The effect of vitamin E and vitamin C on the performance of Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix Japonica) reared under heat stress during growth and egg production period


Ipek A., Canbolat Ö., Karabulut A.

ASIAN-AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCES, cilt.20, sa.2, ss.252-256, 2007 (SCI-Expanded) identifier identifier

  • Yayın Türü: Makale / Tam Makale
  • Cilt numarası: 20 Sayı: 2
  • Basım Tarihi: 2007
  • Doi Numarası: 10.5713/ajas.2007.252
  • Dergi Adı: ASIAN-AUSTRALASIAN JOURNAL OF ANIMAL SCIENCES
  • Derginin Tarandığı İndeksler: Science Citation Index Expanded (SCI-EXPANDED), Scopus
  • Sayfa Sayıları: ss.252-256
  • Anahtar Kelimeler: Japanese quail, heat stress, vitamin E, vitamin C, PRODUCTION TRAITS, CORRELATED RESPONSES, DIVERGENT SELECTION, E SUPPLEMENTATION, QUALITY, TEMPERATURE, NUTRIENTS
  • Bursa Uludağ Üniversitesi Adresli: Evet

Özet

This study was carried out to determine the effect of vitamin E and vitamin C on the performance of Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) reared under heat stress during the growth and egg production period. A total of 8 10 seven-day-old Japanese quails were used in the trial. The birds received a diet with either three levels of vitamin E (DL-alpha Tocopheryl acetate) (60, 120 and 240 mg/kg of diet) and vitamin C (ROVIMIX STAY-C 35) (60, 120 and 240 mg/kg of diet). Live weight on day 35 and weight gain were the lowest in the group of chicks on a combination of 60 mg of vitamin E and 60 mg of vitamin C, whereas the highest live weight was demonstrated in chicks on a combination of 240 mg of vitamin E and 240 mg of vitamin C (p < 0.01). The effects of treatments on cumulative feed consumption, feed conversion ratio, age at 5% lay, sexual maturity weight, rate of lay and mean egg weight values were found to be significant (p < 0.01). The highest feed consumption, feed conversion ratio, age at 5% lay, sexual maturity weight, rate of lay and mean egg weight values were found in the group on a combination of 240 mg of vitamin E and 240 mg of vitamin C. The effect of treatments on the mortality ratio was found to be insignificant (p > 0.01). The cost of supplementing diets with vitamin E and vitamin C is very low. Therefore such a combination of supplement can offer a potential protective management practice in preventing heat stress related losses in performance of Japanese quails.