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2011 - 20162
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Subject: Poultry Science × Author: STELLA CYRIAC × Start date: 2000 ×
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    DEVELOPMENT OF A MEAT LINE OF KUTTANAD DUCKS (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus)
    (COLLEGE OF VETERINARY AND ANIMAL SCIENCES MANNUTHY, THRISSUR, 2016-12-30) STELLA CYRIAC; Leo Joseph
    A selection experiment was conducted in Kuttanad ducks at University Poultry Farm, Mannuthy under Kerala Veterinary and Animal Sciences University with the objective of developing a meat line. One thousand and eighty eight day-old Kuttanad ducklings procured from progressive farmers of Kerala formed the base generation (S0). Based on body weight at eighth week, top ranking 150 females and 25 males were selected through individual selection method. From the 25 sire families, 979, 969 and 1610 ducklings were produced by artificial insemination in S1, S2 and S3 generation in pedigreed hatches. Body weight, feed consumption and mortality were recorded at fortnightly intervals till 12th week of age in each generation. Genetic parameters for body weight at 8, 10 and 12 weeks were estimated using full sib correlation method. Selection differential, intensity of selection and response to selection were calculated for body weight at 8 weeks. Carcass characteristics were evaluated at 8, 10 and 12 weeks of age in four generations. The body weight at 18 and 40 weeks, feed consumption from 13 to 40 weeks, age at first egg and age at 10 and 50 per cent production, duck housed egg production and egg weight at 30 and 40 weeks were recorded in the selected parent stock of S0, S1 and S2 generations. The mean body weight at 8 weeks was 1103.38 g in the S0 generation. An improvement of 270.51 g could be recorded at 8 weeks in S3 generation. The period of active weight gain was shifted to 4th and 6th week in S3 generation whereas it was 8th week in the previous generations. The total per cent of observations above 1200 g weight increased over generations and the increase is more pronounced at 8 weeks of age. The results also indicate that a compensatory growth mechanism is present in ducks wherein the lower body weight in the early stages of growth are compensated in the subsequent weeks and they attain 90 per cent of the adult body weight by 12 weeks of age. The heritability estimates for body weight at 8 weeks of age based on sire plus dam components (h2 s+d) were 0.251, 0.313 and 0.243 in S1, S2 and S3 generations. The realised heritability was 0.60. High values were observed for phenotypic correlation between body weight at 8 and 10, 8 and 12 and 10 and 12 weeks of age. The genetic correlations were higher than the environmental correlations except in the sire component in S1 generation. The regression coefficients indicate that higher increase in body weight per generation was obtained for body weight at 8 weeks (94 g) rather than for body weight at 10 (56 g) and 12 weeks (55 g). S3 generation showed the lowest cumulative feed conversion ratio of 2.39 up to 8 weeks. The carcass characteristics of male and female Kuttanad ducks at 8, 10 and 12 weeks of age showed that there was improvement in the eviscerated yield of carcass over generations and S3 generation attained the highest yield at 8 weeks. The performance of parent stock indicated that selection had not altered their egg production performance. Artificial Insemination at 5 days interval could achieve 89 per cent fertility in the parent stock. The results of the selection experiment indicate that selection for body weight at 8 weeks was effective in improving the body weight and a line of Kuttanad ducks with meat characteristics could be developed. The higher body weight, body weight gain and the distribution of birds in the higher weight groups reveal that the S3 generation of Kuttanad ducks possess the characteristics of a meat line. The trend observed in body weight gain, frequency distribution, response to selection and correlated responses as well as the high heritability and phenotypic correlation for body weight at 8 weeks establish that the criterion for selection (8th week body weight) employed in the present study was appropriate. The carcass characteristics especially the eviscerated yield and yield of cut-up parts over generations indicate that the meat producing potential of Kuttanad ducks has improved as a result of selection. It could be concluded that Kuttanad ducks could attain its optimum meat production characteristics at 8 weeks and hence it could be considered as the ideal age for processing.
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    ThesisItemOpen Access
    SEMEN QUALITY CHARACTERISTICS OF KUTTANAD, WHITE PEKIN (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus) AND MUSCOVY (Cairina moschata momelanotus) DUCKS
    (COLLEGE OF VETERINARY AND ANIMAL SCIENCES-MANNUTHY,THRISSUR, 2011) STELLA CYRIAC; Leo Joseph
    An experiment was conducted to evaluate the semen quality characteristics in twenty four adult drakes of 36 weeks age, eight each from White Pekin, Kuttanad and Muscovy breeds, which were housed in individual cages without any artificial lighting. All drakes were provided with a diet containing 23 per cent Crude Protein and 2800 kcal Metabolisable Energy / kg diet and water ad libitum. Manual Massage method was used for collection of semen. The drakes were trained once a week for about three months and semen was routinely collected once a week during the experimental period. The semen was evaluated for macroscopical and microscopical parameters. Methylene Blue Reduction Time Test was conducted to estimate the metabolic activity of spermatozoa. The resistance of the spermatozoa to heat and cold shock were also examined. The semen samples were diluted in four different extenders viz. Normal Saline (NS), Phosphate Buffer Saline (PBS), Lake Poultry Semen Extender (LPSE) and Beltsville Poultry Semen Extender (BPSE) and were kept at room temperature and also at refrigeration temperature and the post dilution motility was assessed at 0, 2, 4, 8, 16 and 24 hours. There was no significant difference in the semen volume between the breeds and also between the drakes within breeds. Majority of the semen samples were white in colour in White Pekin (70.84 per cent), Kuttanad (66.67 per cent) and Muscovy (100.00 per cent). White Pekin and Kuttanad semen showed a medium thick consistency but in Muscovy the consistency was watery. The appearance score of White Pekin and Kuttanad drake semen was similar (3.29) while it was a little lower for Muscovy drake semen (2.46). Semen pH was found to be slightly alkaline in all the breeds. The important semen contaminants were faecal matter and uric acid crystals. The density of spermatozoa differed significantly between the breeds with a significantly lower value in Muscovy drakes. But, there was no significant difference in the sperm concentration between the drakes of the same breed. The percentage of live, dead, normal and abnormal sperms did not differ significantly between breeds and also between drakes of the same breed. The Methylene Blue Reduction Time was higher in Muscovy when compared toWhite Pekin and Kuttanad. But, MBRT showed no significant difference when estimated using two different extenders viz. LPSE and BPSE in White Pekin and Muscovy. The spermatozoa of the three breeds were able to withstand heat shock for ten minutes and cold shock for upto one hour. The results of post dilution motility revealed that storage of the diluted samples at refrigeration temperature prolonged the livability of spermatozoa when compared to that stored at room temperature. The diluents containing buffer and energy substrates viz. PBS, LPSE and BPSE were efficient in prolonging the motility.