Nutritional requirements of digestible methionine + cystine for Japanese quails in production phase Exigência nutricional de metionina + cistina digestível para codornas japonesas na fase de postura

This experiment was carried with Japanese quails in the egg production phase with the objective of determining the requirements of digestible methionine + cystine (M+C) for higher production and egg quality. A total of 240 Japanese quails were distributed in a randomized complete block design. The basal diet was supplemented with different DL-methionine levels, corresponding to digestible methionine + cystine levels of 0.55, 0.61, 0.67, 0.73 and 0.79%. The characteristics analyzed were feed intake (g/quail/day), egg production (%), egg weight (g), egg mass (g/quail/day), feed conversion (dozen eggs/egg mass and kg feed/dozen eggs), egg shell (% and g), albumen (% and g), yolk (% and g) and specific gravity (g/cm³). The digestible M+C level for Japanese quails was 0.696% in the diet, corresponding to a daily intake of 186.7 mg/quail.<br>Um experimento com codornas japonesas na fase de produção de ovos foi desenvolvido com o objetivo de determinar a exigência de metionina + cistina digestível para maior produção e melhor qualidade dos ovos. Foram utilizadas 240 aves distribuídas em delineamento em blocos inteiramente casualizados, alimentadas com uma ração basal suplementada com DL metionina, de forma a se obterem 0,55; 0,61; 0,67; 0,73 e 0,79% de metionina + cistina digestível. As características de desempenho analisadas foram consumo de ração (g/ave/dia), produção de ovos (%), peso (g) e massa de ovo (g/ave/dia), conversão alimentar (g de ração/g de ovos e kg de ração/dúzia de ovos), casca de ovo (% e g), albúmen (% e g), gema (% e g) e gravidade específica (g/cm³). O nível de metionina + cistina digestível para codornas japonesas é de 0,696%, que corresponde a consumo diário de 186,7 mg/ave

Nutritional potassium requirement for laying Japanese quails

The objective of this study was to evaluate the potassium requirement for laying Japanese quails. Two hundred and forty quails were distributed in a randomized block design, with five treatments and six replicates, with eight birds each. The treatments consisted of a basal diet deficient in potassium (K) (2.50 g/kg), supplemented with potassium carbonate, to replace the inert, to reach levels of 2.50, 3.50, 4.50, 5.50 and 6.50 (g/kg) of K in the diet. There was a quadratic effect of K levels on feed intake, egg production, egg mass and feed conversion per egg mass and per egg dozen, estimating the requirements of 4.26, 4.41, 4.38, 4.43 and 4.48 (g/kg) of K diet, respectively. There was no significant effect on the levels of K in the diet on egg weight, albumen weight, percentage of yolk or shell and yolk color. However, yolk and shell weights reduced and the albumen percentage increased linearly with increasing levels of K in the diet. Despite the reduction of shell weight, the increased levels of K did not influence the specific gravity and shell thickness. The use of 4.41 g/kg of potassium is recommended in the diet for laying Japanese quails

Desempenho e qualidade dos ovos de poedeiras semipesadas alimentadas com dietas contendo óleos de soja e canola Performance and eggs quality in laying hens fed diets with soybean and canola oils

Objetivou-se analisar a influência da adição de níveis crescentes de óleo de soja e canola sobre os índices de desempenho e qualidade interna e externa dos ovos de poedeiras comerciais semipesadas da linhagem Bovans Goldline durante cinco períodos de 28 dias. Foram utilizadas 280 aves com 18 semanas de idade, em um delineamento inteiramente casualizado, com sete tratamentos em um esquema fatorial 2 × 3 + 1 (dois tipos de óleo e três níveis de óleo mais um testemunha adicional) com cinco repetições e oito aves por unidade experimental. Os níveis de óleo de soja e de canola não alteraram o consumo de ração, os pesos dos ovos, de albúmen, de gema e de casca, as porcentagens de albúmen, de gema e de casca e a gravidade específica dos ovos. Houve influência significativa da interação tipo × nível de óleo sobre a produção de ovos e a conversão por massa e por dúzia de ovos. Com o aumento do nível de óleo de soja, os resultados obtidos para estas variáveis melhoraram, entretanto, a conversão por massa de ovo piorou com o aumento dos níveis de óleo de canola. A adição de óleo de soja promoveu desempenho melhor que o obtido com óleo de canola.<br>The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of soybean and canola oil added in crescent levels on production performance indexes and internal and external egg quality of brown commercial layers of the strain Bovans Goldline during five periods of 28 days. Two hundred and eighty hens with 18 weeks old were distributed in a completely randomized design, with seven diets in a 2 × 3 + 1 factorial arrangement (oil type and oil level, and an additional control), with 5 replicates of 8 hens per experimental unit. The soybean and canola oil levels did not affect the feed consumption; egg, albumen, yolk and shell weights; albumen, yolk and shell percentages, neither the specific gravity. There was an interaction between type and oils levels on egg production and mass conversion and per egg dozen. Better results for those characteristics were obtained as soybean oil increased. However, the egg mass conversion was negatively influenced by increase of canola oil. The addition of soybean oil promoted better performance as compared to canola oil