Commercial poultry production management practices have been under increased public scrutiny driven by concerns for food safety and animal welfare. Within the United States, wood shavings and raised plastic floors are common flooring systems used in duck production. It is intuitive that each flooring type would present different management challenges influencing physical characteristics of growing ducks. This study evaluated the relationship between flooring type and duck condition during the winter. Random samples of 20 ducks from 5 predetermined areas (n = 100) were examined in commercial duck houses (n = 9, litter; n = 11, raised plastic slats). Ducks were assessed at 7, 21, and 32 d of age for eye, nostril, and feather cleanliness, feather and foot pad quality, and gait. The data were analyzed to determine the proportion of ducks with a given score. In both housing types, the proportion of 0 scores for foot pad quality improved during the production cycle (P < 0.0001). Feather hygiene declined with age in ducks reared on litter flooring, whereas ducks reared on slatted flooring had cleaner feathers at d 32 (P < 0.011). With the exception of foot pad scores, the majority of ducks had no detectable problems for any single trait. The only main effect due to flooring pertained to feather quality with the proportion of ducks having a 0 or 1 score greater in litter flooring systems than slats (P < 0.05). Overall, the condition of ducks reared, regardless of flooring system, was considered to be good.

Little to no research has been conducted on the gut microbiome of the Pekin duck, yet over 24.5 million ducks are raised for human consumption each year in the United States alone. Knowledge of the microbiome could lead to an understanding of the effects of growing conditions such as the use of prebiotics, probiotics, and enzymes in feeding practices, the use of antibiotics, and the sources of pathogenic bacteria in diseased ducks. In order to characterize changes in the caecal microbiome that occur as ducks develop through a typical industry grow-out period, a 16S rRNA community analysis of caecal contents collected over a 6-week period was conducted using a next generation sequencing approach. Transitions in the composition of the caecal microbiome occurred throughout the lifespan, with a large shift during days 4 through 10 posthatch. Two major phyla of bacteria were found to be present within the caeca of aviary raised ducks, with the relative abundance of each phylum varying by age of the duck. Proteobacteria is dominant for the first 3 days of age, and Firmicutes increases and dominates beginning at day 4. Barn raised ducks contained a significant population of Bacteroidetes in addition to Proteobacteria and Firmicutes at later developmental time points, though this phylum was absent in aviary raised ducks. Genera containing pathogens of anseriformes most often found in industry settings were either absent or found as normal parts of the caecal microbial populations. The high level differences in phylum abundance highlight the importance of well-designed sampling strategies for microbiome based studies. Results showed clear distinctions between Pekin Duck caecal contents and those of Broiler Chickens and Turkey in a qualitative comparison. These data provide a reference point for studies of the Pekin Duck through industry grow-out ages, provide a foundation for understanding the types of bacteria that promote health, and may lead to improved methods to increase yields and decrease instances of disease in agricultural production processes.

The management and well-being of commercial Pekin ducks has been studied in the European Union where straw is the predominant litter source. In the United States, however, the most prevalent litter is wood shavings, with a recent trend toward using plastic slatted flooring. A previous study in the United States evaluated the relationship between flooring type (litter, slats) and duck condition during winter months and found very few differences between the 2 in terms of overall duck condition. The purpose of the current study was to reevaluate the 2 flooring systems during the summer months to determine if seasonal differences would interact with flooring type to have an impact on duck condition. Eighteen commercial barns that produce Pekin ducks for Maple Leaf Farms Inc. (Leesburg, IN), located in northern Indiana and southern Wisconsin (n = 9 litter; n = 9 raised slatted floor), were used for this study. Twenty ducks were randomly selected from 5 predetermined areas within each house (n = 100 total) and scored for eye condition, nostril and feather cleanliness, and feather and foot pad quality at 7, 21, and 32 d of age. Environmental data, including carbon monoxide, ammonia, RH, and temperature, were also obtained at each collection day. The only statistical differences in body condition occurred at 7 d; there were more ducks with clear eyes and eye rings on the litter flooring, whereas average nostril scores were better on the plastic slatted floors. Live weight, weight gain per day, flock mortality, and condemnations at the plant were collected, and the only statistical difference was a higher gain per day for ducks reared on slatted floors compared with litter (P < 0.05). There were no differences between flooring systems in the environmental parameters measured within the barns. In summary, there were very few differences between the litter and slatted flooring systems, indicating that there may not be clear advantages for one particular flooring system over the other from the point of view of duck well-being and production.

Controversy has developed as to whether or not pin-metered water lines or water troughs are more appropriate for Pekin ducks. We hypothesized that water troughs would show improved duck body conditions and environmental quality compared to pin-metered water lines. To test this hypothesis, we housed ducks in 2 barns, one with water lines and one with water troughs. Water troughs were constructed to meet RSPCA guidelines for number and density of ducks and with recently described verandas. Ducks were divided into 4 pens per barn (n = 1,000 ducks/pen). The study was then repeated (n = 8 pens per water source) in a cross-over design so the barns each contained the opposite water source to the first experiment. We scored the ducks’ body condition using an established scoring rubric and analyzed using SAS Proc GLM-Mix as binomial data. Ducks housed with water troughs showed higher (thus worse condition; P < 0.001) scores for eyes, nostrils, feather quality, feather cleanliness, and foot pads. We also compared water condition, water quality, and duck mortality using a Student t test for both water sources each week. We found that the water troughs showed higher iron (P < 0.001), nitrites (P < 0.001), pH (P < 0.01), and bacterial growth (P < 0.001). The bacterial growth was shown to have higher (P < 0.001) E. coli, coliforms, and Staphylococcus in the water troughs. Water lines typically showed no bacterial growth in culture-based assays. Ducks housed with water troughs used greater (P = 0.001) volumes of water compared to ducks housed with water lines. Ducks with water troughs also showed a greater percent (P = 0.008) mortality at all ages compared to ducks with water lines. These data suggest that water troughs may not be beneficial for duck welfare and could adversely impact both environment and duck or human health.

Previous research has shown that red light conditions may improve growth and decrease aggressive behaviors in chickens and turkeys; however, more recent studies suggest that blue-green light may improve production of broilers over red light. To date, no research has been conducted to examine whether different wavelengths of light have an impact on production in the Pekin duck. To determine this, we raised Pekin ducks under aviary conditions that were similar to standard commercial barns. The ducks were kept in 3 different pens: red light (approximately 625 nm), blue light (approximately 425 nm), and white light. Light sources in each pen were standardized to produce a peak energy at 1.6 × 10³ μM photons/m²/s at the level of the ducks' heads. Ducks were given ad libitum access to water and commercial duck diet, and were housed on pine shavings at a density of 0.43 m²/duck. Ducks were evaluated weekly for BW and condition and a subjective measure of the duck's anxiety levels was determined. We found that ducks housed under blue light had significantly (P < 0.01) reduced BW at every age until the end of the study (processing age; 35 d). Unlike ducks housed under red or white light, ducks housed in the blue pen showed a higher level of anxiety; while evaluators were in the pen a majority of them began panting, they were much less inquisitive than other ducks, they took longer to exhibit normal social behavior once evaluation was completed, and they frequently "swarmed" when no people were present. There were no differences in any measurements between the red and white-lighted pens. These data suggest that unlike the chicken, blue lights may be inappropriate for raising Pekin ducks in a commercial setting.