ABSTRACT The present study evaluated the effects of early post-hatch feeding on the growth and development of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) of mule ducks reared in the humid tropics to five days of age. A total of 120 newly hatched mule ducklings were selected and randomly assigned to four treatment groups. Each with 30 birds, (T1, T2, T3, and T4) is based on four feeding regimes (feed accessed at 3, 24, 36, and 48 hours post-hatch) for five days. The ducklings were euthanized each day and the parameters: small intestinal samples were processed for histological analysis and histometrical parameters including villi length and width, crypt width and depth, and the number of goblet cells per villus was measured, statistically analyzed using ANOVA and tabulated. The results of this study indicated that the earliest post-hatch feeding (at 3 hours post-hatch) showed the highest body weight (99.65 g), heavier (GIT) organ (p<0.05), highest duodenal length (120.71 cm), than other feeding times. The villi height of the three segments of the GIT increased (p>0.05) continuously regardless of the post-hatch feeding times. Based on the results, it was concluded that feeding at 3 hours post-hatch promoted the growth and development of the GIT faster than 24, 36, and 38 hours post hatch feeding.

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 of the breast, leg, and thigh quarters was evaluated. Weights of the organs of the gastrointestinal tract were then taken. The feed conversion ratio (FCR), feed intake and meat: skin: bone ratio was calculated. At 0-7 days cumulative feed intake and FCR was influenced by treatment (p=0.022, p=0.026; respectively). Body weight at slaughter ranged from 2969-3382.5g. Treatment did not affect the weights of the bone, fat, muscle and skin, of the breast quarter (p=0.698, p=0.893, p=0.940; respectively). However, weight of the bone for the leg and thigh quarter differed among treatments. A lower pH24 was observed for both breast and leg and thigh quarters. The study suggests that early post-hatch feeding at 3-48hrs does not affect the performance of Mule ducks.