The Impact of Different Relative Humidity Levels on the Production Performance, Slaughter Performance, and Meat Quality of White Pekin Ducks Aged 4 to 42 Days

Dongyue Sun; Congcong Xu; Yi Liu; Zichun Dai; Ziyi Pan; Rong Chen; Rihong Guo; Fang Chen; Zhendan Shi; Shijia Ying

doi:10.3390/ani13233711

The Impact of Different Relative Humidity Levels on the Production Performance, Slaughter Performance, and Meat Quality of White Pekin Ducks Aged 4 to 42 Days

Animals (Basel). 2023 Nov 30;13(23):3711. doi: 10.3390/ani13233711.

Authors

Dongyue Sun^{1

2}, Congcong Xu^{2

3}, Yi Liu^{2

4}, Zichun Dai², Ziyi Pan², Rong Chen², Rihong Guo², Fang Chen², Zhendan Shi², Shijia Ying^{1

2}

Affiliations

¹ College of Animal Science and Technology, Nanjing Agricultural University, Nanjing 210095, China.
² Animal Husbandry Research Institute, Jiangsu Academy of Agricultural Sciences, Nanjing 210014, China.
³ College of Animal Science and Technology, Beijing University of Agriculture, Beijing 102206, China.
⁴ College of Life Sciences, Jiangsu University, Zhenjiang 212013, China.

Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effects of different humidity levels on the growth performance, slaughter performance, and meat quality of Pekin ducks through the artificial control of humidity, and to identify the suitable environmental humidity for Pekin duck growth. A completely randomized single-factor design was employed, selecting 144 newly hatched male Pekin ducks with healthy and similar BW (body weight) (60.92 g ± 4.38). These ducks were randomly assigned to four groups (A (RH (relative humidity) = 60%), B (RH = 67%), C (RH = 74%), D (RH = 81%)), with 12 ducks and 3 replicates in each group. The ducks were raised in a climate-controlled room for 42 days with ad libitum access to feed and water. BW and feed intake were measured every 3 days, and slaughter performance and meat quality were assessed at 42 days. There was no significant difference in the ADG (average daily gain) from 1 to 21 days (p > 0.05). The ADFI (average daily feed intake) of Group D was significantly lower than that of Groups A, B, and C (p < 0.05), with no significant differences between Groups A, B, and C (p > 0.05). At 42 days, the BW, ADG, and ADFI of Groups A and C were significantly higher than those of Group D (p < 0.05), with no significant differences among Groups A, B, and C (p > 0.05). Group C had a significantly higher breast muscle weight, breast muscle ratio, liver weight, and liver index than Groups B and D (p < 0.05), with no significant differences between Groups A, B, and D (p > 0.05). The meat shear force in Group C was significantly lower than that in Groups A, B, and D (p < 0.05). The L* (brightness) of Group C was significantly lower than that of Group A (p < 0.05), and the a* (redness) value of Group C was significantly higher than that of Groups A and B (p < 0.05), with no significant difference compared to Group D (p > 0.05). Group B had a significantly higher cooking loss than Groups A, C, and D (p < 0.05), with no significant differences among Groups A, C, and D (p > 0.05). Under 26 °C conditions, Pekin ducks perform best in terms of the production performance and feed efficiency, with high-quality meat, especially when reared at 74% humidity.

Keywords: Pekin ducks; humidity; meat quality; production performance.

Grants and funding

This work was supported by earmarked fund for China Agriculture Research System (CARS):(CARS-42-38); the Jiangsu Province Agricultural Science and Technology Independent Innovation Funds Project: (CX(20)2010).