• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.2
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• pp.266-268
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• 2003

This paper makes an analysis of the ecological behaviours of 3 categories of quails, namely wild Japanese quails from the Weishan Lake Area, medium-sized domestic quails and pint-sized domestic quails. The study indicates as follows: (1) There is difference in morphological and biological habits between domestic quails and wild Japanese ones. (2) The cross-breeding between the wild and domestic quails is a cross from exclusion to affinity. (3) The behaviours of quails such as pursuit,paw and mating are selective. (4) The wild Japanese quails and domestic ones can succeed in mating and in reproducing fertilized eggs but with a low rate. (5) Evolutionary differentiation has been formed in varying degrees between the domestic quails and their wild ancestors in morphological and ecological characteristics.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.603-607
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• 2001

This paper is based on the 36 wild Japanese quails which migrated to and settled in the Weishan Lake area. The gene frequency of 10 loci encoding the enzymes in viscera and muscle was detected. After collecting the same data about 20 quail colonies in China and other countries, it clusters the 21 quail populations by fuzzy cluster analysis. The study indicates that the wild Japanese quail in the Weishan Lake area is closer to domestic quail for phylogenetic system than wild Japanese quails in Japanese Islands. The paper supports the thesis that the quail domestication area should be further studied.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.9
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• pp.1304-1307
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• 2001

The laying performance of Japanese quails fed graded levels of high glucosinolate ($92.5{\mu}mole/g$) rapeseed meal (RSM) was assessed. One hundred and twenty Japanese quails aged 1 day-old were assigned at random to four dietary treatments consisting of 0, 50, 75 or 100 g/kg RSM in the diet replacing part of the soybean meal and de-oiled rice bran in a standard quail ration. 12 female representative quails from each diet were selected at random and housed in individual cages from 7-20 wk of age. The egg production, feed intake and FCR was comparable among the different dietary groups. The egg quality characteristics, organoleptic evaluation of boiled eggs as well as the haematological (haemoglobin, total erythrocyte count, total leucocyte count) and biochemical (glucose, protein, cholesterol, aspartate amino transferase, alanine amino transferase and alkaline phosphatase) constituents did not differ significantly among the groups. The gross and histopathological studies of vital organs did not reveal any appreciable changes. The feed cost was reduced by the incorporation of RSM in the diet, but only the production cost of quails fed the 75 g/kg RSM was lower in comparison to other groups. In the present study, the laying potential of Japanese quail was well-maintained up to the 100g/kg dietary level of rapeseed meal.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.9
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• pp.1300-1308
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• 2016

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of phytogenic additive and antibiotic growth promoter in laying Japanese quails. One hundred and sixty five quails were divided into three groups of 5 replicates and 11 quails (8 females and 3 males) in each replicate. Treatment 1 was fed control diet, treatment 2 was fed control diet supplemented with 0.05% bacitracin methylene disalicylate as antibiotic growth promoter and treatment 3 was fed control diet supplemented with 0.1% phytogenic feed additive (PFA) for two periods of 3 weeks each from 37 to 42 weeks of age. Results showed that egg production, eggshell strength, eggshell weight, villus height and villus height to crypt depth ratio were significantly (p${\leq}$0.05) increased and feed consumption, feed conversion ratio, albumen, Haugh unit, cholesterol, low-density lipoprotein, alanine transaminase, gamma glutamyltransferase, alkaline phosphatase, high-density lipoprotein, triglyceride, number of goblet cell, crypt depth and intestinal bacterial population of Coliforms, Salmonella and E. coli were significantly (p${\leq}$0.05) decreased in PFA fed group. It is concluded that addition of PFA containing phytomolecules and organic acids as main ingredients could significantly improve the production parameters and the general health of laying quails as an alternative to antibiotic growth promoters.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.12
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• pp.1789-1794
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• 2003

