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

Abstract

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.