V. Chrappa et al., FEEDING (RECYCLING) OF QUAILS EXCREMENTS WITH DIFFERENT ENERGY CONTENTS IN FEED MIXTURES FOR JAPANESE-QUAILS, Zivocisna vyroba, 38(7), 1993, pp. 625-633
On Japanese quails of an age of 1 to 26 weeks, the effect of recycling
of dried quail' s excrements (20 %) was investigated by feeding mixtu
res of different energy contents (fat share 5 %, 7 %, and 9 % during r
earing and 4 %, 6 %, and 8 % during the egg laying period). Quails fed
excrements and a higher fat share (7 % and 9 %) had a lower live weig
ht (P < 0.01) at the end of rearing (at the age of 6 weeks). By increa
sing the share of fat, feed consumption decreased and feed conversion
improved but mortality of quails at the beginning of rearing increased
. Sexual maturity was delayed by 1 to 3 days. Egg laying performance i
n experimental groups did not change significantly (P > 0.05), egg wei
ght, however, decreased (P < 0.01), especially due to the lower-weight
of yolk and egg white. Other indices of egg quality were not influenc
ed (P > 0.05). Feed consumption was proportional to the level of egg p
roduction, and feed conversion recalculated on egg matter was partiall
y deteriorated (by 2.6 to 4.8 %, P > 0.05). The amount of excrements p
roduced in experimental groups was by 17.0 to 23.1 % higher and the li
ve weight of quails at the end of experiment was by 5.9 to 9.5 % lower
(P < 0.01). The dressing percentage and mortality of quails did not c
hange markedly. It can be stated that in feed mixtures for adult Japan
ese quails containing 20 % dried quail' s excrements (with the calcula
ted content of 7.42 MJ ME/kg), a 4 % share of fat can be recommended a
s sufficient for securing a suitable energy content (I 1.71 MJ ME/kg).