Production and hatchability of laying quails with turmeric (Curcuma longa) liquid in commercial diet and rearing in different sex ratios

Abstract

An experiment was carried out to assess the optimum turmeric concentration and ideal mating ratios for Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) for production performance of fertile eggs and hatchability. A total of 162 ten weeks old females and 27 males were assigned in the study. They were fed on a commercial layer quail diet containing approximately 18 % crude protein and 3000 kcal of metabolizable energy (ME)/kg and reared for 12 weeks in three mating ratios: 1:4, 1:6 and 1:8. (male: female), each replicated three times. A total of 540 selected hatching eggs per batch of incubation were collected and less than 7 days stored, then were incubated for hatching performance. Percentage of average egg production (AEP-%), feed intake (FI-g), feed conversion ratio (FCR), egg weight (EW-g), egg mass (EM-g/bird) and hatching performance were determined. It was observed that FI were the only performance production affected significantly (P<0.001) by feeding a commercial diet mixed with liquid turmeric. Mating ratios influence FI and FCR (P<0.001). Most hatching performances were affected by turmeric and sex ratios, except dead in-shell and normal quail chicks. The values of AEP (87.16%) and EM (8.42 g/bird/d) were the highest performance with 10 g/kg of turmeric. The ratio of 1:4 was the best mating ratio for local quail breed with highest records of all hatching performances significantly.