Supplementation of laying japanese quail with amylase, phytase and protease

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of supplementation of diets for laying Japanese quail with amylase, phytase and protease alone or in combination. Three-hundred quail were assigned to a completely randomized design consisting of five treatments and six repetitions, with 10 animals per experimental unit. The treatments were: a control diet and diets supplemented with 300 ppm amylase, 300 ppm protease and 500 phytase units (FTU)/kg and the combination of these enzymes. In the diets containing the enzymes, the nutritional requirements of one or more of the following components were reduced: protein, digestible amino acids, energy, calcium and phosphorus, giving priority to the use of enzymes. The evaluations were performed over four periods of 21 days each. Performance (mean egg production, feed intake, mean egg weight, and feed conversion), egg quality (proportion of egg constituents and specific egg weight), and dietary nutrient digestibility (apparent digestibility coefficient of dry matter and crude protein) were evaluated. There was no significant effect of the treatments on the variables analyzed (P>0.05), indicating that the enzymes, alone or in combination, have beneficial effects, maintaining performance and egg quality of Japanese quail.

Keywords

• avicultura
• coturnicultura
• nutrição
• qualidade de ovos.