POTASSIUM REQUIREMENT OF MULE DUCKLINGS

Experiments were conducted to determine potassium (K) requirement of mule ducklings. One-day-old ducklings with equal number of both sexes were fed diets containing graded levels of K for three weeks. In experiment 1, corn-soybean meal diet (CP 18.7%, ME 2,890 kcal/kg, K 0.80%) was used. The addition of K (0.00, 0.10, 0.20, 0.30, 0.40%) to the diet by potassium carbonate resulted in a decrease in weight gain and feed efficiency with the group fed on basal diet having the best performance. This means that the existing K in the basal diet is adequate for the growth of ducklings. In experiment 2, low K corn-isolated soy protein diet (K, 0.19%) was used. The supplementation of K (0.00, 0.16, 0.32, 0.48, 0.64%) resulted in an increase in weight gain and feed efficiency with the control group having the lowest performance. The minimum K requirement was found to be 0.49% for both maximum growth and best feed efficiency as determined by using bent-stick model.