Egg production and egg characteristics of Japanese quails as influenced by strains, ration, stocking density and their interactions

Increased demand of animal products led to alternate, delicious and environment friendly quail production which requires less space compared to chicken. To know optimum nutrient requirement at affordable stocking density with respect to strain was the objective of this study. Two strains (colored and white plumage) of Japanese quails were randomly allocated to two rations of different energy (2400 and 2600 Kcal/kg) at two different stocking densities (125 and 150cm²/bird). Daily feed consumption, egg production and shell less eggs were recorded. Biweekly egg weight, specific gravity and shape index were measured. Significant effect of strain was observed for various egg production and quality parameters. Different energy levels fail to affect the productive performance however, higher energy improved egg quality parameters. Stocking density did not influence the egg productive and quality parameters. It is concluded that strain variability exists and white plumage strain need improvement. The nutrient requirements of these two strains are required to be worked out separately.