Egg productivity of quails of Japanese breed under different phase feeding schemes

Abstract

The primary cause of injuries and inflammation of the reproductive system in female quails in industrial quail farming is the process of egg formation and its passage through the oviduct. With technological injuries females aged from 42 to 55 days are involved into the risk zone, whose weight of laid eggs ranges from 11,6 to 13,7 g. In previous morphological and histological studies, the following patterns of development of the organs of the reproductive system of quails under conditions of intensive technology have been established. The development of the reproductive organs of female quails of Japanese breed proceeds sequentially in seven periods: the first (1–21 days) is the period of relative rest of the growth of organs, the second (21–35 days) is the period of intensive morphogenesis of the ovaries and oviduct departments, the third (35–45 days) is the period of preparation and the beginning of egg laying, the fourth (45–75 days) is the period of egg laying growth or functional formation of the oviduct departments, the fifth (75–185 days) is the period of intensive folliculogenesis and high secretory activity of the departments of the oviduct or the peak of egg production, the sixth (185–200 days) is the beginning of the involution of the reproductive organs and a decrease in the rate of egg production, the seventh (200 days and older) is the involution of the reproductive organs and the termination of egg laying. Taking into account these patterns of development of the reproductive organs of quails, the feeding scheme of female egg quails has been adjusted, which provides for the division of the productive period into 4 phases: phase 1 is the beginning of egg production (36–45 days), phase 2 is the growth of egg production (46–75 days), phase 3 is the peak of egg production (76–185 days) and phase 4 is the decline of egg production (185–200 days). The proposed scheme of phase feeding of female quails of Japanese breed during the productive period is the advantageous technological technique, since it allows to reduce the injuries of the poultry oviduct and improve the quality indicators of the quail egg, as a result of reducing the weight and size of eggs in the initial phase of egg production and the number of large eggs during the entire productive period. The use of the new scheme of phase feeding of female quails of Japanese breed allows us to get more egg mass by 67,5 kg, due to the increase in the gross harvest of commercial quail eggs by 4,5 % and the livability of the quails by 5,6 %.