Comparison of Bentonite and Illite on the Growth Performance and Litter Quality of Duck

In the duck industry, there has been a recent surge of interest in the use of bentonite and illite as a means of improving the growth performance and litter quality. The aim of this study was to compare bentonite and illite with respect to the growth performance and litter quality of duck. A total of 180 male Pekin ducks (1 day old) were randomly assigned to one of three groups (control, 2% bentonite powder, and 2% illite powder), with 4 replicates of 15 birds per pen in a completely randomized design. The initial body weight, final body weight, weight gain, feed intake and the feed conversion ratios was not greatly influenced by the addition of 2% bentonite and illite. For the mean litter pH, no significant differences were observed in all treatments. There was an increase (P<0.05) in the total nitrogen content in the litter samples of the bentonite and illite groups when compared to the control. These results show that the inclusion of 2% bentonite and illite to duck diets has a positive effect on improving the total nitrogen in the duck litter as a soil improvement additive.