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 (p<0.05), highest duodenal length (120.71 cm), than other feeding times. The villi height of the three segments of the GIT increased (p>0.05) 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 本研究评估了湿热热带环境下饲养至5日龄的骡鸭胃肠道（gastrointestinal tract, GIT）的生长发育受孵化早期开食的影响。共选取120只新生骡鸭雏鸭，随机分为4个处理组，每组30只（T1、T2、T3、T4），对应4种饲喂方案：分别于孵化后3、24、36、48小时提供饲料，试验周期为5天。每日对雏鸭实施安乐死，采集小肠样本开展组织学分析，并测定相关组织学参数，包括绒毛长度与宽度、隐窝宽度与深度，以及每绒毛杯状细胞数量，采用单因素方差分析（ANOVA）进行统计学分析后制表汇总。研究结果表明，孵化后3小时开食组的雏鸭体重最高（99.65 g），胃肠道脏器重量更重（p<0.05），十二指肠长度最长（120.71 cm），各项指标均优于其余开食时间组。无论孵化后开食时间如何，胃肠道三个区段的绒毛高度均呈持续升高趋势（p>0.05）。基于上述结果，本研究得出结论：相较于孵化后24、36、38小时开食，孵化后3小时开食可更快速地促进骡鸭胃肠道的生长发育。