Growing Japanese Quail Research Articles

Blood clinical-chemical parameters and feeding history in growing Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) chicks exposed to Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate and Dechlorane Plus in ovo

ABSTRACTBlood clinical-chemical parameters (BCCPs) are used to investigate physiological consequences attributed to exposure to anthropogenic stressors, such as exposure to Tris(1,3-dichloro-2-propyl) phosphate (TDCIPP) and Dechlorane Plus (DP), which are flame retardants (FRs), on avian health. Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) were used as a model species to investigate individual and mixture effects of both FRs by injecting different concentrations (5, 50, or 500 ng/µL) of either of these compounds as well as a 1:1 mixture of both into fertilized eggs. To estimate post-hatching effects, 18 BCCPs were evaluated from 101 chicks at day 14. Albumin levels were found to be significantly elevated in the groups exposed to high doses of TDCIPP alone as well as a mixture of TDCIPP and DP. However, during the course of the study, the initial corn-based feed had to be substituted by a fishmeal-based feed. The 8 days consuming the new feed played a significant role on 12 of 18 BCCPs measured. Consequently, it is recommended that dietary habits need to be considered when investigating the physiological impact of contaminants using BCCPs as biomarkers in growing nestlings both in controlled in vivo and field experiments.

Impact of increasing crude glycerine levels in diet on growth, carcass traits, body measurements and blood cholesterol in growing Japanese quails

Impact of increasing crude glycerine levels in diet on growth, carcass traits, body measurements and blood cholesterol in growing Japanese quails

Dietary Supplementation of Chromium Can Alleviate Negative Impacts of Heat Stress on Performance, Carcass Yield, and Some Blood Hematology and Chemistry Indices of Growing Japanese Quail.

The main objective of this work was to investigate the impact of dietary chromium supplementation on growth indices, carcass yield, and some hematological and biochemical blood parameters of growing Japanese quails subjected to heat stress. A total of 360 unsexed 2-week-old Japanese quail chicks were used in a 2×3 factorial arrangement that had two ambient temperatures (23±2 and 33±2°C) and three dietary chromium (0.00, 500, and 1000μg Cr/kg diet as chromium picolinate). For induction of heat stress, the room temperature was set at 33±2°C from 2 to 6weeks of age. Results showed that body weight, body weight gain, and feed intake were decreased for birds subjected to heat stress condition during 2 to 4 and 2 to 6weeks of age. Feed conversion was not significantly (P>0.05) affected by high ambient temperature throughout the experiment. Carcass, dressing, liver, and heart percentages were not influenced by the ambient temperature or dietary chromium or their combinations. Significant temperature×chromium combinations were observed for hemoglobin value (P=0.025) and packed cell volume (P=0.001). Cholesterol and glucose in plasma were increased (P=0.004 or 0.022) in quails subjected to heat stress condition. Plasma measurements of total proteins, albumin, globulin, lipids, glucose, and A/G ratio of quail chicks were not influenced (P>0.05) by chromium, while cholesterol was increased with increasing chromium level (P=0.033). High ambient temperature or dietary chromium levels or their interactions did not (P>0.05) affect plasma levels of aspartate transaminase (AST), alanine transaminase (ALT), triiodothyronine (T3), thyroxin (T4), or T3/T4 ratio of growing quails. From these observations, it can be concluded that dietary chromium supplementation of growing Japanese quail subjected to heat stress condition could beneficially affect growth performance and carcasses, as well as modulate the hematological and biochemical blood parameters, probably through modulating stress status.

