Abstract
There is little information on the nutrition of red-winged tinamous (Rhynchotus rufescens) reared in captivity, and their nutritional requirements still need to be determined. This study aimed at determining dietary crude protein requirements and testing four organic selenium supplementation levels in the diet of red-winged tinamous during the breeding season. Birds were housed in a conventional broiler house divided in 16 boxes with one male and three females each. Iso-energy (2800kcal ME/kg) pelleted feeds, based on corn and soybean meal, were supplied in tube feeders. In the first experiment, treatments consisted of four different diets containing different crude protein (CP) contents (15, 18, 21, or 24%) and in the second experiment, the four diets contained equal protein level (22.5%) and four different organic selenium levels (0, 0.2, 0.4, or 0.8ppm). Data were analyzed by the least square method. The best egg weight and eggshell thickness were obtained with 22.5% dietary CP. Organic selenium did not influence the studied reproductive traits of red-winged tinamous (Rhynchotus rufescens) males or females.
Highlights
The consumption of meat of wild animals has increased in several countries, including Brazil
This study aimed at evaluating the effects of crude protein levels and the use of organic selenium in the diets of red-winged tinamous (Rhynchotus rufescens), fed during the breeding season
The heaviest eggs were obtained with 21% crude protein level; they were not significantly different (p>0.1) from those from birds fed 15 and 24% crude protein
Summary
The consumption of meat of wild animals has increased in several countries, including Brazil. It was demonstrated that they can be habituated to the consumption of meal and pelleted feeds (Hoshiba et al, 2003), present good growth rates (Tholon & Queiroz, 2007), and excellent carcass and breast meat yield (Moro et al, 2006) when reared in captivity. Low-protein diets cause reduced body weight gain and feed intake and worse feed conversion ratio (Malheiros et al, 2003), influencing egg production and size. Poultry have limited capacity of storing protein, and egg size is highly dependent on protein intake (Pesti, 1992). The success of the domestication of a determined animal species depends on the determination of its nutritional requirements, including protein requirements
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