Potential use of fish meal (Sardinella maderensis), snail meal (Achatina fulica) and African Locust Beans (Parkia biglobosa) in Japanese quails diets: zootechnical and nutritional performance

The effects of the consumption of formulated (A1, A2 and A3) and commercial (AT) feeds on the zootechnical and nutritional performance of quail (Coturnix japonica) were studied. The experiment involved 80 1-day-old quails. At the end of the experiment which lasted 9 weeks, the quantities of food ingested per day by quail A1, A2, A3 and AT were respectively 25.27±0.02 g, 25.34± 0.08g, 23.83±0.11g and 23.85±0.08g. A3 and AT quails had the highest mass gains with respective values of 3.65±0.22 and 3.64±0.17 g/d. The best feed efficiency after the growth phase was observed with quail fed with growth feed formulated A3 (6.52 ± 0.05). The carcass yields of the quails fed with the formulated growth foods A1, A2, A3 and commercial AT are respectively 63±0.01; 66±0.01; 64±0.03 and 64±0.03%. The highest mortality rate (10%) was found with quails fed A1 and A2 formulated growth feed. In short, among the formulated feeds, feed A3 had a better impact, similar or even greater than that of commercial feed AT on the zootechnical performance of the Japanese quail studied.