FEEDING OF QUAIL DROPPINGS IN FEED MIXES WITHOUT ANIMAL PROTEINS TO JAPANESE-QUAIL

The breeding of Japanese quail as a heterotrophic link in the closed e cosystem should involve recycling of biogenic substances of quail drop pings, among other things by their re-feeding. Besides their feeding i n dried form, one of the alternatives is their cultivation by larvae o f the housefly (Musca domestica L.). Numerous papers have shown that d ried quail droppings (cultivated or uncultivated) can be administered up to the amount of 20% in feed mixtures without any substantial effec t on quail performance. In the present paper investigations are descri bed aimed at determining the productive effect of feeding dried uncult ivated and cultivated quail droppings (together with pupae) in feed mi xes with animal-protein feeds as well as vegetable-protein feeds to Ja panese quail (Tabs. I to II). The trial lasted from 2 to 26 weeks of q uail age nursing period 2nd to 6th week, laying period 7th to 26th wee k of age. Tab. IV shows the results obtained in the nursing period. Ad ministration of booth types of droppings postponed sexual maturity by 1 to 3 days when feed mixes with animal proteins were fed and by 2 to 6 days while mixes with vegetable proteins were fed (Tab.V). Droppings feeding in mixes with animal proteins did not significantly influence egg production and weight (P > 0.05), while administration of mixes w ith vegetable proteins decreased these indicators only insignificantly (by 2.9% and 3.8%, resp.) in uncultivated droppings; in cultivated dr oppings the decrease was significant (by 4.9% and 6.6%, resp.). The ba se mixture with vegetable proteins did not affect laying intensity, bu t egg weight decreased by 6.6% (P < 0.05). Administration of droppings in the mix with animal proteins significantly decreased only the weig ht (P < 0.05) and percentage of yolk in the case of uncultivated dropp ings (Tab. VI), while in the mix with vegetable proteins which themsel ves decreased the weight of egg, albumen and yolk the feeding of culti vated droppings did not decrease albumen weight. Droppings feeding how ever decreased egg shape index in both types of feed mixes (P < 0.05). The quail with dietary droppings consumed by 10.4 to 12.8% more of al l feed but by 10.2 to 11.7% less of grains (P < 0.01) regardless of pr otein composition. Differences in feed conversion were proportionately worse to a reduction in egg weight (by 12.9% and 14.9% in all feed an d by 8.3% and 9.7% in grains with animal proteins; by 18.2% and 21.5% in all feed and by 3.5% and 5.6% in grains with vegetable proteins). T he ratio of fresh droppings produced to ingested feed increased from 0 .55 to 0.60 and 0.61 for mixes with animal proteins, and from 0.59 to 0.62 and 0.63 in mixes with vegetable proteins, applying to the groups with dietary droppings (Tab. VII). In uncultivated droppings, a trend of an increase in crude protein content and of a decrease in digestib le crude protein in dried droppings was observed for mixes with animal proteins, while in cultivated droppings a decrease in both indicators was observed for mixes with vegetable proteins. There was not any sig nificant difference in the live weight of quail, except a weight incre ase in group III TKZ. Neither was there a difference in the dressing p ercentage and mortality of quail. Dried quail droppings, both uncultiv ated and cultivated by housefly larvae, can be fed in mixes with anima l proteins without any significant decrease in performance up to the a mount of 20%. Feeding in mixes with vegetable proteins decreases egg w eight while the feeding of cultivated droppings also lowers egg produc tion.