-The objective of this study was to compare fattening performance, carcass traits, and egg quality of Japanese quails with different feather colors (white, dark brown, golden, and wild-type). In the study, 360 one-day-old quail chicks with 4 different feather colors were used as animal material. Quails were fed ad libitum for 42 days to determine fattening performance and carcass traits. To determine egg traits, 48 hens from each group, in a total of 192, were selected and caged according to feather color. Eggs were collected for four consecutive weeks and egg quality characteristics were measured. Different feather colors had a significant effect on live weight, feed intake, feed conversion ratio, and carcass characteristics. Significant differences between the groups were detected for egg weight, specific gravity, shape index, shell weight, albumen weight, yolk weight, albumen index, and yolk index. Japanese quails with all four feather colors can be reared depending on the choice. However, due to lower feed conversion ratio, white-feathered quails may be preferred for meat production purposes. Color variations should be considered when selecting quails.

The development of ascites was investigated in broilers at low versus high altitudes, cold versus normal ambient temperatures (AT), and 3 feeding regimens. One-day-old chicks obtained at sea level were reared at high altitude (highA; 1,720 m; n = 576) with 2 AT treatments, low AT from 3 wk onward at highA (highA/cold) and normal AT from 3 wk onward at highA (highA/norm), or at sea level (normal AT from 3 wk onward at low altitude, lowA/norm; n = 540). Under highA/cold, AT ranged between 16 to 17 degrees C in the fourth week, 17 to 19 degrees C in the fifth week, and 19 to 21 degrees C thereafter. Under highA/norm and lowA/norm, AT was 24 degrees C in the fourth week and ranged between 22 to 24 degrees C thereafter. Broilers in each condition were divided into 3 groups: feed restriction (FR) from 7 to 14 d, FR from 7 to 21 d, and ad libitum (AL). Ascites mortality and related parameters were recorded. Low mortality (0.4%) occurred under lowA/norm conditions. Under highA/norm, mortality was lower in females (8.6%) than in males (13.8%) and was not affected by the feeding regimen. The highA/cold treatment resulted in higher mortality but only in males; it was 44.2% among highA/cold AL-fed males and only about 26% under the FR regimens, suggesting that FR helped some males to better acclimatize to the highA/cold environment and avoid ascites. However, mortality was only 13.3% in AL-fed males at highA/norm and FR did not further reduce the incidence of ascites under these conditions. Thus, avoiding low AT in the poultry house by slight heating was more effective than FR in reducing ascites mortality at highA. Compared with FR from 7 to 14 d, FR from 7 to 21 d did not further reduce mortality and reduced growth. At 47 d, the majority of surviving broilers at highA had high levels of hematocrit and right ventricle:total ventricle weight ratio (>0.29), but they were healthy and reached approximately the same BW as their counterparts at low altitude. This finding may suggest that in broilers reared at highA from day of hatch, the elevation in hematocrit and in right ventricle:total ventricle weight ratio happens gradually and therefore is not necessarily indicative of ascites development.

The study was conducted to determine the effects of supplemented thyme oil extract and thyme water extract, the water soluble fraction of thyme extract, on fattening performance, blood parameters, oxidative stress and DNA damage in Japanese quails. Two hundred sixteen chicks were divided into four groups: control (no antibiotic or thyme extracts (I), fl avomycin (II), thyme oil extract (III) and thyme water extract (IV). Groups II and III received 1 g/kg fl avomycin as an antibiotic and 2.5 ml/kg thyme oil extract, respectively. Birds in group IV received 100 ml/l of thyme water extract in their drinking water. There were no signifi cant differences in liveweight between the treatment groups, but feed intake differed (P<0.01) at 0-5 weeks of age. Results showed that thyme extracts decreased feed consumption during the experiment. Similarly, the survival rate differed signifi cantly (P<0.01) between groups; the lowest was in antibiotic group. The levels of plasma cholesterol, triglyceride, high density lipoprotein, very low density lipoprotein and alkaline phosphates were similar in the four treatments. The highest rate of total oxidant status and total antioxidant response were found in group III, the lowest rate of DNA damage in the thyme oil (III) and thyme water extracts (IV) groups. It was concluded that supplementing thyme extract products in the diet of quails at the doses studied does not lead to a negative effect on the growth performance of the birds. Supplemented antibiotic caused an elevation in the oxidative stress index and in DNA damage.

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