Linoleic Acid Requirement for Growth and Reproduction in Japanese Quail.

Abstract

Two experimernts were conducted to determine the linoleic acid (LA) requirement of Japanese quail for growth and reproduction. In both experiments, day-old female Japanese quail were fed an LA-free diet until 1 week of age. In experiment 1, the birds divided into 4 groups were given diets containing graded levels of LA (0, 0.5, 1 and 1.5% in the diet) from 1 to 4 weeks of age. In experiemnt 2, the birds divided into 5 groups, and fed diets containing graded levels (0, 0.25, 0.5, 1 and 1.5%) of LA from 1 to 10 weeks of age. Egg weight during final 2 weeks was used to determine the requirement. Each LA requirement was calcuated as 90% asymptotic values obtained from the corresponding non-linear regression lines.The LA requirement for growing quail was determined from maximum growth and minimum liver size and was estimated as about 1.1% in the diet. The LA requirement for reproduction was estimated as about 0.70% in the diet.