Torta de coco em rações para codornas em fase de postura

Abstract

The present study was carried out to examine the effects of increasing levels of coconut cake in diets for Japanese quail in the laying phase on production performance and egg quality. The experiment took place in the Quail Farming Section at the Federal University of Alagoas/Arapiraca Campus. A total of 360 Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) with a laying rate of 83% and an average weight of 178.7 g were allotted to eight treatments with nine replicates and eight birds per experimental unit in a randomized-block design. Five diets were formulated — a control diet; a diet without inclusion of the by-product; and diets containing 3, 6, 9 and 12% coconut meal — for use in the experiment, which lasted 63 days, with evaluations at every 21 days. The following variables were analyzed: feed intake, laying rate, feed conversion per egg mass and per dozen eggs, egg weight, specific gravity, Haugh unit, yolk percentage, shell percentage, albumen height, shell thickness, and shell weight. The treatments elicited a positive linear response from laying rate, whereas feed conversion per egg mass decreased linearly. In terms of egg-quality traits, shell percentage was affected, increasing linearly. The coconut cake inclusion level of 12% in the diet of Japanese quail in the laying phase improved their feed conversion per egg mass, increased their laying rates, and provided a higher percentage of eggshell.