Muscovy ducks ( Cairina moschata ), one of the greater
wood ducks, are more land-oriented ( RAUCH et al. 1993)
than other ducks. The absence of swimming water has no
effect on the hatchability of Muscovy duck eggs, which
make muscovy ducks easy to rear in either traditional
extensive or in modern intensive husbandry systems
( HARUN et al. 1998). Domestic muscovy ducks are valued
throughout the world for their unique taste, high yield of
breast meat and low calorie content. Eleven breeds are
distributed worldwide in Latin America, the Caribbean,
Europe, Pacifi c Asia and Africa, as registered in the
Domestic Animal Diversity Information System ( FOOD
AND AGRICULTURE ORGANIZATION 2007). Nevertheless,
muscovy ducks are characterized by strong nesting
behavior, a long time to brooding and fewer eggs, which
results in high costs for rearing. Meanwhile, nesting
behavior induces ovary degeneration and discourages egg
laying, which further reduces the value of muscovy dusks
( LI et al. 2004). Nesting behavior seriously hampers
the rate of reproduction and production performance of
muscovy ducks in modern intensive husbandry. Therefore,
it is important to identify the major gene or molecular
markers of nesting traits that may help to reverse the nesting
behavior of muscovy duck.