Progress. Agric. 20(1 & 2) : 93 – 98, 2009 ISSN 1017-8139 FERTILITY AND HATCHABILITY OF PEKIN AND MUSCOVY DUCK EGGS AND PERFORMANCE OF THEIR DUCKLINGS M. A. Rashid 1 , M. H. Kawsar 2 , M. A. Rashid 3 and M. Y. Miah 4 and M. A. R. Howlider Department of Poultry Science, Bangladesh Agricultural University Mymensingh-2202, Bangladesh ABSTRACT Five hundred ten duck eggs of Pekin and each of Muscovy duck eggs were incubated to determine fertility and hatchability. The eggs were cleaned and stored at 18-21 o C for 6 days prior to setting in the incubator. The eggs were incubated in a forced-draft electric incubator and the hatching performances were recorded. Ninety Pekin and ninety Muscovy day-old ducklings were randomly selected from the hatched ducklings for a growth trial. Each breed was divided into three replications and each replication had 30 ducklings. They were reared up to 10 weeks of age. Fertility of Muscovy duck eggs tended to be higher (P>0.05) than that of Pekin duck eggs. Hatchability of Pekin egg on fertile egg was higher (P<0.05) than that of Muscovy eggs. But, dead in shell of Muscovy duckling was higher (P<0.05) than that of Pekin duckling. Feed consumption was higher (P<0.01) in Muscovy ducklings than that of Pekin ducklings. Feed conversion was slightly higher (P>0.05) in Muscovy ducklings than that of Pekin. At 10 weeks of age, Muscovy ducklings were slightly heavier (P>0.05) than that of Pekin. It was concluded that the fertility of Pekin and Muscovy ducks are more or less similar while hatchability is higher in Pekin ducks. Muscovy ducks are superior in respect of feed conversion and growth rate. Key words : Pekin, Muscovy, Duck egg, Fertility, Hatchability, Ducklings, Farm condition NTRODUCTION Bangladesh is a riverine country and 16488 km 2 area are haors, baors, canals, ponds and low lying water reservoirs (Asian Livestock, 1988), part of which can be efficiently utilized for duck production. Ducks are not competitors of chicken because their scavenging venue is different. Therefore, increased duck rearing does not necessary mean a cut in chicken production. Rather, it will be a great supplement to total poultry production. Duck ranked second place in supplying egg and meat and are traditionally reared under semi-scavenging system in Bangladesh. Ducks are considerably cheaper to raise and more resistant to diseases than that of chicken. 1 Manager, Northern Hatchery, Bagura, Bangladesh 2 Assistant Professor, Department of Dairy and Poultry Science, PSTU, Bangladesh 3 Assistant Professor, Department of Animal Science and Nutrition, PSTU, Bangladesh 4 Assistant Professor, Department of Dairy and Poultry Science, SAU, Bangladesh