Sodium Requirement for Muscovy Ducks in Housing

ABSTRACT The present study aimed to determine the ideal sodium levels for muscovy ducks in housing. Two hundred and forty muscovy ducks of creole lineage were used, distributed in boxes with water and food ad libitum. The experimental design was completely randomized, where treatments were constituted by six nutritional plans (initial, growth and termination) with different sodium levels, and four replicates of 10 muscovy ducks each. The birds had weekly performance evaluations, and after 90 days, eight birds (four males and four females) in each treatment were slaughtered for evaluation of carcass traits. Data collected were subjected to Tukey test at 5% of significance. Differences were observed (p<0.05) in performance (feed intake and feed conversion), where average levels of sodium presented better results. In carcass yields, average levels presented a positive influence (p<0.05) on muscovy duck growth. Male muscovy ducks presented better feed efficiency than females in the same period. The present study indicates that nutritional plan 3 (initial = 0.25%; growth = 0.30% and termination = 0.35%) showed better nutritional requirements of sodium for muscovy ducks in housing, obtaining better performance and carcass development.