Soapwort extract supplementation alters antioxidant status of serum, liver and heart tissues in growing Japanese quails reared under chronic intermittent cold stress

Antioxidant effect of dietary soapwort extract supplementation was studied in growing Japanese quails suffering from chronic intermittent cold stress. For this purpose, a total of ninety 15-d-old quails were divided into three groups with three replicates. Chronic intermittent cold stress was applied every night between 22.00 to 06.00 h; starting at 14 °C for the first week, and gradually weekly lowered to 8 °C. Three groups were fed with corn-soy based standard diets supplemented with 0, 50, and 100 ppm soapwort extract for four weeks. At the end of the study, three males and three females were slaughtered to determine total antioxidant and oxidant status of serum, malondialdehyde, glutathione, glutathione peroxidase activity, superoxide dismutase of liver and heart tissues. Although the dietary soapwort extract had no effect on serum total antioxidant capacity, it significantly lowered the total oxidant status of serum in cold stressed quails. Glutathione and superoxide dismutase enzyme activity of liver and heart tissues were similar among groups. While the dietary soapwort extract had no effect on glutathione peroxidase activity of the heart tissue, it significantly increased glutathione peroxidase activity in the liver tissue. In relation to the control group, malondialdehyde concentrations in the liver and heart tissues were significantly lower in soapwort extract groups. These data suggest that dietary soapwort extract could alleviate the detrimental effects of oxidative stress in growing Japanese quails exposed to cold stress.

Effect of dietary supplementation of Ajwain, hot red pepper and black pepper on the performance, haemato-biochemical and carcass characteristics of Japanese quail

An experiment was conducted to study the effect of dietary supplementation of herbal feed additives viz. ajwain, hot red pepper and black pepper on growth performance, nutrient utilization, haematobiochemical parameters and carcass characteristics in Japanese quail. A 5-week feeding trial was conducted in a completely randomized block design on growing Japanese quail from (2 to 6 weeks of age). Apart from the control group (C), without herbal feed additives, treatment groups T1, T2 and T3 were supplemented at 0.5% ajwain, 0.5% hot red pepper and 0.25% black pepper, respectively in feed where each group was divided into 2 replicates of 15 Japanese quails in each. The results indicated that hot red pepper improved body weight (P 0.05) utilization of crude protein while significantly (Pd”0.05) minimum fat utilization was observed on supplementation of feed additives. The carcass characteristics in terms of dressing percentage increased significantly (P<0.05) and heart, liver and gizzard weights were significantly (P<0.05) highest on black pepper supplementation. The juiciness and overall acceptability of meat of Japanese quail was significantly higher (P<0.05) on addition of dietary red pepper however, texture of quail meat was similar in all the groups. Based on the results it was concluded that the hot red and black pepper could be supplemented as potential herbal feed additive in broiler Japanese quail diet for better performance in terms of weight gain, feed efficiency ratio and carcass characteristics.

Digestible lysine requirement for growing Japanese quails

A total of 1,000 one-day-old Japanese quails were distributed at random, with 5 digestible lysine levels, in 10 replicates and with 20 birds per experimental unit. The basal diet was formulated based on corn and soybean, with 200.6 g CP/kg, 2900.00 kcal/kg ME, and 8.8 g digestible lysine/kg. This basal diet was supplemented with L-lysine HCl (784 g/kg), replacing glutamic acid, and corresponding to digestible lysine levels of 8.8 g/kg, 9.8 g/kg, 10.8 g/kg, 11.8 g/kg, and 12.8 g/kg. The increase in the levels of digestible lysine produced a greater weight gain in birds with up to 12.2 and 12.1 g of lysine/kg at 40 d of age. Carcass weight increased as levels were increased to up to 11.85 g of lysine/kg, and, similarly, egg production per bird housed increased up to 12.03 g of lysine/kg. A linear increase took place in the growing phase for feathering, fat, and crude protein deposits in the carcass, feed intake, and lysine intake. Egg production and egg mass per bird per d increased linearly in the laying phase with the weight gain of birds decreasing linearly until 100 d of age, and, similarly, the feed conversion per egg mass linearly improved in function of the lysine levels. A level of 11.85 g of digestible lysine/kg in the diet, which corresponded to a lysine intake of 120.5 mg/bird/d, provided better carcass weight at the end of the growing phase and better performance at the beginning of the laying phase for the Japanese quails.

