The Supplementation of Different Levels of Moringa oleifera Leaf Powder in Diet and Its Effect on Growth Performance, Carcass, Meat and Skin Quality Traits in Japanese Quails.

BACKGROUND

Moringa oleifera is a plant that has a very high composition of nutrients, including vitamins, minerals, amino acids and fatty acids, in its leaves and seeds, and has shown a potential to improve growth performance in poultry species when added as a supplement in their diet.

OBJECTIVE

This study investigated the supplementation of different levels of Moringa oleifera leaf powder and its effect on growth performance, carcass, skin and meat quality traits in Japanese quails.

METHOD: A total of 480-days-old quails were used in this study. The birds were randomly divided into four experimental groups which consisted of quails fed a conventional diet (control, M-0) or a conventional diet supplemented with 2% (M-2), 4% (M-4) and 6% (M-6) Moringa oleifera leaf powder.

RESULTS

The results revealed that body weight and average body weight gain at 2 weeks of age were higher in M-2 quails than in quails in the other experimental groups (p < 0.05). The body weight and average body weight gain at 1, 3, 4 and 5 weeks of age were similar among the quails in the various experimental groups (p > 0.05). In addition, the feed intake, feed conversion ratio per bird, carcass, meat and skin quality traits did not vary among the quails in the various experimental groups (p > 0.05).

CONCLUSION

The findings of the current study indicate that adding Moringa oleifera to quails' diets may have the potential to enhance the growth performance of quails without having an adverse effect on their carcass and meat quality traits. Nevertheless, in order to ensure a long-lasting impact of Moringa on growth, carcass and meat quality, the amount of Moringa that is added to the diet must be carefully considered.