Assessment of growth performance, haemo-biochemistry and meat quality of Japanese quails fed on Moringa oleifera
Abstract
The use of readily available, non-conventional feed resources in quail farming has the potential to sustainably improve animal protein supply in resource-poor communities in South Africa. Moringa oleifera leaf meal is one such feed resource that is rich in potentially beneficial bioactive compounds with nutraceutical properties but its utility has not been assessed in quails. This study was, therefore, conducted to determine the effect of M. oleifera leaf meal (MOLM) on growth performance, haematological and serum biochemical indices, carcass characteristics and meat quality of Japanese quails. A total of 400, one-week old, mixed gender Japanese quails (196.6 ± 3.12 g body weight) were reared using a commercial starter diet and had access to fresh water while ambient temperature was maintained via infrared lamps until 4 weeks of age. At five weeks of age, 224 female Japanese quails were obtained upon gender sexing. The female quails were then randomly and evenly allocated to 28 pens (experimental units) with each pen holding eight quails. The MOLM was used to dilute a commercial grower diet at a rate of 0, 25, 50 and 75 g/kg (CON, MOLM25, MOLM50 and MOLM75, respectively), producing four isonitrogenous and isoenergetic dietary treatments. The four diets were randomly allocated to the 28 pens resulting in seven replicates per dietary treatment. During the feeding trial feed intake and body weight gain were measured and used to calculate feed conversion efficiency (FCE). At 10 weeks of age, all quails were slaughtered at a local abattoir. Blood was collected during slaughter for analyses of haematological and serum biochemical indices. Repeated measures analysis showed no significant week × diet interaction effect on weekly feed intake, weekly body weight gain and weekly FCE. Dietary treatments had a significant effect on overall body weight gain (P < 0.05). Japanese quails fed MOLM25 had higher (P < 0.05) body weight gain (30.72 g/bird) compared to those fed on MOLM50 (18.60 g/bird). Quails offered MOLM25 had higher haemoglobin (14.85 g/dL) compared to those fed diets MOLM75 (12.69 g/dL), MOLM50 (13.70 g/dL) and CON (14.32 g/dL). There were dietary effects (P < 0.05) on the length of large intestine and weight of gizzards. Japanese quails offered MOLM75 (14.13 cm) had the longer large intestines compared to Japanese quails offered MOLM50 (11.24 cm), CON (12.73 cm) and MOLM25 (13.84 cm), and, similarly, the highest (5.45 g) gizzard weight was observed in quails fed MOLM75. It is, therefore, recommended that the inclusion of Moringa oleifera leaf meal in Japanese quails diets be at optimum level of 25 g/kg.