Value added by Spirulina platensis in two different diets on growth performance, gut microbiota, and meat quality of Japanese quails.

Aim:The growth promoting effect of the blue-green filamentous alga Spirulina platensis (SP) was observed on meat type Japanese quail with antibiotic growth promoter alternative and immune enhancing power.Materials and Methods:This study was conducted on 180 Japanese quail chicks for 4 weeks to find out the effect of diet type (vegetarian protein diet [VPD] and fish meal protein diet [FMPD])- Spirulina dose interaction (1 or 2 g/kg diet) on growth performance, gut microbiota, and sensory meat quality of growing Japanese quails (1-5 weeks old).Results:Data revealed improvement (p<0.05) of weight gain, feed conversion ratio and European efficiency index due to 1, 2 g (SP)/kg VPD, and 2 g (SP)/kg FMPD, respectively. There was a significant decrease of ileum mean pH value by 1 g (SP)/kg VPD. Concerning gut microbiota, there was a trend toward an increase in Lactobacilli count in both 1; 2 g (SP)/kg VPD and 2 g (SP)/kg FMPD. It was concluded that 1 or 2 g (SP)/kg vegetarian diet may enhance parameters of performance without obvious effect on both meat quality and gut microbiota. Moreover, 1 and/or 2 g (SP) may not be invited to share fish meal based diet for growing Japanese quails.Conclusion:Using of SP will support the profitable production of Japanese quails fed vegetable protein diet.

The impacts of dietary Nigella sativa meal and Avizyme on growth, nutrient digestibility and blood metabolites of meat-type quail

The present study was performed to evaluate the effect of varying proportion of Nigella sativa meal (NSM) in the diets with or without Avizyme supplementation on growing Japanese quail performance. A 4 × 2 factorial experiment was conducted including four levels of NSM (0%, 10%, 15% and 20% of the diet) and two levels of dietary Avizyme supplementation (0 or 0.5 g/kg diet) through the growing period (1–6 weeks of age). A total number of 600 unsexed 1-week-old Japanese quail chicks were randomly distributed into eight treatment groups. The effects of NSM inclusion levels were highly significant (P &lt; 0.01) on the values of live bodyweight, daily bodyweight gain and daily feed intake at all periods studied. The incorporation of 10% NSM of the diet recorded the best values of live bodyweight and daily bodyweight gain compared with the Control and other NSM levels. Quail fed diets contained 10% or 15% NSM had higher (P &lt; 0.01) daily feed intake than those in the Control, but feed conversion ratio was not statistically affected at all studied ages. All carcass traits studied were significantly (P &lt; 0.01) affected by feeding the NSM diet. The digestion coefficients of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein, ether extract and nitrogen-free extract were significantly (P &lt; 0.01 or P &lt; 0.05) increased in chicks fed diets containing 10% NSM as compared with the Control. Quail fed diets including 10% or 15% NSM had increased serum concentrations of total protein, albumin and a higher A : G ratio. All serum lipid constituents except high density lipoprotein were at lower (P &lt; 0.01) concentrations in blood serum of quail fed diets containing NSM. Using NSM at level of 20% of the diet had a negative impact on growth, carcass characteristics, and nutrient digestibility. Neither Avizyme supplementation alone nor the interaction between NSM and Avizyme had any statistically impact on all studied parameters. It can be concluded that NSM could be included in growing quail diets up to 15% without any Avizyme supplementation to support growth performance and feed utilisation, however higher NSM levels negatively affected performance, carcass traits and nutrient digestibility.

