Body growth and phenotypic variation of the carcasses of native duck lineages (Cairina moschata)

Abstract

Natives ducks are birds that require little handling and are resistant to many diseases that affect chickens. Thus, they adapt to low-input farming conditions, which contributes to the food security of small farmers. Although they exhibit potential for growth, their production characteristics are relatively unknown, so they are underexploited. The objective of this study was to compare how nonlinear models fit the growth curve of two genetic groups of duck and to evaluate variation based on carcass characteristics. Two hundred and twenty four animals were weighed weekly, from birth to 90 days of age. We used nonlinear models (Brody, Richards, Gompertz, Von Bertalanff and Logistic) to describe growth curve. For the evaluation of phenotypic variation, we measured seven carcass traits from 81 ducks carried out by principal component analysis. The logistic model best fit the growth curve, and the absolute growth rates (AGR) for the Catolé duck showed that females reached their maximum AGR at approximately 30 days but did not reach their ideal commercial weight. The drumstick, thigh and liver yields accounted for 41.17% of the differences between the Catolé and Paysandu ducks. The slaughter of male Catolé ducks is recommended between 70 and 90 days because a drastic decrease in growth occurs after this time. For the slaughter of females, feeding management modifications and improvement in growth indices are recommended to increase the final weight and AGR. The carcass yields indicate potential for native duck meat production.