• 한국가금학회지
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• 제26권2호
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• pp.81-84
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• 1999

Chicken has been one of the most useful animals for life. They have been not only one of the most economical and adundant sources of valuable nutrients, but also the very good experimental animal to develop modern sciences. In Japan, eggs laid by the chickens have long been good sources of cash income for farmers and in many cases even for Samurais. Although nearly 50 millions of chickens were raised and they were of considerable importance in Japanese agricultre before the World War II, the industrialization or specializatin started after the War, Substantiallysince the 1960s. Among other spcies of poultry then chickens, ducks and Japanese quails are of some importane in Japan. Duck meat is often used in various cuisines at higher class restaurants and Japanese quail eggs are widely used. Hower those those species of commpared with chickens.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제18권10호
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• pp.1479-1484
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• 2005

A study was conducted to determine the effects of restricted feeding and feed form on the growth performance, characteristics of carcass and digestive tract, and days to first egg of Japanese quail (JQ, Coturnix coturnix japonica). A total of 240 oneweek-old JQ chicks were allocated randomly into 4 experimental groups that consisted of 3 replicates according to a 2${\times}$2 factorial arrangement for two feeding methods (ad libitum, AF and restricted feeding, RF) and two diet forms (mash, MD and crumble, CD). The JQ chicks were placed in a room with floor battery brooders and fed a commercial starter diet from 7 to 14 d of age. According to the experimental design, four treatments (1: ad libitum MD, 2: restricted MD, 3: ad libitum CD, and 4: restricted CD) were applied. Feed restriction was applied by 30% reduction of ad libitum feed intake for both MD and CD from 15 to 28 d of age. All birds were fed ad libitum with treatment diets from 29 d of age until the first laid egg seen (45 d of age). The commercial starter diet, MD and CD were in the same nutrient content (240 g crude protein with 13.4 MJ ME per kg diet). The body weight and overall feed conversion ratio (g feed/g gain) were higher (p<0.05) for the AF quails than the RF at 42 d of age. Carcass weights, dressing percentage and percentage yields of breast and back were similar for AF and RF groups at 42 d of age. The RF delayed (p<0.05) onset of egg production 2 days compared to the AF. Quail fed with the CD showed higher value (p<0.05) for carcass weight and dressing percentage at 42 d of age compared to birds fed with the MD. The interaction effect of feeding method${\times}$feed form on any of the studied parameters was not significant. The results suggest that feed restriction as in the present study can achieve a better feed conversion without reduction in carcass weight, and a significant benefit of feeding the crumble diet over the mash diet was obtained in terms of carcass weight in the JQ.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제16권12호
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• pp.1789-1794
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• 2003

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of substituting different levels of hazelnut kernel oil meal (HKOM) for dehulled soyabean meal (DSBM) in diets for Japanese quail. Five diets in which HKOM was replaced with 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of DSBM protein in a growing diet for a 5 week period using 450 Japanese quails of initial age of 1 week and in a layer diet for a 112 days period using 180 Japanese laying quails of initial age of 7 week were examined in experiments 1 and 2, respectively. Hence, treatment groups were: control (0 HKOM), 0.25 HKOM, 0.50 HKOM, 0.75 HKOM and 1HKOM. In the experiment 1, 1 HKOM decreased BWG compared with the 0 HKOM and 0.25 HKOM, while it increased FCR compared with the 0HKOM at day 21 (p<0.05). Compared with the other groups, 0.75 HKOM and 1 HKOM decreased BWG (p<0.01) at day 28. While the FCR of 1 HKOM was higher (p<0.01) than that of 0 HKOM, 0.25 HKOM and 0.50 HKOM, respectively, that of 0.75 HKOM was higher than that of 0 HKOM and 0.25 HKOM diets at day 28. However, at day 42 of age, BWG, FCR and the feed intake (FI) were not affected (p>0.05) by inclusion of HKOM. Mortality rate, carcase yield and liver, heart and gizzard weight (% of body weight) were not affected (p>0.05) by inclusion of HKOM to the diet. In the experiment 2, egg production was decreased (p<0.05) by the 1 HKOM diet compared with the 0.50 HKOM diet. While FCR increased by the 1 HKOM diet compared with the 0.25 HKOM and 0.50 HKOM diets (p<0.05). Feed intake for quails fed with the 0 HKOM diet was higher (p<0.05) than for quails fed with 0.50 HKOM diet. The egg yolk weight for 0 HKOM diet group was lower (p<0.05) than for quails in 1 HKOM diet group. In conclusion, the results indicate that DSBM can be replaced by HKOM in diets for growing and laying Japanese quails. However 50% HKOM has higher laying performance than 100% HKOM in the laying period.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제13권12호
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• pp.1726-1730
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• 2000