Effect of gradual substitution of soyabean meal by &lt;i&gt;Nigella sativa&lt;/i&gt; meal on growth performance, carcass traits and blood lipid profile of growing Japanese quail

Effect of gradual substitution of soyabean meal by &lt;i&gt;Nigella sativa&lt;/i&gt; meal on growth performance, carcass traits and blood lipid profile of growing Japanese quail

Methionine requirement of growing Japanese quails

In most cases that poultry diets are based on corn–soybean meal, methionine may be the first growth limiting amino acid that should be supplemented through synthetic dl-methionine. Since there is limited information on amino acid requirements of modern Japanese quails especially on methionine, a dose-response experiment with seven doses of dietary methionine (3.80, 4.30, 4.80, 5.30, 5.80, 6.30, and 6.80g/kg of diet) was conducted to estimate the nutritional needs of quail chicks for methionine. A total of 420, 7-day old quail chicks were randomly allotted to one of seven dietary treatments with 5 replicate pens and 12 birds per pen. Performance traits including feed intake (FI), weight gain (G), and feed/gain and carcass attributes including breast meat yield (BMY) and leg meat yield (LMY) were measured and used to fit several models (e.g., spline and quadratic polynomial models) for requirement estimations. Dietary treatments significantly affected all response parameters (P<0.001), so that G and feed/gain quadratically, and BMY and LMY linearly responded to incremental levels of methionine (P<0.001). The mean value of methionine requirements for G, feed/gain, BMY, and LMY were 5.21 (min: 4.73, max: 5.81), 5.12 (min: 4.46, max: 5.46), 5.37 (min: 4.80, max: 6.52), and 5.95 (min: 5.52, max: 6.21) g/kg of diet, respectively. The corresponding estimates for total sulfur amino acids (TSAA) were 9.20, 9.11, 9.36, 9.94, and 9.71g/kg of diet, respectively. This study showed that methionine requirements for maximising carcass yield (e.g., BMY and LMY) might be higher than those needed for maximising performance and estimated values of methionine and TSAA requirements were 16 and 25%, respectively, higher than those recommended by NRC (1994).

The role of vitamin E or clay in growing Japanese quail fed diets polluted by cadmium at various levels

This study was conducted to verify whether vitamin (Vit) E or natural clay as feed additives has the potential to modulate the deleterious effects resulting from exposure to cadmium (Cd) in growing Japanese quail. 648 Japanese quail chicks (1 week old) were used to evaluate the effects of dietary Cd (0, 40, 80 and 120 mg/kg diet) and two levels of Vit E (0, 250 mg/kg diet) or two levels of natural clay (0 and 100 mg/kg diet) to study the influences of Cd, Vit E, clay or their different combinations on growth performance, carcass traits, some blood biochemical components and Cd residues in muscles and liver. Live BW and weight gain of quails were linearly decreased with increasing dietary Cd levels. Moreover, feed conversion was significantly worsened with increasing Cd level. Mortality percentage was linearly increased as dietary Cd level increased up to 120 mg/kg diet. Carcass percentage was linearly decreased as dietary Cd level increased. While, giblets percentage were linearly and quadratically differed as dietary Cd level increased. Cd caused significant changes in total plasma protein, albumin, globulin, A/G ratio, creatinine, urea-N and uric acid concentrations as well as ALT, AST and ALP activities. Increasing dietary Cd level was associated with its increase in the muscles and liver. Dietary supplementation with 250 mg of Vit E/kg diet or 100 mg clay/kg improved live BW, BW gain and feed conversion when compared with the un-supplemented diet. Quails fed diet contained 250 mg Vit E/kg and those fed 100 mg clay/kg had the highest percentages of carcass and dressing than those fed the un-supplemented diet. Blood plasma biochemical components studied were better when birds received 250 mg of Vit E/kg diet and those received 100 mg clay/kg. Cd residues in the muscles and liver were significantly less in the birds had 250 mg of Vit E/kg or those received 100 mg clay/kg diet than those un-supplemented with Vit E. Growth performance traits and blood plasma biochemical components studied were significantly affected linearly by the interactions among Cd and each of Vit E and clay levels. In conclusion, the present results indicate that the deleterious effects induced by Cd plays a role in decreasing the performance of Japanese quail and that dietary supplementation with natural clay or Vit E may be useful in partly alleviating the adverse effects of Cd.

