Evaluation of carcass yield of meat from quails fed diets with different protein levels

Abstract

An experiment has been carried out aiming
to evaluate the carcass yield of male and female meat
quails fed with diets containing 20, 22, 24, and 26% of
crude protein (CP), respectively, all of them displaying
the same caloric and lysine levels. A total of 960 quails
were used in a completely randomized design, with a
factorial of 2 genders and 4 levels of CP, totalizing 8
treatments with 4 replicates of 30 birds each. Carcass
yield was evaluated at the end of 49 days of the beginning
of the experiment. The levels of CP used in this trial did
not display any significant effect on most of the studied
parameters. It has been observed an interaction (p < 0.05)
for the yield of edible viscera, with females fed with 22%
CP displaying higher averages than those fed with 24%
CP. There was no effect on the protein levels upon males.
Body and carcass weights and non-edible viscera yield
were higher in females, while carcass and post chilling
yields were higher in males (P < 0.05).