THE EFFECTS OF DIFFERENT LEVELS OF GOLDEN SNAIL(Pomacea canaliculata)MEAL ON THE LAYING PERFORANCE OF MALLARD DUCKS(Anas platyrhynchos)

The study on the laying performance of mallard duck fed with different levels of golden snail (Pomacea canaliculata) meal added to commercial ration was conducted to determine the effects on feed consumption, hen-day egg production, feed conversion ratio (FCR),weight of eggs, percent mortality and economic returns. A Completely Randomized Design (CRD) was used in the study with three treatments replicated three times. Treatments used were 100% Commercial Layer Mash (T1),95% Commercial Layer Mash with (5%) Golden Snail and 90% Commercial Layer Mash with 10% Golden Snail Meal. There were four birds in each replication. The study revealed a significant difference among the treatments on feed consumption. Meanwhile, the difference among treatments on feed conversion ratio, average egg weight and hen-day egg production was found not significant. The study showed a negative income in all treatments. Birds in treatment 3 given 10% GSM consumed the highest amount of feeds while birds assigned in treatment 1 given pure commercial mash consumed the least amount of feeds. On hen-day egg production, bird in treatment 3 laid the most number of eggs while birds in treatment 1 has the least hen-day egg production. The heaviest egg weight was found in hens fed with pure commercial layer mash while the lightest egg weight was found in bird assigned in T3. The most efficient converter of feeds into a dozen of eggs were ducks fed with 10% GSM. Birds fed with pure commercial layer mash found most costly among the treatments.