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Effect of Azolla inclusion in the diet of Japanese quails on voluntary intake, apparent digestibility and egg production

Abstract:

The aim of this study was to evaluate the effect of the inclusion of Azolla on the diet of Japanese quails on voluntary intake, apparent nutrient digestibility and egg production. A total of 240 16-week old quail on the first third of egg laying were used. The birds were housed in 24 raised cages (10 per cage). A completely randomized design was used with four treatments: T1: 0%, T2: 5%, T3: 10% and T4: 15% inclusion of Azolla in the diet. Voluntary nutrient intake was higher in Azolla treatments (p<0.05). The lowest egg yield g/bird/day1 was in T4 (p<0.0001) and the best feed conversion was in T1 and T2 (p<0.0001). The apparent digestibility of dry matter and organic matter showed no significant difference between treatments. The highest crude protein digestibility was in T1 (46.1%) and T2 (44.5%) (p<0.0001) and the highest for digestibility of neutral detergent fibre was in T2 (63.6%) (p=0.034). The incorporation of Azolla by 5% in the quail diet produces a similar effect in egg production and feed conversion than the control diet, which could be used as a non-conventional low-cost product.