Abstract
A study was conducted to investigate the feasibility of feeding sunflower seed meal (SSM), neem kernel meal (NKM), and rapeseed meal (RSM) to growing Japanese quail by incorporating these protein meals into a standard quail diet at 100 g kg-1 in place of soya bean meal and deoiled rice bran. Each diet was offered to 30 quail chicks (3 replicates of 10) housed in battery cages from one day old to five weeks of age. Chicks fed NKM diets gained 121.6 g which was significantly (P < 0.05) lower than those gained by the control (129.9 g), SSM (128.1 g), and RSM (129.4 g) groups. Feed intake was not significantly altered due to dietary variations. However, quail fed SSM utilized feed less efficiently (P < 0.05) compared to those on the other diets. Blood biochemical constituents and carcass characteristics for meat did not vary significantly (P > 0.05) due to dietary treatments. Histopathology of liver and kidney tissues from NKM-fed quails revealed mild degenerative changes. It was concluded that growth performance was unaffected at 100 g kg-1 inclusion of SSM and RSM in the diet, but NKM inclusion at this level not only reduced growth, but also induced mild pathological changes in vital organs of quail.
