GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF JAPANESE QUAILS (Coturnix coturnixjaponica) FED DIETS CONTAINING VARYING DIETARY LEVELS OF PROTEIN AND ENERGY

Abstract

Present experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of diets containing varying levels of crude protein (20, 2, 24 and 26%) and metabolizable energy (2600, 2800, 3000 and 3200 kcal/kg) on growth performance of growing Japanese quail. A total of 576 two-week old quail chicks were assigned into 16 treatments. Each treatment were replicated three times and each replicate had 12 birds using a 4 by 4 factorial arrangement in a completely randomized design. Data on performance and nutrient digestibility were recorded and analyzed using a completely randomized design with a 4×4 factorial arrangement during 6 weeks of age. Results of the study showed that both the main and interaction of varying dietary protein and energy levels had no effect on the growth performance of Japanese quails. It could, thus, be recommended that the lowest protein (20 %) and energy (2600 kcal ME/kg) levels be used in the diets of Japanese quails for optimal growth performance since their performance is similar even at the highest protein and energy levels.