Growth Performance of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) reared on deep litter and cages in the hot humid tropics of Southern Bénin Republic

Serge Alindekon; Okhiomah Ahmed Abu; Jacob Olaniyi Babayemi; Paul Agblo; Yvonne Mehouede Adjovi-boco

doi:10.20884/1.jap.2018.20.3.674

Serge Alindekon, Okhiomah Ahmed Abu, Jacob Olaniyi Babayemi, Paul Agblo, Yvonne Mehouede Adjovi-boco

Abstract

The performance of male and female quails reared separately in cages and on deep litter was investigated. One hundred and eighty 3-week old quails managed for five weeks. There were three replicates per treatment with stocking densities of 120cm²/bird in cage and 180cm²/bird on deep litter and sex as a block factor. Data on weekly body weight, weight change, daily feed and water intakes, feed: gain, carcass yield and costs of production were analysed. Daily water consumed by quails between the housing systems (62.76±11.21mL/d on deep litter vs. 66.96±12.18mL/d in cage system, p>0.05) were same. However, quails housed on deep litter consumed more feed from 43-56 days of age (25.34±1.77g/d vs. 22.99±1.55g/d). Quails reared on deep litter also grew faster during the first week of that period (3.33±1.70g/d vs. 0.69±0.87g/d). However, gain in body weight was noticed from day 22 to day 49 but a sudden decline thereafter for all quails regardless of sex and housing system. Carcass yield was not affected by housing system but values for thighs, empty gizzard and liver of quails kept on deep litter were higher (respectively 12.95±0.86% vs. 11.99±0.83%, 2.12±0.18% vs. 1.84±0.20%, 2.11±0.59% vs. 1.88±0.43%; p<0.05). Production costs were the same (p>0.05) whether on deep litter (3414.30±172.95CFA/kg) or in cages (3283.43±77.72CFA/kg). However, the production cost per kilogram of carcass of male quails was lower compared to females (3205.88±138.95CFA/kg vs. 3484.35±131.57CFA/kg, respectively) regardless of the housing system. Sex and age of quails affect performance and not the type of housing system.

Keywords

Japanese quail, housing systems, sex, performance, humid tropics

Full Text:

PDF

References

Alamuoye OF and JO Ojo. 2015. Comparison of Carcass characteristics of sexed Japanese Quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica). Sch J Agric Vet Sci. 2(5):342-344.

Bonos EM, EV Christaki and PC Florou-Paneri. 2010. Performance and carcass characteristics of Japanese quail as affected by sex or mannan oligosaccharides and calcium propionate. South African Journal of Animal Sciences. 40(3):173-184.

Dawkins MS, CA Donnelly and TA Jones. 2004. Chicken welfare is influenced more by housing conditions than by stocking density. Nature. 427(6972):342-344.

De Verdal H, S Mignon-Grasteau, C Jeulin, E Le Bihan-Duval, M Leconte, S Mallet, C Martin and A Narcy. 2010. Digestive tract measurements and histological adaptation in broiler lines di-vergently selected for digestive efficiency. Poultry Science. 89(9):1955-1961.

El-Sheikh TM, NM Essa, AAA Abdel-Kareem and MA Elsagheer. 2016. Evaluation of productive and reproductive performance of Japanese quails in floor pens and conventional cages with different stocking densities. Egyptian Poultry Science Journal. 36(2).

Favreau-Peigné A, L Calandreau, P Constantin, B Gaultier, A Bertin, C Arnould, A Laurence, MA Richard-Yris, C Houdelier, S Lumineau, A Boissy and C Leterrier. 2014. Emotionality modulates the effect of chronic stress on feeding behaviour in birds. PLoS ONE. 9(2). p.e87249.

Fouad MA, AH Abdel Razek and ESM Badawy. 2008. Broilers welfare and economics under two management alternatives on commercial scale. International Journal of Poultry Science. 7(12):1167-1173.

Kaur S and AB Mandal. 2015. The Performance of Japanese Quail (White Breasted Line) to Dietary Energy and Amino Acid Levels on Growth and Immuno-competence. Journal of Nutrition and Food Sciences. 5(4):1.

Khaldari M, A Pakdel, H Mehrabani Yegane, A Nejati Javaremi and P Berg. 2010. Response to selection and genetic parameters of body and carcass weights in Japanese quail selected for 4-week body weight. Poultry Science. 89(9):1834-1841.

Li Y, C Luo, J Wang and F Guo. 2017. Effects of different raising systems on growth performance, carcass, and meat quality of medium-growing chickens. Journal of Applied Animal Research. 45(1):326-330.

Main DCJ, S Mullan, C Atkinson, M Cooper, JHM Wrathall and HJ Blokhuis. 2014. Best practice framework for animal welfare certification schemes. Trends in Food Science and Technology. 37(2):127-136.

Marks HL. 1993. Carcass composition, feed intake, and feed efficiency following long-term selection for four-week body weight in Japanese quail. Poultry science. 72(6):1005-1011.

Nasar A, A Rahman, N Hoque, AK Talukder and ZC Das. 2016. A survey of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) farming in selected areas of Bangladesh. Veterinary world. 9(9): 940.

Shields S and M Greger. 2013. Animal welfare and food safety aspects of confining broiler chickens to cages. Animals. 3(2):386-400.

Sogunle OM, LT Egbeyale, TT Bajomo, OV Bamigboje and AO Fanimo. 2008. Comparison of the performance, carcass characteristics and haematological parameters of broiler chicks reared in cage and floor. Pakistan Journal of Biological Sciences. 11:480-483.

Tavaniello S, G Maiorano, M Siwek, S Knaga, A Witkowski, D Di Memmo and M Bednarczyk. 2014. Growth performance, meat quality traits, and genetic mapping of quantitative trait loci in 3 generations of Japanese quail populations (Coturnix japonica). Poultry Science. 93(8): 2129-2140.

Tavaniello S. 2014. Effect of cross-breed of meat and egg line on productive performance and meat quality in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) from different generations. Ph. D. Thesis, University of Molise, Italy.

Zhao XL, PB Siegel, YP Liu, Y Wang, ER Gilbert, Q Zhu and L Zhang. 2012. Housing system affects broiler characteristics of local Chinese breed reciprocal crosses. Poultry Science. 27(1):140.

DOI: http://dx.doi.org/10.20884/1.jap.2018.20.3.674