Effect of dietary level of soybean oil on the growth performances, abdominal fat pad weight and crude fat content of thigh meat in quails.

The study on growth performance and fat deposition response to the different level of dietary soybean oil were determined on Japanese quail ( Cotumix coturnixjaponica ). A total of 48 two weeks old Japanese quail were randomly divided into four dietary treatment containing 12 birds each. Each group contained three replicates, of four quails for each replicate. The quail age at the beginning of the study is two weeks until the age of six weeks. The birds randomly allocated in four treatment groups starting from two weeks of age (day l4) until 6 weeks of age (day 42) and fed the following four (4) experimental diets. The control diet (T1) contained commercial diet as a main source of energy and for second treatment (T2) commercial diet is supplemented with 2% of
soybean oil, third treatment (T3) with 3% of soybean oil and lastly for fourth treatment (T4) with 5 % of soybean oil . From the result, the significantly heaviest body weight was noted with quails fed diet supplemented with 5 % of soybean oil. (P< 0.05, 219.43 ± 24.98), while the significantly lowest body weight was noted with control group fed diet without supplementation of soybean oil.(P < 0.05, 207.36 ±21.64).The different level of dietary soybean oil (o%,2%,3% and 5%) did not affect significantly on feed efficiency, crude fat percentage of thigh meat and abdominal fat pad weight. Thus, 5% of dietary soybean oil can be supplemented in quail diet to gain the significantly heaviest body weight without deleterious effect on feed efficiency, crude fat per cent of thigh meat and abdominal fat pad weight.