2011, Cilt 27, Sayı 3, Sayfa(lar) 183-189
Effect of fattening length, sex and feather colour on growth and fattening performance in native Turkish geese
Mustafa Saatçi1, Cavit Arslan2, Yücel Ünal3, Muammer Tilki4, Ali Rıza Aksoy4
1Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, MehmetAkif ErsoyUniversity, Burdur, Turkey
2Department ofAnimal Nutrition, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kafkas University, Kars, Turkey
3Department of Biology, Faculty of Arts and Sciences, Ağrı İbrahim Çeçen University, Ağrı, Turkey
4Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Veterinary Medicine, Kafkas University, Kars, Turkey
Keywords: Fattening performance, fattening length, feather colour, sex, native Turkish geese
Abstract
Aim: Study was undertaken to determine the intensive fattening performance of native Turkish geese and to underline the effects of fattening length, sex and feather colour on fattening performance.

Materials and Methods: Total 145 daily goslings were used in the experiment. Birds divided into four groups according to their feather colour in each fattening (10 and 12 weeks) period. Birds with wing tags were individually weighed and all the birds were weighted weekly according to their groups.

Results: There was not any statistical significance between the fattening groups (10 and 12 weeks) in term of weekly liveweight (p>0.05). Effects of both feather colour and sex on liveweight have started at the fifth week and continued until at the end of the fattening periods (p<0.05). The highest liveweight gain was observed in yellow geese while the lowest liveweight gain was in piebalds. Obtained results provided additional information on the growth pattern of native Turkish geese reared under the intensive condition. Yellow feather coloured geese reached to greater live-weights than the others.

Conclusion: Observed lower liveweight gain and increasing food consumption do not allow the breeders to fatten the native Turkish geese under the intensive condition after 9-10 weeks of age.

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