Response of Japanese quails to three commercial broiler feeds

Abstract

An experiment was conducted using 3 readily available commercial feeds. The work has the aim of proffering solution to the perennial problems of quail farmers due to lack of specifically formulated ad compounded commercial quail feeds in developing countries and none determination of the most suitable nutrient combination for such quails. Three commercial broiler starter feeds were used. They were designated Tl, T2 and T3 respectively and were fed for 8 weeks. Data were collected on the chemical composition of the feeds, feed consumption, body weight gain, feed/gain ratio, nutrient digestibility, carcass and egg quality characteristics. The results showed that the feeds used had significantly (P<0.05) different protein levels ranging from 21.09 - 24.89 % and metabolisable energy (M.E.) between 2.89 to 3.10 Kcal /g feed. The mean micro- nutrient levels of the feeds indicated gross micro-nutrient deficiency in the three feeds compared to the National Research Council recommendations. The response of the quails to the feeds given showed that diet T3-fed quails had the best response, hence the most suitable nutrient combination for the quails good performance which were measured in terms of final body weight, weight gain, nutrient digestibility, liver, and heart proportions. It was concluded that farmers wishing to raise quail birds in Nigeria could give them feeds with nutrient combinations as in T3 and that broiler starter diets are adequate for optimum performance of quail birds.