Department of Poultry Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Assiut University, Assiut 71516, Egypt.
Poultry Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Zagazig University, Zagazig 44511, Egypt.
Poult Sci. 2017 Sep 1;96(11):3912-3919. doi: 10.3382/ps/pex207.
This experiment was conducted to observe the effects of varying swimming times (ST) of Muscovy ducks, raised in an open-sided house, in alleviating the deleterious effects of high temperature in hotter times of the day in the summer season on growth performance (body weight, average daily gain, feed consumption, and feed conversion ratio), carcass characteristics, body temperature, and some health aspects. We hypothesized that swimming times during the hottest periods of the day would show different performances. To test this hypothesis a total of 180 Muscovy ducklings were randomly distributed into 4 equal groups in a completely randomized design experiment. All groups were raised under similar housing conditions. Birds of the first group (C) were raised in the indoor system and had no access to a swimming pond. While all birds of the second, third, and fourth groups (T1, T2, and T3) had access to a swimming pond during 10:00 to 12:00 h, 12:00 to 14:00 h, and 14:00 to 16:00 h, respectively. The swimming pond (dimensions of 30 m length × 10 m width × 3 m depth with cement floor) was located in the front of the house. Vaccination and medical programs were undertaken according to the different ages under supervision of a licensed veterinarian. The obtained results indicated that swimming during 12:00 to 14:00 h improved (P < 0.05) growth performance, dressed carcass, meat tenderness, lymphocyte, heterophils/lymphocytes ratio, body temperature, and mortality rate of Muscovy ducks. However, bone measurement, plumage conditions, foot pad dermatitis, hock discoloration, breast blisters score, and blood hematocrit values were insignificantly better in the group with access to the swimming pond during 12:00 to 14:00 h. In conclusion, raising ducks during hot conditions in an open-sided house with access to a swimming pond at 12:00 to 14:00 h is highly recommended due to the high BW, better immunity, decreased mortality rate, and low body temperature of ducks which was positively reflected in the health condition.
本实验旨在观察圈养番鸭在开放式鸭舍中不同游泳时间（ST）对缓解夏季高温时段生长性能（体重、平均日增重、饲料消耗和饲料转化率）、体况、体温和某些健康方面的负面影响。我们假设在一天中最热的时段游泳会有不同的表现。为了验证这一假设，我们将 180 只番鸭雏鸭随机分为 4 组，采用完全随机设计实验。所有组均在相似的饲养条件下饲养。第一组（C）的鸟类饲养在室内系统中，无法进入游泳池。而第二、第三和第四组（T1、T2 和 T3）的所有鸟类都可以在 10:00 到 12:00、12:00 到 14:00 和 14:00 到 16:00 期间进入游泳池。游泳池（长 30 米、宽 10 米、深 3 米，水泥地面）位于房屋前面。疫苗接种和医疗计划根据不同年龄在持牌兽医的监督下进行。实验结果表明，12:00 至 14:00 期间游泳可改善（P < 0.05）番鸭的生长性能、体况、肉质嫩度、淋巴细胞、异嗜性粒细胞/淋巴细胞比值、体温和死亡率。然而，在 12:00 至 14:00 期间可进入游泳池的组的骨骼测量、羽毛状况、脚垫皮炎、跗关节变色、乳房水疱评分和血液红细胞压积值没有显著改善。综上所述，在开放式鸭舍中饲养番鸭，在高温时段提供游泳池，并在 12:00 至 14:00 期间让鸭子游泳是非常推荐的，因为这可以提高番鸭的体重、增强免疫力、降低死亡率和降低体温，这对鸭的健康状况有积极的影响。
