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Growth performance and carcass characteristics of Japanese quail fed rations with inclusion of different levels of broken rice

Rahman, M. M.^1,2,*, Suniza Anis, B. M. S.¹ and Jennlelyn, A. J.¹

¹Faculty of Agro Based Industry, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Jeli Campus, 17600 Jeli, Kelantan. Malaysia.
²Institute of Food Security and Sustainable Agriculture, Universiti Malaysia Kelantan, Jeli Campus, 17600 Jeli, Kelantan. Malaysia.

Malaysian J. Anim. Sci. 2019 22(2): 27-33

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Rapid increase in poultry production is boosting the use of corn, since this ingredient is the main cereal grain for livestock feeding. Due to high demand, especially during off-seasons periods, corn price sometimes increases and it is necessary to reduce the dependency on imported corn. Therefore, this study was untertaken to investigate the feeding effects of different levels of broken rice inclusion as replacement for corn in the diet on the growth performance, survivability and carcass characteristics of Japanese quails (3-11 wk of age).  A total of 180 unsexed quails (2 wk of age) were randomly divided into 3 experimental diets with 3 replicates of 20 birds each according to a completely randomized design. Experimental diets consisted of 3 levels (10, 20 and 30%) of broken rice for replacing the corn. The weekly body weight (BW), feed consumption and mortality were recorded. At the end of feeding trail, 5 male birds from each replicate were slaughtered. The carcass weight, dressing percentage, and yields of heart, liver, gizzard and feet were taken. Results showed that increasing levels of broken rice in the diets did not affect (p>0.05) feed intake, weekly BW, average BW gain and survivability, except for final BW. Birds fed diet containing 20% broken rice showed significantly (p<0.05) lower final BW than the brids fed diets containing 10 or 30% broken rice. Regarding to carcass characteristics, increasing levels of broken rice in the diets did not affect (p>0.05) dressing percentage or yields of heart, liver and fee, except for gizzard. Birds fed diet containing 30% broken rice showed lower (p<0.05) gizzard yield than the birds fed diets containing 10 or 20% broken rice. The results of this study indicated that broken rice can be used in growing quails? diet up to 30% without any adverse effects on their growth performance, survivability and carcass characteristics.