Evaluating a Submersible Diet for Ducks and Other Species

Citation

Hawtin C, Filice C, Atkinson JL. 1995. Evaluating a submersible diet for ducks and other species. In Proceedings of the First Conference on Zoo and Wildlife Nutrition, AZA Nutrition Advisory Group, Scarborough, OT.

Abstract

The use of an alginate-calcium complex to formulate a durable submersible diet was evaluated in a feeding trial with growing ducklings. Growth, feed intake (FI), gain:feed ratio (GF), dry matter digestibility, metabolizable energy (ME), nitrogen-corrected ME and excreta moisture did not differ between birds fed a commercial 22% crude protein duck starter diet and those fed the same diet incorporating an alginate-calcium treatment (ACT) fed dry. The ACT diet fed submersed showed good durability. Birds receiving this diet showed a higher FI, poorer GF and lower ME than the other two diets. The higher intake was primarily attributed to a higher activity level of ducklings fed in this manner. Alginate-calcium treatment allows formulation of feeds for aquatic and semi-aquatic species without affecting nutritional quality of the diet.

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