High fibre (CF, 242 g/kg) sunflower seed meal (SSM) was incorporated in standard grower and layer quail diets at 0, 50, 75 or 100 g/kg replacing part of the soybean meal (SBM) and deoiled rice bran (DORB). Each grower diet was offered to 30 quails housed in battery cages from day one to 5 weeks of age. At the end of the growing period, Twelve female quails from each of the four respective dietary groups were transferred to the individual laying cages and their laying performance from 7 to 20 weeks of age were evaluated on diets containing SSM at similar levels as that during the growing period. The results of growth bioassay revealed that the live weight gain, feed intake, nutrient retention and carcass characteristics of quails in different dietary groups did not vary significantly (p>0.05), although the quails fed SSM based diets utilized the feed less (p<0.05) efficiently than those fed the control diet. During the laying period, the egg production and egg quality traits remained unaffected due to dietary treatments but feed required per unit egg production increased (p<0.05) as the level of SSM in diet was increased to 100 g/kg. Although, the cost of feed per kg decreased due to the incorporation of SSM in diet but the same was not reflected in feed cost per unit gain, meat or egg production as such parameters were comparable on all the diets. It could thus be concluded that the SSM can be incorporated in quail diets upto 100 g/kg for part of SBM, an item usually expensive and also in short supply in developing countries including India.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제19권2호
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• pp.198-202
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• 2006

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of phytase, organic acids and their interaction on body weight gain, feed consumption, feed conversion ratio, carcass yield and tibia ash. A total of 680 three-day old Japanese quail chicks (Coturnix coturnix japonica) were assigned to 20 battery brooders, 34 chicks in each. The experimental period lasted 35 days. The treatment groups employed were: 1) a positive control which included 3.5 g available phosphorus (AP)/kg diet and 10 g Ca/kg diet; 2) a negative control which included 2 g AP/kg diet and 8 g Ca/kg diet, 3) negative control diet supplemented with either 300 FTU phytase/kg diet (phytase) or 4) 2.5 g organic acid (lactic acid+formic acid)/kg diet (organic acid); or 5) 300 FTU phytase/kg diet+2.5 g organic acid/kg diet (phytase+organic acid). All birds were fed with the positive control diet for a week and then transferred to the dietary treatments. At the end of the study, there were no differences (p>0.005) among the groups in body weight, weight gain, feed consumption, feed conversion ratio and carcass yield. Tibia ash, however, was reduced (p<0.001) for quails fed the negative control diet containing a low-level of AP compared to the positive control diet containing adequate AP. The addition of phytase, organic acid or phytase+organic acid to the diets containing the low-level of AP improved (p<0.001) tibia ash. On the other hand, an extra synergistic effect of phytase and organic acid on tibia ash was not determined. This study demonstrated that it may be possible to reduce supplemental level of inorganic P with phytase and/or organic acid supplementation for quail diets without adverse effect on performance and tibia ash.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제24권8호
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• pp.1060-1068
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• 2011

The LDH isozymes are key catalysts in the glycolytic pathway of energy metabolism. It is well known that the distribution of the LDH isozymes vary in accordance with the metabolic requirements of different tissues. The substrates required for energy production change noticeably at successive stages of testes development suggesting a significant flexibility in the expression of glycolytic enzymes. Therefore, expression of LHDA and LDHB mRNAs was examined in adult and prepubertal quail testis. The mRNA of both LDHA and LDHB were expressed and no significant difference was observed in prepubertal testes. The mRNA levels of LDHB significantly increased during testicular development. In the adult testis, LDHA mRNA was not expressed. Expression studies revealed the presence of different LDH isozymes during testicular development. In contrast, electrophoresis of both testicular samples revealed only single band at a position indicative of an extreme type of LDH isozyme in quail testes. Furthermore, nucleotide and amino acid sequence analysis revealed significant similarity to chicken, duck and rock pigeon. These sequence results confirmed the similarity of LDHA and LDHB subunit protein in different avian species.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제20권2호
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• pp.252-256
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• 2007

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 810 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.

