The effect of hatchery waste meal in ration on nutrient retention and performances of laying quails

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of hatchery waste meal (HWM) as a whole or without shell (shell-less) in the diet on nutrient retention and performance of quails. The study used 500 female quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) aged 30 days with an average initial body weight of 94.75±4.17 gr. The quails were randomly allocated to five dietary treatments in a completely randomized design with 5 replicates of 20 quails. The dietary treatments were: Control = basal diet, Whole 4% = 96% basal diet + 4% whole HWM, Whole 8% = 92% basal diet + 8% whole HWM, Shell-less HWM 4% = 96% basal diet + 4% of shell-less HWM, Shell-less HWM 8% = 92% basal diet + 8% of shell-less HWM. The data were subjected to analysis of variance, when the treatments indicated significant effect it was continued with Duncan’s Multiple Range Test. Quails fed HWM up to 8% improved (P<0.05) their crude fat retention, apparent metabolizable energy, calcium consumption and calcium retention (P<0.05). In addition, HWM in the ration increased the performance, and also yolk and albumen weight, but decreased (P<0.05) yolk and albumen index. It can be concluded that HWM improved performance and nutrient retention of quails.