Egg production trajectories of quails fed moderate energy and protein levels supplemented with digestibility enhancer

Abstract

Betaine is proven as a digestibility enhancer that improves egg production. This study investigated the egg production trajectory of quails receiving betaine supplementation. The experimental population comprised of 204 quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) which were allotted to two treatments and six replicates with 17 quails each. The quails were given a basal diet containing 2,700 kcal/kg of metabolizable energy and 18% crude protein, without (Control) and with 0.12% betaine supplementation (Betaine). Egg production were collected from adaptation (age 42-62) and treatment period (age 63-118), and they were subjected to T-Test. The data were plotted to obtain the egg production trajectory. A logistic regression model was employed to see the trend of the egg production patterns. There was no significant difference in egg production during adaptation period. Furthermore, during treatment period, the egg production enhanced (p<0.01) following betaine supplementation (59.54±13.11% vs 63.72±13.52%). This finding was confirmed by egg production trajectory curves. Results from logistic regression showed that the trend for both treatment groups were similar with slightly different fitness. Coefficient determination (R2) for both groups were 0.96 and 0.95, respectively. Betaine supplementation was able to improve quail egg production; however, the trend of trajectory was similar from that without supplementation.