Supplementation of Azolla (Azolla pinnata) meal on growth performance of Japanese quails (Coturnix small)

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of dietary supplementation of Azolla meal (AZM) on the growth performance, feed efficiency and economic viability of Japanese quails (Coturnix small). The study was carried out at the Poultry Unit, College of Agriculture, Latur. Day old 180 quails were randomly divided into 4 groups viz. T1, T2, T3 and T4 with 3 replicates of 15 birds each. The diets were formulated as per NRC 1994 [16]. The dietary groups were control (T1) and treatment groups with 2% (T2), 4% (T3), and 6% (T4) Azolla supplementation. The birds were reared for six weeks, and results regarding growth performance viz., body weight, weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were recorded. Chemical analysis of Azolla meal revealed it contained 24.03% crude protein and significant mineral content. Birds shows a significant constant growth in body weight gain as increased with age. The total gain in body weight at the end of six week at inclusion of 6% Azolla was 29.99 g. Feed intake decreased in all the treatment groups with highest intake in the control group. Quails fed the 6% Azolla diet (T4) showed the significant (p<0.05) highest final body weight (231.02 g) and the best FCR (3.22), with reduced feed intake compared to the control group. The study concluded that incorporating up to 6% Azolla meal in the diet of quails improves growth performance and is safe.