Using Beak Manipulations and Their Effects on Performance, Injury Responses and Some Physiological Traits in Japanese Quails Under Upper Egypt Conditions.

Document Type : Research and Review Papers

Authors

1 Poultry Production Department Faculty of Agriculture Sohag University Sohag Egypt

2 Poultry Production Department Faculty of Agriculture Assiut University Assiut Egypt

3 Mohamed Abdelhady Poultry Production Department Faculty of Agriculture Assiut University Assiut Egypt

Abstract

The objective of this study was to investigate the impact of beak trimming on egg production, hematological parameters and physiological estimates of quails. Two hundreds and eighty eight quails included 3 groups with 8 replicates, 12 birds each replicate were used. The 1st group was designated as the untrimmed beak (UTB), while the 2nd and 3rd groups were underwent trimming (TB) and cauterization (CB) at one-third of the length of the beak at 15th, then re-trimmed and re-cauterized on the 56th day of life. The results demonstrated that quails in the treated groups exhibited significantly higher egg production and egg mass in comparison to the UTB group. Moreover, the treated groups exhibited reduced feed intake, enhanced feed conversion ratios, and elevated hatchability of fertile eggs relative to the UTB group. The TB group demonstrated the highest fertility rates compared to both the UTB and CB groups. Early embryonic mortality was significantly lower in the TB group, while the CB quails experienced less late embryonic mortality than their UTB group. Moreover, the shell %, yolk %, yolk index and eggshell thickness of eggs in the treated groups significantly affected compared with UTB group. Also, H/L ratio and testosterone hormone level in treated groups were significantly lower in comparison to UTB group. In conclusion, the trimming and cauterization of beaks in Japanese quails considerably reduced injury responses and enhanced their performance.

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