Abstract
The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of including cassava foliage hay in quail diets on the performance, carcass characteristics, and economic viability of rearing these animals in the period of 1 to 35 days of age. Four hundred 1-day-old unsexed quail were distributed into five treatments in a completely randomized design with eight replicates and 10 birds per experimental unit. Experimental treatments consisted of diets including 0.0, 0.5, 10.0, 15.0, and 20.0% cassava foliage hay (CFH). Feed intake increased linearly (P 0.05) feed conversion. In the period of 1 to 35 days of age, the CFH inclusion levels had a linear effect (P < 0.05) on the performance variables, leading to an increase in feed intake and weight gain and worse feed conversion. An influence of the CFH levels was detected (P<0.05) on the absolute weights of back, liver, and gizzard and on the relative weights of breast, back, legs, heart, liver, and gizzard of the quail. Inclusion of 10% cassava foliage hay is recommended in the diet of meat quail aged 1 to 35 days.
Highlights
Quail farming stands out as the fastest growing poultry segment, with an increasing participation in the industrial scenario of meat and egg production
Every 1% inclusion of the by-product led to a 1.11 g increase in feed intake and a reduction of 0.009 in feed conversion, according to the following equations: (R2 = 0.80) and (R2 = 0.84), respectively
No effect (P > 0.05) of cassava foliage hay (CFH) levels were observed on weight gain
Summary
Quail farming stands out as the fastest growing poultry segment, with an increasing participation in the industrial scenario of meat and egg production. Cunha et al (2009) and Silva et al (2012) evaluated the inclusion of cassava foliage in Japanese quail diets and reported that the use of this by-product did not interfere with the performance of poultry in the growth, finishing, and laying phases, suggesting the use of up to 12% of the ingredient in their diet. These findings corroborate Iheukwumere et al (2007), who stated that inclusion of up to 5% of cassava leaf hay did not compromise the performance or carcass yield of broilers
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