Effect of individual selection on growth and carcass characteristics in Kuttanad Ducks (Anas platyrhynchos domesticus)

An experiment was conducted at the University Poultry and Duck Farm, Mannuthy, Kerala to study the effect of individual selection on growth and carcass characteristics in Kuttanad ducks. One thousand and eighty-eight day-old Kuttanad ducklings procured from progressive farmers of Kerala formed the base generation (S₀). Based on body weight at eighth week, top 150 females and 25 males were selected through individual selection. From the 25 sire families, 979, 969 and 1610 ducklings were produced by artificial insemination in S₁, S₂ and S₃ generation in pedigreed hatches. Body weight was recorded at fortnightly intervals till 12^th week of age and at 18^th and 40^th week of age in each generation. Carcass characteristics were evaluated at 8, 10 and 12 weeks of age in four generations. An improvement of 270.51 g could be recorded at 8 weeks in S₃ generation. The period of active weight gain shifted to 4^th and 6^th week in S₃ generation whereas it was 8^th week in the previous generations. The results also indicated that a compensatory growth mechanism is present in ducks and they attain 90 per cent of the adult body weight by 12 weeks of age. The carcass characteristics showed that there was improvement in the dressing percentage over generations and S₃ generation attained the highest yield at 8 weeks. Hence, selection for body weight at 8 weeks was effective in improving the body weight and they could attain its optimum meat production characteristics at 8 weeks and hence it could be considered as the ideal age for processing.