A simple estimation of ideal profile of essential amino acids and metabolizable energy for growing Japanese quail.

An experiment was conducted to determine apparent metabolizable energy (AME) and amino acid requirements of growing Japanese quail based on ideal protein concept using artificial neural network and desirability function (D-ANN). Seven-day-old quail chicks were assigned to nine experimental diets based on central composite design (CCD) containing five levels of AME (2809-3091kcal/kg) and CP (19-24.8% of diet). The ratio of lysine (Lys) to CP was set at 0.053 among all treatments, and remaining essential amino acids (EAA) were adjusted to Lys. The experimental data of CCD were fitted to D-ANN model to compute the optimal values for independent variables. The optimal values of inputs including AME, CP, digestible Lys (dLys), methionine (dMet), total sulphur amino acids (dTSAA), threonine (dThr), tryptophan (dTrp), isoleucine (dIle), valine (dVal) and arginine (dArg) for maximizing gain and minimizing feed conversion ratio were estimated at 2865kcal/kg, 25, 1.32, 0.55, 0.88, 0.84, 0.20, 0.75, 1.04 and 1.45% of diet, respectively, with D (desirability function)=0.94. The corresponding optimal amounts of amino acids based on total amino acids were 1.42, 0.59, 0.95, 0.90, 0.22, 0.81, 1.12 and 1.56% of diet respectively. The ideal pattern of essential amino acids to Lys was as follows: dMet: dLys=0.42, dTSAA: dLys=0.67, dThr: dLys=0.64, dTrp: dLys=0.15, dIle: dLys=0.57, dVal: dLys=0.79 and dArg: dLys=1.09. The results of this study showed that amino acid requirements of modern quails might be higher than those reported by NRC.

Dietary rosemary oil alleviates heat stress-induced structural and functional damage through lipid peroxidation in the testes of growing Japanese quail

Supplementation of natural antioxidants to diets of male poultry has been reported to be effective in reducing or completely eliminating heat stress (HS)-induced reproductive failures. In this study, the aim is to investigate whether rosemary oil (RO) has a protective effect on HS-induced damage in spermatozoa production, testicular histologic structures, apoptosis, and androgenic receptor (AR) through lipid peroxidation mechanisms in growing Japanese quail. Male chicks (n=90) at 15-days of age were assigned to two groups. The first group (n=45) was kept in a thermo-neutral (TN) room at 22°C for 24h/d. The second group (n=45) was kept in a room with a greater ambient temperature of 34°C for 8h/d (from 9:00 AM to 5:00 PM) and 22°C for 16h/d. Animals in each of these two groups were randomly assigned to three subgroups (RO groups: 0, 125, 250ppm), consisting of 15 chicks (six treatment groups in 2×3 factorial design). Each of subgroups was replicated three times with each replicate including five chicks. The HS treatment significantly reduced the testicular spermatogenic cell counts, amount of testicular Bcl-2 (anti-apoptotic marker) and amount of AR. In addition, it significantly increased testicular lipid peroxidation, Bax (apoptotic marker) immunopositive staining, and the Bax/Bcl-2 ratio in conjunction with some histopathologic damage. Dietary supplementation of RO to diets of quail where the HS treatment was imposed alleviated HS-induced almost all negative changes such as increased testicular lipid peroxidation, decreased numbers of spermatogenic cells, and decreased amounts of Bcl-2 and AR, increased ratio of Bax/Bcl-2 and some testicular histopathologic lesion. In conclusion, dietary supplementation of RO for growing male Japanese quail reared in HS environmental conditions alleviates the HS-induced structural and functional damage by providing a decrease in lipid peroxidation.