Two experiments were conducted to evaluate the effect of substituting different levels of hazelnut kernel oil meal (HKOM) for dehulled soyabean meal (DSBM) in diets for Japanese quail. Five diets in which HKOM was replaced with 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% of DSBM protein in a growing diet for a 5 week period using 450 Japanese quails of initial age of 1 week and in a layer diet for a 112 days period using 180 Japanese laying quails of initial age of 7 week were examined in experiments 1 and 2, respectively. Hence, treatment groups were: control (0 HKOM), 0.25 HKOM, 0.50 HKOM, 0.75 HKOM and 1HKOM. In the experiment 1, 1 HKOM decreased BWG compared with the 0 HKOM and 0.25 HKOM, while it increased FCR compared with the 0HKOM at day 21 (p<0.05). Compared with the other groups, 0.75 HKOM and 1 HKOM decreased BWG (p<0.01) at day 28. While the FCR of 1 HKOM was higher (p<0.01) than that of 0 HKOM, 0.25 HKOM and 0.50 HKOM, respectively, that of 0.75 HKOM was higher than that of 0 HKOM and 0.25 HKOM diets at day 28. However, at day 42 of age, BWG, FCR and the feed intake (FI) were not affected (p>0.05) by inclusion of HKOM. Mortality rate, carcase yield and liver, heart and gizzard weight (% of body weight) were not affected (p>0.05) by inclusion of HKOM to the diet. In the experiment 2, egg production was decreased (p<0.05) by the 1 HKOM diet compared with the 0.50 HKOM diet. While FCR increased by the 1 HKOM diet compared with the 0.25 HKOM and 0.50 HKOM diets (p<0.05). Feed intake for quails fed with the 0 HKOM diet was higher (p<0.05) than for quails fed with 0.50 HKOM diet. The egg yolk weight for 0 HKOM diet group was lower (p<0.05) than for quails in 1 HKOM diet group. In conclusion, the results indicate that DSBM can be replaced by HKOM in diets for growing and laying Japanese quails. However 50% HKOM has higher laying performance than 100% HKOM in the laying period.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.10
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• pp.1421-1423
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• 2003

Cross fertility between wild Japanese quail and domestic quail was explored in an experiment conducted on 18（3♂, 15♀）wild Japanese quails in Weishan Lake area, 18（3♂, 15♀）medium-sized domestic quails and 18（3♂, 15♀）pint-sized domestic quails, which were divided into nine groups. This study demonstrated that wild quail could succeed in crossing with domestic quail,producing fertilized eggs and hatching first filial generation. The findings indicated that there were no reproduction isolation between the wild Japanese quail and domestic quail, and that the best cross combination was between wild male quail and medium-sized domestic female quail, in which the fertility rate and hatchability of fertilized eggs amounted to 42.86% and 29.63% respectively. Based on the results, a new way could be adopted to protect, exploit and utilize genetic resources of wild quail.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.5
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• pp.680-683
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• 2001

The apparent metabolisable energy (AME) and N-corrected ME (AMEn) of deoiled rice bran (DORB) were determined with adult quails at 6 and 10- week of age. The DORB obtained from two types of extraction process, Batch (DORB-B) and the Continuous (DORB-C), was each included in a practical type of the reference diet at 20 or 40% level. The analysed crude protein, ether extract, total ash, calcium, phosphorus, glucose and starch content of DORB-B and DORB-C were found at 19.0, 0.79, 17.05, 0.11, 1.92, 2.3, 11.22, and 15.02, 1.56, 13.0, 0.40, 2.76, 2.16, 19.0, respectively. The level of inclusion of DORB in diet appeared to exert a significant effect on the AME and AMEn values. When bioassayed at 20% inclusion level the DORB was found to have a significantly (p<0.01) lower value than that obtained at 40% inclusion level. However, no significant effect of age of quails on the AME values of DORB was evident. The ME bioassays with quails gave significantly (p<0.01) higher AME values for DORB-C than DORB-B thereby indicating that the continuous system of solvent extraction of rice bran is superior to the batch system from this point of view. The AME value of DORB predicted from its chemical composition also revealed that the DORB-C contained approximately 15% more energy than that in DORB-B.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.20 no.2
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• pp.252-256
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• 2007

