Comparison of Infrared Lamp Versus Quartz Bar Radiant Brooders for Bobwhite Quail

Abstract

Four experiments were conducted to evaluate the effects of brooder type and use of brooding paper (during 1st wk of brooding) on performance of Bobwhite quail (BWQ) chicks. In Experiment 1,1,500 day-old BWQ chicks were equally divided between two treatments: pen brooding by infrared heat lamp (TR-LAMP) and pen brooding by quartz bar radiant heater (Q-BAR). In Experiments 2, 3, and 4, day-old BWQ chicks were assigned to four treatments: IR-LAMP with brooding paper; IR-LAMP without brooding paper; Q-BAR with brooding paper, and Q-BAR without brooding paper. Each treatment consisted of three pens of 215, 225, and 230 birds each for Experiments 2, 3, and 4, respectively.Body weight, feed consumption, and mortality were not significantly different among brooder types in Experiment 1. Neither brooder type nor brooding paper treatments significantly affected mortality in Experiments 2, 3, and 4. With both type brooders, birds reared with brooding paper showed a consistently, significant (P<05) lower Week 1 feed consumption over those without brooding paper (2.76 versus 3.48 g per bird per day). Cumulative feed consumption differences were not significant among brooding paper treatments for Weeks 1 to 3. In general, none of the brooder environment variables was found to significantly affect the 3-wk performance of BWQ chicks. (Key words: brooding environment, brooder type, body weight, mortality, Bobwhite quail)