Assessment of Stocking Rate and Housing System on Performance, Carcass Traits, Blood Indices, and Meat Quality of French Pekin Ducks

Commercial practice in poultry production management has been susceptible to increased problems, driven by concerns about safety of food and animal welfare. Thus, the main proposal of the present study was to evaluate the influence of different stocking densities on performance, blood, and carcass traits of Pekin ducklings reared on two different floor types (wood shaving litter, WSL or plastic slatted floor, PLS). A total of 450 one-day-old ducklings were randomly allocated into six equal experimental groups stocking density (nine, 15 and 21 birds/m² during the first 14 d and three, five and seven birds/m² until 49 days) reared on two floor types (WSL and PLS), five replicate pens each. Increased stocking density reduced body weight (BW), weight gain (WG), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) values and increased feed intake (FI) in both floor types at 14 days old. At 49 days old, reared ducklings on PLS type verified higher BW and WG and reduced FCR values. Moreover, increasing stocking density in both floor types significantly reduced the breast, thigh, and left fillet percentages. Conversely, reared birds floored on PLS system decreased the triglycerides (TG) and increased the total cholesterol (TC) serum content. Furthermore, the meat contents of TG and TC were decreased in birds reared on higher stocking density but not affected by floor type. Further, serum antioxidant indices were reduced in PLS birds on low stocking densities. In conclusion, housing Pekin ducklings on PLS improved their growth performance, carcass traits, meat cholesterol, and antioxidant status, particularly at stocking density of three and five birds/m².