Leo JosephJENY GEORGE2020-07-242020-07-242016http://krishikosh.egranth.ac.in/handle/1/5810149795An experiment was conducted to determine the requirement of dietary protein level for growth in Kuttanad ducklings at the Department of Poultry Science, College of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Mannuthy. One hundred ninety two ducklings were divided randomly into four dietary treatments, each with four replicates of 12 ducklings each. The dietary treatment consisted of T1, 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. Identical management practices were followed for all treatments. Data on body weight, body weight gain and feed consumption were recorded at weekly interval from day old to 12 weeks of age.The processing yields and losses were studied at the end of 8 and 12 weeks of age. Fatty acid composition of meat was analyzed at 12 weeks of age. The day-old body weight in Kuttanad ducks in the 16 per cent protein (T1), 18 per cent (T2), 20 per cent (T3) and 22 per cent (T4) was 37.27, 36.96, 37.56 and 37.13 g, respectively. At eight weeks of age, the mean body weight was 1213.75, 1307.90, 1359.77 and 1256.19 g, respectively, in the T1, T2, T3 and T4. The mean body weight of birds in the treatments T1, T2, T3 and T4 at 12 week of age was 1560.68, 1555.60, 1565.18 and 1561.88 (g), respectively. The cumulative body weight gain of T1, T2, T3 and T4 was 1176.48, 1270.93, 1322.23 and 1219.07 g, respectively, at eight week of age. The same was 1523.57, 1518.80, 1527.63 and 1524.73 g, respectively, at 12 week of age. The cumulative feed intake of T1, T2, T3 and T4 was 4947.69, 5016.07, 4972.54 and 4839.23 g, respectively, upto eight week of age and the same was 8450.34, 8569.91, 8451.71 and 8235.56 g, respectively, at 12 weeks of age. The cumulative FCR of T1, T2, T3 and T4 was 4.20, 3.95, 3.70 and 3.97, respectively, at eight week of age. The same was 5.47, 5.55, 5.40 and 5.34, respectively, at 12 weeks of age. The processing yield was near to 70% in all groups. The fatty acid composition was also similar in all dietary protein levels. Omega-3 fatty acid content was 0.73, 0.59, 0.71 and 0.95 in T1, T2, T3 and T4. Compared to saturated fatty acids a higher level of unsaturated fatty acid (per cent) was observed in the present study. The net profit/bird was found to be maximuim in T3 containing 20 per cent protein with 2800 kcal/kg ME at eighth week of age. The overall livability of ducks under different dietary treatments was close to 100 per cent The results of the study indicated that the ducklings under dietary treatment containing 20 per cent crude protein showed improved growth performance with regards to 8 th week body weight, body weight gain, feed consumption and FCR than treatment groups with 16, 18 and 22 percent crude protein levels. At 12 week of age, the body weight was similar but the feed efficiency was very poor (5.34 to 5.55). The processing yield at 12 weeks was also similar to 8th week yield, but the carcass was better in appearance. It was concluded that rearing Kuttanad ducklings upto eight weeks of age with 20 per cent CP and 2800kcal/ kg ME was comparatively economical for meat production.ennullThesis