Morphological and morphometric characterization of local duck population in South-east ecological zone of Nigeria

The study was conducted to characterize morphologic and morphometric variations among local duck populations found in the south-east ecological zone of Nigeria. A total of one hundred and forty-six (146) adult local ducks of both sexes were randomly selected from Imo and Abia States and used for the study. Nine morphological traits which include eye colour, plumage colour, bean colour, body carriage, bill colour, bill shape, shank colour, caruncle colour, crested were studied. Also eight morphometric traits such as body weight, body length, body circumference, thigh circumference, bill length, neck length, foot length, total foot length and wing length were studied. Data on morphological traits were subjected to descriptive analysis, such as frequencies, percentages, and averages, while data on morphometric traits were subjected to analysis of variance (ANOVA) in a completely randomized design. Results showed seven (7) phenotypes among local ducks. Predominant plumage colour was black/white (54.79%), shank colour was slate gray (70.55%) predominant eyes colour was brown (76.03%). The majority of local ducks (97.26%) had a pink/white colour, while 97.95% of the ducks had horizontal body carriage. Caruncle colour, bill shape, bean color, and crested showed no variation among duck populations. Drakes were superior (p<0.05) to hens for body weight and other morphometric traits measured. Positive and highly significant correlations (p<0.01;0.05) were observed among measured morphometric traits. The results obtained in this study could be used for the improvement and conservation of these local ducks in the south-east ecological zone of Nigeria

Evaluation of local duck production systems in Imo and Abia States of Nigeria

A study was conducted to evaluate local duck production systems in Imo and Abia States of Nigeria. Seventy-two (72) local duck farmers from both  States were purposefully selected using snowball sampling techniques and were interviewed using structured questionnaires. Data on farmers' socio-economic characteristics and production practices were collected and analyzed using descriptive statistics such as frequencies, percentages  and charts. The results showed that there were more male duck farmers (88.89%), while the average age of duck farmers was 51.35years. Most (97.22%) of the duck farmers were literate, 58.33% of households had between 4 - 7 members, 73.61% of duck farmers were christians and a higher number (46.43%) raised pigs alongside of ducks. Most farmers (98.61%) kept only Muscovy ducks. The average flock size is about 6-9 ducks per household. Ducks were mainly kept for rituals and traditional medicine (56.78%). About 48.61% of farmers used personal money to finance duck farming, while 47.22% of farmers inherited their foundations stock. The age at sexual maturity for ducks was 7 to 9 months; clutch length was 11 to 15 days, while clutch size ranged from 16 to 20 eggs. Again, 94.44% of farmers practiced extensive system of duck keeping while 84.72% did not provide supplementary feeds to their ducks. Accidents are the leading cause of mortality in ducks, while the myths that surround ducks are the main obstacle to duck meat consumption. The results showed that duck farming is not popular in the study area and therefore, ducks are seen and kept as sacrificial birds. Thus, the potential of ducks for the production of meat and eggs is not fully exploited. These myths that have hindered the production of ducks could be dispelled through farmer trainings and enlightenment. Keywords: duck, myth, production, conservatio