Effect of dietary protein level on growth performance, carcass characteristics, intestinal microflora, hematological Parameters and some biochemical changes of growing Japanese quail

Effect of dietary protein level on growth performance, carcass characteristics, intestinal microflora, hematological Parameters and some biochemical changes of growing Japanese quail

Ideal ratio of digestible methionine plus cystine to digestible lysine for growing Japanese quails

Summary Background: methionine is considered essential for maintenance, growth, and feather development. Methionine supply during the growth phase can influence the weight at sexual maturity and egg size. Objectives: to evaluate the effects of several digestible methionine + cystine/digestible lysine ratios for growing Japanese quails (1 to 40 days of age) with repercussions on the early stage of production (41 to 110 days of age). Methods: a total of 1,000 one-day-old Japanese quails were randomly distributed to five digestible (methionine + cystine)/digestible lysine ratios, with 10 replicates and 20 birds per experimental unit. A basal diet formulated to meet all nutrient requirements was added with graded levels of DL-methionine replacing glutamic acid. Results: weight of the birds at 40 days, weight gain until 40 days, feed intake, carcass weight, fat, and bodyprotein deposition, methionine + cystine intake and birds viability in the growing phase presented a linear trend. A quadratic effect was observed for feed conversion and uniformity at 40 days of age, and percentage of feathers did not vary. A linear increase occurred in the laying phase for feed intake and weight gain of the birds. No effects of the assessed ratios were observed on the other variables. Conclusions: a 0.73 ratio of digestible (methionine + cystine) to digestible lysine in the growing phase provided uniform growth and satisfying performance of Japanese quails during the laying phase. Keywords: Coturnix japonica, ideal protein, productive performance, sulfur amino acids. Resumen Antecedentes: la metionina es esencial para el mantenimiento, crecimiento y desarrollo de las plumas. El suministro de metionina durante la fase de crecimiento puede influir en factores tales como el peso corporal a la madurez sexual y el tamano del huevo. Objetivo: evaluar los efectos de varias proporciones de metionina + cistina digestibles y lisina digestible en la dieta de codornices japonesas en fase de crecimiento (1 a 40 dias de edad) y su efecto en la produccion inicial de huevos (41 a 110 dias de edad). Metodos: se utilizaron 1.000 codornices japonesas de un dia de edad, en un diseno aleatorizado con cinco proporciones de (metionina + cistina) digestible/lisina digestible, con 10 replicaciones y 20 aves por unidad experimental. La dieta basal formulada se complemento con cinco niveles de DL-metionina en sustitucion del acido glutamico. Resultados: el peso de los animales al dia 40, la ganancia de peso hasta el dia 40, la ingesta de alimento, el peso de la carcasa, la deposicion de grasa y proteina corporal, la ingesta de metionina + cistina y la viabilidad de las aves en la fase de crecimiento presentaron una tendencia lineal. Se observo un efecto cuadratico para conversion de alimento y uniformidad a los 40 dias de edad y el porcentaje de plumas no vario. Durante el periodo de produccion de huevos hubo un aumento lineal para consumo de alimento y ganancia de peso de las aves. Nao foram observados outros efeitos proporcoes em relacao a outras variaveis. Conclusiones: una proporcion de 0,73 entre metionina + cistina digestible/lisina digestible en la fase de crecimiento provee un desarrollo uniforme y un rendimiento satisfactorio en la produccion de huevos de la codorniz japonesa. Palabras clave: aminoacidos azufrados, Coturnix japonica, proteina ideal, rendimento productivo. Resumo Antecedentes: a metionina e considerada essencial para manutencao, crescimento e desenvolvimento das penas nas codornas. O fornecimento nutricional de metionina durante a fase de crescimento pode influenciar fatores como peso corporal para maturidade sexual e tamanho do ovo. Objetivo: avaliar os efeitos entre metionina + cistina digestivel e lisina digestivel na dieta para codornas japonesas na fase de crescimento (1 a 40 dias de idade) com repercussao na fase inicial de postura (41 a 110 dias de idade). Metodos: foram utilizadas 1.000 codornas japonesas com 1 dia de idade, distribuidas em delineamento inteiramente casualizado com 5 relacoes entre (metionina mais cistina) digestivel/lisina digestivel, 10 repeticoes e 20 aves por unidade experimental. Foi formulada uma racao basal suplementada com cinco niveis de DL-metionina em substituicao ao acido glutâmico. Resultados: o peso corporal das aves ate os 40 dias, ganho de peso ate os 40 dias, consumo de racao, peso de carcaca, deposicao de gordura e de proteina corporal, consumo de metionina + cistina e viabilidade das aves na fase de crescimento houve aumento linear para. Efeito quadratico foi observado para conversao alimentar e uniformidade aos 40 dias e a porcentagem de penas nao variou. Na fase de postura, ocorreu aumento linear para consumo de racao e ganho de peso das aves. Conclusoes: a relacao metionina + cistina e lisina digestivel de 0,73 na dieta de recria proporcionou crescimento uniforme e desempenho satisfatorio de codornas japonesas na fase de postura. Palavras chave: aminoacidos sulfurosos, Coturnix japonica, proteina ideal, rendimento produtivo.

