Foeniculum vulgare (fennel) and Cymbopogon winterianus (citronella) essential oils to replace a growth promoter in the diet of European quails

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the replacement of a growth-promoting antibiotic by fennel (Foeniculum vulgare) and citronella (Cymbopogon winterianus) essential oils in the quail diet on performance variables (weight gain, feed intake, feed conversion), as well as the carcass and cut yield. To do so, 240 one-day-old male and female European quails were distributed in a completely randomized design with four treatments, five replications and 12 animals per experimental unit. The treatments consisted of: PC – positive control diet without fennel or citronella essential oils and with the growth promoter (zinc bacitracin); NC – negative control diet without essential oils and without growth promoter; CEO - Diet with +0.078% citronella essential oil without the growth promoter; and FEO - Diet with +0.078% fennel essential oil without the growth promoter. The experiment lasted 42 days, in which the performance variables were analyzed in three periods (1-14 days; 14-21 days; and 22-42 days) and the carcass and cut yield in two periods (at 21 and 42 days). The observed data were submitted to analysis of variance and the comparison of means was performed using the Tukey’s test at 5% significance. The presence of essential oils positively influenced (P<0.05) the performance variables and the carcass and cuts yield in all analyzed periods. The use of fennel and citronella essential oils to replace zinc bacitracin in the diet of European quails improves performance and the carcass and cut yield.