Arginine supplementation improves reproductive performance, antioxidant status, immunity and maternal antibody transmission in breeder Japanese quail under heat stress conditions

Abstract

This study was conducted to determine the effects of arginine (Arg) supplementation on reproductive performance, immune response and antioxidant status in breeder quails reared under heat stress (HS). A total of 125 breeder quails were divided into five groups. One group was kept in an environmentally controlled room (22 °C) and considered as thermoneutral and four groups were kept at 34 °C and fed a basal diet or a basal diet supplemented with Arg concentrations 1.15, 1.30 and 1.45 times the quail requirements per NRC recommendation. HS decreased performance in birds fed basal diet (p