ArticleBMC veterinary research2025
Effect of different litter materials on some behavioral patterns, growth performance, welfare indices, and carcass traits of Muscovy ducks.
Article in BMC veterinary research, 2025. The graph could read no effect estimate from its abstract, so it casts no vote on the map. Not yet cited in PubMed.
What it found
Each row is one number read from the abstract, on the scale the paper reported it, with its interval. Left of the dashed line favours the treatment, right favours the comparator. Under each row is the sentence it came from. New to these charts? A ten-minute tutorial.
The abstract states no effect estimate the extractor could read, or names no intervention and outcome on the map, so this paper lights no cell and moves no belief. It is still indexed, cited and linked below.
The trial behind it
Trials whose registry record cites this paper, or whose number appears in the abstract. A trial that started after this paper was published is citing it as background, not reporting it.
Neither the registry nor the abstract names a trial number. If this is a trial report, that itself is worth knowing.
Who cites it
0 citing papers in PubMed.
No citing paper in PubMed yet.
Corrections and comments
PubMed lists nothing against this paper. Absence here is not a guarantee, only a check that was made.
Authors and funding
5 authors.
Funding
No grant is acknowledged in the PubMed record.
Abstract
backgroundThe current study was conducted to evaluate the effect of different litter materials on growth performance, some behavioral patterns, welfare indicators, and carcass traits in Muscovy ducks. A total of 84 healthy 2weeks old Muscovy ducklings were randomly allocated to 4 groups (3 replicates/ group; each replicate contains 7 birds) according to different litter materials. The first group was reared on wood shavings; the second was reared on sand; the third was reared on chopped rice straw; and the fourth one was reared on wheat straw. Growth performance parameters such as final body weight, body weight gain, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio were evaluated. Some behavioral patterns were recorded when the ducks were 3 weeks old using focal observation 3 days a week, twice per day. Foot pad dermatitis, feather condition score, hock burn, gait score, nostril cleanliness, and carcass traits were evaluated. Litter moisture content, water holding capacity, and microbiological characteristics of different litters were measured.
resultsThe results showed that all growth performance parameters of Muscovy ducks were not significantly affected by different litter types (P > 0.05). Feeding and leg /wing stretch frequences were significantly higher in ducks reared on wood shavings and sand than other treatments. High pecking and low feather condition score were recorded in birds reared on sand more than other birds. The chopped rice straw group showed the lowest foot pad, gait, and hock burn scores. A little effect of litter types on carcass traits was recorded as only thymus and abdominal fat weights were influenced by different litter types (P ≤ 0.05). Sand litter had the lowest water holding capacity, moisture content, total bacterial and fungal counts when compared to other litter types.
conclusionsIn the Muscovy ducks' sector, alternative bedding materials such as sand, wheat straw, and chopped rice can be used. Sand is the most hygienic litter to be used, as it has the lowest microbial load.
Indexed as
Identifiers
What OpenQuestion holds
Registered trials
Read under generation 80e0d062 · epoch 390. Bibliography from PubMed, PubMed Central and OpenAlex; grants from NIH RePORTER; trial links from ClinicalTrials.gov; estimates, votes and beliefs from the OpenQuestion graph.