The Effect of Early Post Hatch Feeding Times on the Growth and Development of the Gastrointestinal Tract of Mule Ducklings to Five Days of Age

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 (p0.05) 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.摘要：本研究旨在评估湿热热带环境下饲养至5日龄的骡鸭，出雏早期饲喂对其胃肠道（gastrointestinal tract, GIT）生长发育的影响。试验共选取120羽新生骡鸭雏鸭，随机分为4个处理组，每组各30羽，分别标记为T1、T2、T3、T4，对应4种饲喂方案：出雏后3、24、36及48小时即可获取饲料，试验周期为5天。每日对雏鸭实施安乐死后采集小肠样本，进行组织学分析，并测定相关组织形态学参数，包括绒毛长度与宽度、隐窝宽度与深度，以及每根绒毛的杯状细胞数量；所有数据均采用方差分析（ANOVA）进行统计分析后制表呈现。本研究结果显示，出雏后最早进行饲喂（3小时）的雏鸭体重最高（99.65 g），且无论出雏后饲喂时间如何，其胃肠道器官重量均显著更高（P=0.05）。基于本试验结果，可得出结论：相较于出雏后24、36及38小时饲喂的组别，出雏后3小时饲喂更能快速促进骡鸭胃肠道的生长发育。