Effect of Dietary Hazelnut Meal Supplementation on the Meat Composition of Quails

Authors: SUZAN YALÇIN, FATMA OĞUZ, SAKİNE YALÇIN

Abstract: This experiment was conducted to study the effects of dietary hazelnut meal supplementation on the meat composition of quails. A total of 312 one-day-old Japanese quail chicks (Coturnix coturnix japonica) were divided into 6 equal groups. Six different levels of hazelnut meal (0%, 10%, 15%, 20%, 25% and 30%) were included in their diets. At the end of the 5-week experiment, 12 quails (6 male and 6 female) were slaughtered from each group at random. The levels of dry matter, protein, fat, ash and some mineral elements of the meat were determined. The values of protein, ash, energy, calcium, phosphorus, iron and zinc in the meat were not influenced by dietary treatment or sex. Significant differences (P < 0.05) in dry matter content of the meat between the control group and the groups fed 15%, 20% and 25% hazelnut meal and in fat content between the control group and the group fed 20% hazelnut meal were detected. However, when analysis of male and female carcass meat was performed separately, there were no significant differences in dry matter or fat content. It was concluded that the supplementation of hazelnut meal up to 30% to quail diets did not have any adverse effect on the meat composition.

Keywords: Hazelnut meal, quail, meat composition

Full Text: PDF