Ideal ratio of digestible methionine plus cystine to digestible lysine for growing Japanese quails

Background: methionine is considered essential for maintenance, growth, and feather development. Methionine supply during the growth phase can influence the weight at sexual maturity and egg size. Objectives: to evaluate the effects of several digestible methionine + cystine/digestible lysine ratios for growing Japanese quails (1 to 40 days of age) with repercussions on the early stage of production (41 to 110 days of age). Methods: a total of 1,000 one-day-old Japanese quails were randomly distributed to five digestible (methionine + cystine)/digestible lysine ratios, with 10 replicates and 20 birds per experimental unit. A basal diet formulated to meet all nutrient requirements was added with graded levels of DL-methionine replacing glutamic acid. Results: weight of the birds at 40 days, weight gain until 40 days, feed intake, carcass weight, fat, and bodyprotein deposition, methionine + cystine intake and birds viability in the growing phase presented a linear trend. A quadratic effect was observed for feed conversion and uniformity at 40 days of age, and percentage of feathers did not vary. A linear increase occurred in the laying phase for feed intake and weight gain of the birds. No effects of the assessed ratios were observed on the other variables. Conclusions: a 0.73 ratio of digestible (methionine + cystine) to digestible lysine in the growing phase provided uniform growth and satisfying performance of Japanese quails during the laying phase.

Influences of Dietary Supplementation of Antimicrobial Cold Pressed Oils Mixture on Growth Performance and Intestinal Microflora of Growing Japanese Quails

This study evaluated the effect of dietary supplementation of antimicrobial cold pressed oils mixture [1:1:1 of Nigella sativa, cloves and rosemary (NCR)] at levels of 0.75 and 1.5 g kg–1 diet, on growth performance, carcass traits and some microbiological aspects for growing Japanese quails. A total number of 225 growing Japanese quails one week old were used in a complete randomized design experiment with three treatments. Final live body weight was significantly (p

Estimation of lysine requirements of growing Japanese quail during the fourth and fifth weeks of age

A dose-response assay was conducted using broken-line regressions to estimate the lysine (Lys) requirements of quail chicks from 21 to 35 d of age. A basal diet was formulated to be adequate in all nutrients other than Lys. Incremental levels of L-Lys.HCl were added to the basal diet at the expense of a mix of cornstarch, NaHCO3, and NaCl to create 6 experimental diets containing 0.84 to 1.59% Lys. Feed intake (FI), weight gain (WG), and feed conversion ratio (FCR) responded quadratically to incremental levels of Lys (P < 0.0001). Using the linear broken-line (LBL) model, the estimated Lys requirements for WG during the fourth and fifth wk of age were 1.25 and 1.23% of diet, respectively. The corresponding values for FCR were estimated at 1.23 and 1.26% of diet, respectively. Fitting the quadratic broken-line (QBL) model, the estimated Lys requirements for WG during the fourth and fifth wk of age were 1.34 and 1.34% of diet, respectively. The corresponding values for FCR were estimated at 1.35 and 1.36% of diet, respectively. This study showed that using the QBL model as a promising way to estimate amino acids needed in the diet, the optimal Lys level to optimize performance of growing Japanese quail at the late stage of production might be 1.36% of diet, which is 105% of NRC recommendations.

