Electrolyte balance and crude protein requirement of laying Japanese quail

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of two levels of crude protein and five levels of electrolyte balance on the performance and egg-quality of laying Japanese quail. Six hundred 45-dayoldquails were distributed in a randomized-block design with a 5 × 2 factorial arrangement comprising ten treatments, five replicates, and 12 birds per experimental unit. The electrolyte balance levels were 50, 125, 200, 275, and 350 mEq kg -1 of diet, and crude protein (CP) levels were 210 and 240 g kg -1 . The performance and egg-quality variables assessed were: feed intake, feed conversion, egg-laying percentage, egg weight and mass, and albumin, yolk and shell weight. There were no interactions among the studied factors. The electrolyte balance and crude protein levels did not significantly affect the performance variables. However, increased shell weight of eggs stored for seven days was observed at an electrolyte balance level of 200 mEq kg -1 . With regard to the CP levels, increased egg weight was observed at 28 days at a level of 210 g kg -1 , whereas increased albumin weight was observed at 35 days of storage at a level of 240 g kg -1 . A tendency toward an increase in egg albumin weight during the storage period of 14 days was observed. Based on the findings of this study, it is recommended that the diet for Japanese quails in the laying phase be formulated with an electrolyte balance of 50 mEq kg -1 and 240 g kg -1 of crude protein This diet did not have a negative effect on productive performance, and by increasing the weight of egg albumin, eggs can be stored for a longer duration, thus demonstrating an alternative method to increase the shelf life of eggs. Key words: Chlorine, egg quality, performance, potassium, sodium ResumoCom o objetivo de avaliar os efeitos de cinco níveis de balanço eletrolítico e dois níveis de proteína bruta sobre o desempenho e a qualidade de ovos de codornas japonesas na fase de produção, 600 codornas com 45 dias de idade foram distribuídas em delineamento em bloco casualizado, esquema fatorial (5x2), dez tratamentos, cinco repetições e 12 aves por unidade experimental. e 240 g kg -1 . As variáveis de desempenho e qualidade dos ovos analisadas foram: consumos de ração, conversão alimentar, porcentagem de postura, peso e massa de ovos, peso de albúmen, gema e casca. Os dados de peso do ovo e peso da casca foram registrados em diferentes tempos de armazenamento dos ovos e analisados dentro de cada tempo. Observou-se que não houve efeito da interação entre os fatores estudados. Os níveis do balanço eletrolítico e proteína bruta não influenciaram significativamente as variáveis de desempenho. Entretanto o nível de 200 mEq kg -1 melhorou o peso da casca de ovos armazenados por sete dias. Com relação aos níveis de PB, o nível de 210 g kg -1 promoveu aumento do peso da gema aos 28 dias enquanto que o nível de 240 g kg -1 aumentou o peso do albúmen aos 35 dias de armazenamento. Foi observada tendência de acréscimo no peso de albúmen dos ovos até o período de armazenamen...

Supplementation of L‐glycine and L‐glutamate to Japanese quails from 01 to 36 days of age using the ideal protein concept

“…Some hypotheses for the reduced performance have been discussed, such as: reductions in dietary potassium intake and changes in electrolyte balance (Vieira et al, 2015); changes in the ratio between essential and non-essential amino acids (Waldroup et al, 2005a); increases in serum ammonia concentrations (Namroud et al, 2008), indicating an imbalance between amino acids; reductions in serum levels of triiodothyronine and thyroxine (Namroud et al, 2010); and changes in intestinal transporters (Corzo et al, 2011).…”

“…Several research studies try to elucidate the cause of the impaired performance in broilers fed diets with reduced protein levels. The hypotheses include: decreases in digestible glycine levels (Namroud et al, 2010;Vasconcellos et al, 2015Vasconcellos et al, , 2011Yuan et al, 2012); decreases in digestible lysine levels (Saima, Jabbar, Mehmud, Abbas, & Mahmood, 2010); decreases in digestible glycine/threonine ratio (Waldroup, Jiang, & Fritts, 2005b); changes in electrolyte balance (Han, Suzuki, Parsons, & Baker, 1992;Vieira et al, 2015); decreases in the ratio between essential and non-essential amino acids (Waldroup et al, 2005a); reductions in dietary nitrogen levels (Bregendahl, Sell, & Zimmerman, 2002); reductions in feed intake (Namroud et al, 2010); changes in serum levels of triiodothyronine, thyroxine and ammonia (Carew, Evarts, & Alster, 1998;Namroud et al, 2008Namroud et al, , 2010; changes in the concentration of intestinal transporters, as well as in the absorption efficiency (Corzo, Loar, Kidd, & Burgess, 2011;Nyachoti, Omogbenigun, Rademacher, & Blank, 2006;Tuitoek, Young, de Lange, & Kerr, 1997;Wu et al, 2015) and increases in fat content in the carcass (Yamazaki, Murakami, & Takemasa, 1998), which reduces muscle tissue deposition.…”