Effect of sex, colour and weight group on carcass characteristics of Japanese quail

This work was conducted on Japanese quails (Coturnix japonica) to determine the effects of sex, colour and weight group on their carcass characteristics. The birds were housed in deep litter pen at the poultry unit of University of Maiduguri Teaching and Research Farm and fed with broiler starter marsh from 5-8 weeks then later on from 8-52 weeks layer mash were introduced. The birds were divided into various groups (based on sex, colour and weight groups). The experiment lasted for 52 weeks in which the birds were slaughtered and divided into various parts and weighed. Results obtained were subjected to statistical analysis using Analysis of Variance (SPSS 16.0 statistical package) and the means were separated using Duncan Multiple Range Test. Effect of sex on carcass characteristics were significant (p<0.05) with female having higher mean value than the male for live weight and bled weight respectively. Also, there were significant effect (p<0.05) of color type and weight group on carcass traits. Results obtained form this research work will serve as a basis for selection of desirable traits in Japanese quail and may contribute to the body of knowledge with regards to this animal species.

کلیدواژه ها:

Effect ، Sex ، Colour ، Weight ، Carcass ، Quail