Mentha piperita (peppermint) in growing Japanese quails diet: Performance, carcass attributes, morphology and microbial populations of intestine

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary Mentha piperita L. (MP, peppermint) on growth performance, carcass characteristics, ileal morphology and intestinal bacterial populations of growing Japanese quails. A total of 360, 7-day-old quail chicks were fed six experimental diets (with 5 replicates and 12 birds each) including a basal diet with no antibiotics (negative control), the basal diet with subtherapeutic amount of flavophospholipol (positive control), MPI (basal diet + 10 g/kg peppermint), MPII (basal diet + 20 g/kg peppermint), MPIII (basal diet + 30 g/kg peppermint), and MPIV (basal diet + 40 g/kg peppermint) for 5 weeks. Dietary treatments did not affect bird performance, however, feed intake (P = 0.09) and feed conversion ratio (P = 0.06) in peppermint groups showed an incremental trends from 7 to 35 days of age. Inclusion of peppermint in the diet linearly increased the length of small intestine, villus height, villus width, crypt depth, and villus area (P < 0.001). Regression analysis showed that the maximum villus area and CFU of LAB may be obtained with 28.9 (R2 = 0.82) and 28.9 g/kg of dietary peppermint (R2 = 0.93), respectively. However, the minimum CFU of coliforms may be achieved with 22.0 g/kg of dietary peppermint (R2 = 0.50). From the results of present study, it can be concluded that peppermint at the rate of 20–30 g/kg of diet could be a promising alternative to antibiotics in order to improve intestinal bacterial populations and absorption surface area in growing Japanese quails.

Effects of Dietary Protein, Energy and Lysine Intake on Growth Performance and Carcass Characteristics of Growing Japanese Quails

The present study was performed to investigate the effect of dietary levels of protein, energy and Lys on growth performance and carcass traits of growing Japanese quails during 1-5 weeks of age. A factorial design 3×2×2 arrangement was performed including three levels of crud protein (CP; 22, 23.5 and 25%), two levels of metabolizable energy (ME; 2900 and 3000 kcal ME kgG 1 ) and two levels of total lysine (Lys; 1.3 and 1.45%). Live Body Weight (LBW) at 3 weeks of age and Body Weight Gain (BWG) during 1-3 weeks of age were significantly (p#0.01) maximized when chicks were fed 22% CP compared to those received 23.5 and 25% CP. LBW at 3 and 5 weeks of age as well as BWG through 1-3 and 1-5 weeks of age were statistically (p#0.05) decreased with increasing dietary energy from 2900-3000 kcal ME kgG 1 diet. LBW at 3 weeks of age and BWG during 1-3 weeks of age were maximum when chicks were fed 1.45% Lys compared with group received 1.3% Lys level. Interaction between protein and energy levels significantly (p#0.01) affected LBW at 3 weeks of age and BWG through 1-3 weeks of age. Also, LBW at 5 weeks of age and BWG through 1-5 weeks of age were statistically (p#0.05) influenced by the interaction between ME and Lys levels. Increasing dietary ME level from 2900 to 3000 caused significant improvements in FCR at all studied ages except period 1-3 weeks of age. The present results did not show any significant effect on all carcass characteristics due to different dietary CP, ME and Lys or their interactions, except carcass percentage was higher in chicks fed diet contained 1.3% Lys. Also, giblet percentage was significantly (p#0.01) affected by energy levels and the interaction among dietary CP, ME and Lys levels. Moreover, dressing percentage was significantly (p#0.01) influenced by CP and Lys levels. It can be concluded that, diet formulated in 22% CP, 2900 kcal ME kgG 1 and 1.3% Lys can adequately ensure the growth performance in Japanese quails.