This study was carried out to determine the effect of vitamin E and vitamin C on the performance of Japanese quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) reared under heat stress during the growth and egg production period. A total of 810 seven-day-old Japanese quails were used in the trial. The birds received a diet with either three levels of vitamin E (DL-${\alpha}$Tocopheryl acetate) (60, 120 and 240 mg/kg of diet) and vitamin C (ROVIMIX STAY-C 35) (60, 120 and 240 mg/kg of diet). Live weight on day 35 and weight gain were the lowest in the group of chicks on a combination of 60 mg of vitamin E and 60 mg of vitamin C, whereas the highest live weight was demonstrated in chicks on a combination of 240 mg of vitamin E and 240 mg of vitamin C (p<0.01). The effects of treatments on cumulative feed consumption, feed conversion ratio, age at 5% lay, sexual maturity weight, rate of lay and mean egg weight values were found to be significant (p<0.01). The highest feed consumption, feed conversion ratio, age at 5% lay, sexual maturity weight, rate of lay and mean egg weight values were found in the group on a combination of 240 mg of vitamin E and 240 mg of vitamin C. The effect of treatments on the mortality ratio was found to be insignificant (p>0.01). The cost of supplementing diets with vitamin E and vitamin C is very low. Therefore such a combination of supplement can offer a potential protective management practice in preventing heat stress related losses in performance of Japanese quails.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.14 no.8
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• pp.1144-1148
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• 2001

The implications of incorporating deoiled rice bran (DORB) in diet on the utilization of certain nutrients had been examined through balance studies made with 6- and 10- week-old Japanese quails. The stuffs evaluated in this study had their origin from two different types of processes- a batch extraction (DORB-B) and another continuous process (DORB-C), and each included at 10, 20 or 30% level in an iso-nitrogenous and iso-caloric diet. On chemical analyses, the DORB-B was found to contain crude protein, 19.0; ether extract, 0.79; total ash, 17.05; Ca, 0.11; P, 1.92; glucose, 2.35 and starch 11.22 g/100 g day matter. Corresponding values for DORB-C were 15.02, 1.56, 13.0, 0.40, 2.76, 2.16 and 19.0, respectively. The data on nutrient balances with quails fed diets containing the two-types of DORB suggested no significant (p>0.05) differences in per cent retention of diet dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), ether extract (EE), gross energy (GE), nitrogen (N), crude fiber (CF), calcium (Ca) or phosphorus (P) content attributable to the extraction process. The age of the birds also appeared to have no significant (p>0.05) effect on nutrient utilization by them. However, the level of inclusion of DORB had a significant (p<0.05) effect on nutrient utilization by quails in that the retention of dietary N, EE, CF, Ca and P was better at lower than at higher levels. It is concluded that the DORB, irrespective of extraction process, can safely be employed upto 20% level in diet of adult Japanese quails without noticeable interference in utilizing the major dietary nutrients.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.13 no.12
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• pp.1726-1730
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• 2000

High fibre (CF, 242 g/kg) sunflower seed meal (SSM) was incorporated in standard grower and layer quail diets at 0, 50, 75 or 100 g/kg replacing part of the soybean meal (SBM) and deoiled rice bran (DORB). Each grower diet was offered to 30 quails housed in battery cages from day one to 5 weeks of age. At the end of the growing period, Twelve female quails from each of the four respective dietary groups were transferred to the individual laying cages and their laying performance from 7 to 20 weeks of age were evaluated on diets containing SSM at similar levels as that during the growing period. The results of growth bioassay revealed that the live weight gain, feed intake, nutrient retention and carcass characteristics of quails in different dietary groups did not vary significantly (p>0.05), although the quails fed SSM based diets utilized the feed less (p<0.05) efficiently than those fed the control diet. During the laying period, the egg production and egg quality traits remained unaffected due to dietary treatments but feed required per unit egg production increased (p<0.05) as the level of SSM in diet was increased to 100 g/kg. Although, the cost of feed per kg decreased due to the incorporation of SSM in diet but the same was not reflected in feed cost per unit gain, meat or egg production as such parameters were comparable on all the diets. It could thus be concluded that the SSM can be incorporated in quail diets upto 100 g/kg for part of SBM, an item usually expensive and also in short supply in developing countries including India.