Sustainable nutritional strategy in laying Japanese quail using a mixture of enzymes and feed restriction

Abstract

This study aimed to evaluate the effects of two feeding regimes—ad libitum feeding and feed restriction at 20% below the daily ad libitum intake—combined with two levels of a dietary enzyme mixture (0% and 0.075%) on the productive performance of laying Japanese quail. A total of 96 sexed quail, aged 15 to 27 weeks, were used in the experiment. The birds were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments with four replicates per treatment (six birds per replicate) according to a 2 × 2 factorial design, The results showed that supplementation with the enzyme mixture significantly (P ≤ 0.05) improved the total egg number compared with the non-supplemented treatment. In addition, enzyme supplementation did not result in significant differences (P ≤ 0.05) in average feed intake, Regarding feed restriction, no significant adverse effects were observed on average egg production or egg weight. However, feed restriction improved feed conversion ratio during certain periods, indicating enhanced feed utilization efficiency and reduced feed wastage. A significant reduction in average feed intake was also observed compared with ad libitum feeding, without affecting egg quality traits or dressing percentage. This reflects the ability of quail to adapt to reduced feed availability while maintaining essential physiological requirements, Furthermore, the interaction between feed restriction and enzyme supplementation showed that their combination improved egg production while maintaining lower feed intake and enhancing feed conversion ratio, without any negative effects on dressing percentage or egg quality traits. These findings indicate that the integration of feed restriction and enzyme supplementation represents an effective strategy for improving the productive performance of laying Japanese quail.