Effect of feeding muscovy ducklings different protein sources: Performance, omega-3 fatty acid contents, and acceptability of their tissues

One hundred Muscovy ducklings, 5-wk-old, from each gender were assigned to five dietary treatments. Each treatment of each sex contained two replicates of 10 ducklings each. Ducks were fed, from 4-9 wk of age, five isonitrogenous diets that differed in protein source, i.e., commercial protein concentrate (CPC), soybean meal, meat meal (MM), herring fish meal (HFM), and mixed herring fish and meat meals (HFM + MM). At the end of the experiment, four ducks per treatment were slaughtered for carcass evaluation and the fatty acid profiles of their meat, adipose tissue, and plasma. Final body weight of both sexes showed no difference among protein sources, although males fed CPC or MM diets had the largest weight gain. No differences in feed consumption and conversion between sexes were shown, although differences in omega-3 fatty acid consumption due to protein source were significant. Feeding fish meal reduced the sensory acceptance of meat, whereas the plant protein diet improved it. Total lipid and cholesterol contents of the meat of males showed no differences between protein sources. Correlation between omega-3 fatty acid consumption and plasma cholesterol was negative (r = 0.91; P = 0.03). Moreover, correlation between plasma cholesterol and plasma lipid was positive (r = 0.97; P = 0.01), Feeding fish meal enriched total unsaturated fatty acid of adipose tissues, omega-3 fatty acid of adipose and meat tissues, and total unsaturated fatty acid of thigh meat. Total unsaturated fatty acid and omega-3 fatty acid of blood plasma from females were also enriched by feeding fish meal-containing diets.