| ABSTRACT A prolonged period without feed access negatively impacts the growth and development of poultry. This study evaluated the effect of early post-hatch feeding times on the growth and carcass performance of Mule ducks reared intensively in the tropics. A total of 48 Mule ducklings were obtained from a local hatchery and assigned in a completely randomized design to 4 treatments based on 4 feeding regimes, (T) as follows: T1 3hrs, T2 24hrs, T3 36hrs and T4 48hrs post-hatch. On day 1 the ducklings were individually weighed, followed by weekly weighing until harvest at 63 days. Feed and feed refusal was measured daily for a period of 63 days. At harvest the body weight at slaughter, eviscerated and hot carcass weight, as well as the initial pH and pH24... |
