36.9

37.8

36.2

36.9

0.82/0.075

0.67/0.023

1.16/0.827

Abdominal fat, g

21.8

25.5

28.0

22.0

28.2

2.25/0.193

1.84/0.034

3.19/0.143

Abdominal fat, %

1.34

1.53

1.64

1.34

1.68

0.13/0.327

0.11/0.055

0.19/0.122

Liver, g

46.2

43.7

47.8

45.1

46.7

2.09/0.413

1.71/0.539

2.96/0.991

Gizzard, g

66.9

68.0

66.1

65.3

68.7

2.07/0.810

1.69/0.178

2.93/0.494

Heart, g

18.4

17.9

18.1

17.6

18.7

0.89/0.931

0.73/0.308

1.26/0.526

a, b, c Means with different letters within the same row are significantly different at the 5% level

At a finishing age of 12 weeks, 36 ducks including 18 males and 18 females with representative live weights were selected from all experimental units and slaughtered for carcass evaluation. Mean carcass yields among the three lysine levels, as well as between two ME levels in diets, were significantly (P<0.05) different (Table 10). The carcass weights in the Lys 1.1 and AME 13.8 treatments were higher than those of the other treatments (P<0.001), these differences corresponding with the final weights ofthe birds. Percentages of carcass were similar among the lysine levels and between AME levels (P>0.095), being from 65.1 - 66.6%, which are similar to the values of 63.0- 68.9% in a trial on Muscovy ducks (Tugiyanti et al 2013). The weights of breast and thigh muscle were significantly (P<0.042) higher on the Lys 1.1 and AME 13.8 treatments than on the other treatments, due to higher carcass weights. The breast and thigh muscle weights in the current trial were higher than those reported by Nguyen Thi Kim Dong and Ogle (2003), of 301 g for breast muscle weight and 223 g for thigh meat weight.

The ducks fed the AME 13.8 diet had significantly (P<0.034) higher abdominal fat weights than those fed the AME 13.4 diet. This could be due to the higher DM and AME intakes of the birds in these treatments. There were no significant differences in weights of liver, gizzard and heart among the lysine levels and between AME levels (P>0. 05).

Chemical composition of breast muscle of local Muscovy ducks

Table 11. Chemical composition of breast and thigh muscle of local Muscovy ducks (% of fresh weight)

Item

Lysine level

AME level

SE/P

Lys 0.7

Lys 0.9

Lys 1.1

AME 13.4

AME 13.8

Lysine level

AME level

Lys*AME

Breast muscle

DM

25.1

26.7

26.2

25.9

26.1

0.52/0136

0.42/0.685

0.73/0.987

OM

97.3

97.3

97.4

97.4

97.3

0.18/0.969

0.15/0.834

0.26/0.908

CP

21.1

20.9

22.0

21.1

21.7

0.62/0.455

0.51/0.399

0.870.748

EE

2.91

3.01

3.06

2.99

2.99

0.09/0.501

0.07/0.945

0.13/0.321

Ash

2.79

2.68

2.63

2.72

2.69

0.18/0.807

0.15/0.920

0.25/0.747

Thigh muscle

DM

24.7

25.3

26.1

25.7

24.9

0.49/0.146

0.40/0.190

0.69/0.178

OM

97.2

97.5

97.4

97.3

97.4

0.16/0.411

0.13/0.469

0.22/0.931

CP

20.0

20.6

21.3

20.6

20.7

0.43/0.162

0.34/0.885

0.60/0.647

EE

3.35

3.23

3.05

3.11

3.37

0.22/0.464

0.18/0.316

0.31/0.750

Ash

2.81

2.50

2.64

2.72

2.58

0.16/0.411

0.13/0.469

0.22/0.931

There were no effects of dietary lysine and ME levels on the chemical composition of the breast and thigh muscle (P>0.05) (Table 11). The concentrations of DM and CP of breast muscle in the trial were similar to the values reported by Laila et al (2012) and Nguyen Thuy Linh and Nguyen Thi Kim Dong (2016), being 26% DM and 19.9% CP and 25.5-26.5% DM and 19.4-20.4% CP respectively.


Conclusions

It can be concluded that diet with 1.2% lysine and 13.0 MJ/kg DM improved daily weight gain and final live weight for the period from 5-8 weeks of age. For the period from 9-12 weeks of age, levels of 1.1% lysine, and 13.8 MJ ME/kg DM resulted in superior daily weight gain and carcass traits of local Muscovy ducks.


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Received 11 July 2017; Accepted 4 December 2017; Published 1 January 2018

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