EVALUATION OF DIETARY PROTEIN LEVEL FOR GROWTH IN KUTTANAD DUCKS

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of dietary protein level for growth in Kuttanad ducks (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus). One ninety two ducklings were divided randomly into four dietary treatments each with four replicates of 12 ducklings each. The dietary treatment consisted of T1 containing 16 per cent CP (Crude Protein), T2 -18 per cent CP, T3 -20 per cent CP and T4 -22 per cent CP. The energy level was 2800 kcal/ kg Metabolizable Energy (ME) in all treatments. Parameters of growth performance viz. body weight, feed consumption and feed efficiency were recorded at weekly intervals till 12 weeks of age. The significantly (p<0.05) higher growth rate along with better feed consumption in treatment with 20 per cent protein diet was compared to other treatments during 8 week of age. The results of the study indicated that the ducklings under dietary treatment containing 20 per cent CP(T3) showed improved growth performance with regards to 8th week body weight, body weight gain, feed consumption, FCR and economy as compared to T1, T2 and T4.

Keywords

• kuttanad ducks
• crude protein
• growth
• weight