• Animal Bioscience
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• 제35권3호
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• pp.385-398
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• 2022

Objective: The objective was to evaluate the influence of different dietary crude protein (CP) levels during the growth phase on reproductive characteristics and reproductive efficiency as well as the body development of adult male Japanese quail. Methods: Three hundred one-day-old male quails were distributed into five treatments with diets containing different CP levels (18%, 20%, 22%, 24%, and 26%) in a completely randomized design, with six replicates of ten birds each. The CP diets were applied only during the growth phase (1 to 35 days). At 36 days of age, the birds were transferred to 30 laying cages with three males and nine females each, and all birds received the same diet formulated to meet production-phase requirements until 96 days of age. Results: The growth rate of the birds increased linearly (p<0.01) with increasing dietary CP, but the age of maximum growth decreased (p<0.05). At growth maturity, all birds had the same body weight (p>0.05). At 35 days of age, higher weight gain was obtained (p<0.05) with diets containing 22% CP or higher. No effects on feed conversion were observed in this phase. The increase in dietary CP enhanced (p<0.01) nitrogen intake and nitrogen excretion but did not affect (p>0.05) nitrogen retention. Testis size, seminiferous tubular area, number of spermatogonia, and germinal epithelial height at 35 days of age increased linearly (p<0.05) with dietary CP, while the number of Leydig cells decreased (p<0.01). The Sertoli cell number at 60 days of age increased linearly (p<0.01) with dietary CP. Dietary CP levels did not affect cloacal gland size, foam weight, foam protein concentration, semen volume, or flock fertility at 90 days of age. Conclusion: Dietary CP concentration affected body and testicular development in male Japanese quails but did not affect reproductive efficiency.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제14권8호
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• pp.1144-1148
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• 2001

The implications of incorporating deoiled rice bran (DORB) in diet on the utilization of certain nutrients had been examined through balance studies made with 6- and 10- week-old Japanese quails. The stuffs evaluated in this study had their origin from two different types of processes- a batch extraction (DORB-B) and another continuous process (DORB-C), and each included at 10, 20 or 30% level in an iso-nitrogenous and iso-caloric diet. On chemical analyses, the DORB-B was found to contain crude protein, 19.0; ether extract, 0.79; total ash, 17.05; Ca, 0.11; P, 1.92; glucose, 2.35 and starch 11.22 g/100 g day matter. Corresponding values for DORB-C were 15.02, 1.56, 13.0, 0.40, 2.76, 2.16 and 19.0, respectively. The data on nutrient balances with quails fed diets containing the two-types of DORB suggested no significant (p>0.05) differences in per cent retention of diet dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), ether extract (EE), gross energy (GE), nitrogen (N), crude fiber (CF), calcium (Ca) or phosphorus (P) content attributable to the extraction process. The age of the birds also appeared to have no significant (p>0.05) effect on nutrient utilization by them. However, the level of inclusion of DORB had a significant (p<0.05) effect on nutrient utilization by quails in that the retention of dietary N, EE, CF, Ca and P was better at lower than at higher levels. It is concluded that the DORB, irrespective of extraction process, can safely be employed upto 20% level in diet of adult Japanese quails without noticeable interference in utilizing the major dietary nutrients.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• 제19권2호
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• pp.224-230
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• 2006

Japanese Quails were used to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation with vitamin E (dl-a-tocopheryl-acetate), lycopene, and their combination on egg production, egg quality, concentrations of malondialdehyde (MDA), vitamin E, A and cholesterol in serum and egg yolk. Quails (n = 120; 55 d old) were divided into four groups (n = 30/group) and fed a basal diet or the basal diet supplemented with lycopene (100 mg/kg diet), vitamin E (250 mg dl-${\alpha}$-tocopheryl-acetate/kg diet) or a combination of lycopene and vitamin E (100 mg/kg lycopene plus 250 mg dl-${\alpha}$-tocopheryl-acetate/kg diet). Vitamin E and lycopene did not affect (p>0.05) body weight, feed intake or egg weight. Egg production and Haugh unit were greater (p<0.05) in each supplemental group compared with the control group (p<0.05). Serum and liver MDA levels were decreased in supplemented groups compared with the control group. Separately or as a combination, supplemental lycopene and vitamin E increased serum and egg yolk vitamin E and A but decreased cholesterol concentrations (p<0.05). In general, when a significant effect was found for a parameter, the magnitude of the responses to vitamin and lycopene supplements was greatest with the combination of the lycopene and vitamin E, rather than that observed with each supplement separately. Results of the present study indicate that supplementing with a combination of dietary lycopene and vitamin E reduced serum and yolk cholesterol concentrations and improved antioxidant status.