Published in Scientific Works. Series C. Veterinary Medicine, Vol. LXII, Issue 1
Written by Savaş SARIÖZKAN, Yusuf KONCA, Berrin KOCAOĞLU GÜÇLÜ, Eray AKTUĞ, Mahmut KALİBER, Şeyda ÖZKAN, Saadet TUĞRUL AY
This study was conducted to determine the effects of supplementation of lemon grass (Cymbopogon citratus) leaf meal on performance, carcass quality traits, and marketing of quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica). A total of 150, four-dayold quail were distributed into three groups with five replicates and 10 quail each. Quail were fed either basal diet (Control group) or 1.5% and 3% lemon grass leaf meal supplemented to basal diets for 5 weeks period. Live weight, live weight gain and feed consumption were recorded and feed efficiency was calculated at the 7th, 21st, and 35th days of the study. At the end of the experiment, carcass traits were also determined. Lemon grass supplementation ratio did not affect live weight and live weight gain (P>0.05) at 1.5% level however, 3% supplementation decreased live weight (P<0.05). Feed consumption and feed conversion ratio were not affected by lemon grass supplementation. In 3% supplemented group, intestine weight and ratio decreased (P<0.05). Lemon grass supplementation did not affect slaughter weight, carcass weight, dressing percentage, liver and gizzard weight and ratio (p>0.05). Also, meat pH, cooking loss, thawing loss, dry matter, ash and protein ratio were not affected by lemon grass supplementation (P>0.05). According to economic evaluation, supplementation of lemon grass did not improve the performance and carcass quality of quail and so, revenue from the lemon grass supplemented groups were lower than those of the control group. In conclusion, higher level supplementation of lemon grass (3%) to quail diet negatively affected the performance; however the lower level (1.5%) had no negative effect on performance and carcass quality.
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