Energy requirement for maintenance and gain for two genotypes of quails housed in different breeding rearing systems

José Jordão Filho,Patrícia Emília Naves Givisiez,Fernando Guilherme Perazzo Costa,José Humberto Vilar Da Silva,Cidinei Trajano Silva,Janaína Maria Batista De Sousa

doi:10.1590/s1516-35982011001100019

José Jordão Filho, Patrícia Emília Naves Givisiez + Show 4 more

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https://doi.org/10.1590/s1516-35982011001100019

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Abstract

This study aimed to estimate the energy requirements for maintenance and gain of Japanese and European quails under growth housed in two rearing systems: floor pens and cages. To determine maintenance requirements, two experiments were conducted with birds housed in cages in environmental chambers (experiment 1) and in floor pens at room temperature conditions (experiment 2). The experimental design was completely randomized with four levels of feed supply (100, 75, 50 and 25%) and four repetitions. Energy requirements for maintenance were estimated by the comparative slaughter method through a feeding trial. In experiment 1, 64 Japanese and European quails per treatment were housed in cages of climatic chambers at 18, 24, and 28 °C, while in experiment 2, 352 quails per treatment were housed in floor pens at room temperature (26 °C). To estimate gain requirements, five slaughters were performed with quails receiving feed ad libitum and housed under controlled temperature of 18 °C (experiment 3). Prediction equations were obtained to estimate requirements for maintenance and gain of energy for the two genotypes of quails. The room temperature and breeding system affected the estimates of energy requirements for maintenance. The genotypes presented different estimates for maintenance and gain. Prediction models should be developed considering the room temperature and quails' genotypes.

Highlights

Quail production stands out for its advantages over other bird species, such as less need for breeding space, sexual precocity, longevity, quick working capital, heat tolerance and resistance to diseases that normally attack other birds
Japanese and European quails per treatment were housed in cages of climatic chambers at 18, 24, and 28 °C, while in experiment 2, 352 quails per treatment were housed in floor pens at room temperature (26 °C)
The room temperature and breeding system affected the estimates of energy requirements for maintenance

Summary

Introduction

Quail production stands out for its advantages over other bird species, such as less need for breeding space, sexual precocity, longevity, quick working capital, heat tolerance and resistance to diseases that normally attack other birds. Quails produce nutritious meat and eggs for human consumption and produce at least five generations per year (Silva et al, 2007). Energy is the main component in feed formulation for all animal species since it regulates food intake. As quails have higher feed intake than hens in the live weight proportion (Silva et al, 2007), consumption of diets with inadequate energy levels can alter consumption and reduce performance. The maintenance energy includes the sum of spending with the basal metabolism with heat production and with normal activities (Emmans, 1994), such as walking on the facilities. The energy gain depends mainly on the efficiency of energy use for deposition of body tissue

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