The study was conducted during the summer season (June-August 2020). Two hundred sixty-four 5-week-old sexed Muscovy ducklings were randomly divided into four equal experimental groups by housing system and by gender. Each group had three replicates (22 birds/replicate) in a randomized design experiment. Regarding the hematological traits, the volume of leukocytes was higher in the D group (by 0.34 × 109/L; p < 0.05) than in the S group. Furthermore, body temperature was found to be higher in ducks (by 0.84 °C; p < 0.05) and in the D group (by 0.5 °C; p < 0.05) in comparison with drakes and birds from the S group. Considering relative brain weight, drakes had higher values than ducks (by 0.56 g; p < 0.05), and birds from the S group also manifested higher values (by 0.78 g; p < 0.05). In terms of bone quality, there were no differences in studied parameters of tibia and femur bones regarding housing systems. The results provide valuable evidence of differences in the fattening of intensively bred Muscovy ducks within the housing system but also regarding gender.
Keywords: alternative housing; body temperature; bone quality; relative brain weight.