Effect of Maternal Diet on the Response of Japanese Quail to Purified and Practical Diets

Abstract

Two experiments were conducted with Japanese quail to determine the effect of maternal diet on the response of offspring to practical and purified diets and to examine the nutritional value of eggs from chicken hens fed either practical or purified diets. In the first experiment quail fed a purified diet containing casein-gelatin had significantly lower growth rate, higher early mortality, delayed sexual maturity, reduced rate of egg production, and reduced egg weight, fertility and hatchability of fertile eggs in comparison to those fed a corn soybean meal ration. Weight of the intestine and gizzard per unit of body weight was significantly less and liver fat content higher for birds fed the purified diet. Whether or not the quail were hatched from eggs laid by hens fed the practical or purified diets did not influence the growth rate or reproductive performance of quail progeny.In the second experiment, no evidence was obtained for a carry-over of a nutritional factor in eggs from chicken hens fed a practical diet as these eggs were not superior to eggs from hens fed a purified diet for supporting reproduction in Japanese quail. Egg production and egg weight equivalent to that with the practical diet was obtained by including 20% of either source of dried eggs in the purified diet, but hatchability was inferior. Including 20% soybean meal in the purified diet resulted in both egg production and hatchability that was statistically equivalent to the practical ration.