Reproductive performance of Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) of two ages fed six levels of calcium and available phosphorus

Castañeda P.C.C.; Perales N.C.V. · Revista de Investigaciones Veterinarias del Peru (2026) · DOI: 10.15381/rivep.v37i2.30317

Resumen

The aim of this study was to evaluate the reproductive performance of 12- and 32-week-old quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) fed six levels of dietary available calcium and phosphorus levels: 3.20% - 0.40% (INRA, 1989), 2.50% - 0.35% (NRC, 1994), 3.10% - 0.45% (Leeson and Summers, 2005), 2.50% - 0.30% (Shim and Vohra, 1984), 3.15% - 0.41% (Lázaro et al., 2005), and 3.10% - 0.32% (Rostagno et al., 2011). The study was carried out at the Poultry Experimental Unit of the Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina, Lima, Peru. A total of 864 females and 288 males were used, maintaining the natural mating ratio of one male to three females. The variables evaluated were fertility percentage, hatchability, birth rate, early embryonic mortality, late embryonic mortality, and birth weight of the offspring (g). A completely randomized block design with a 2x6 factorial arrangement was used. Means were compared using the Tukey test at 5%. Differences (p<0.05) were found, with 12-week-old quails having the highest percentage of fertility, hatchability, birth rate, and the lowest percentage of early embryonic mortality. Likewise, the recommended Ca and P reported by the NRC (1994) shows the lowest percentage of early embryonic mortality. No significant difference (p>0.05) was observed for the interaction of age with the levels for available Ca and P in any of the parameters evaluated. It is concluded that the age of the breeding quail affects the variables evaluated, but the levels for available Ca and P do not influence reproductive performance, except for early embryonic mortality. © Los autores. Este artículo es publicado por la Rev Inv Vet Perú de la Facultad de Medicina Veterinaria, Universidad Nacional Mayor de San Marcos. Este es un artículo de acceso abierto, distribuido bajo los términos de la licencia Creative Commons Atribución 4.0 Internacional (CC BY 4.0) [https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/deed.es] que permite el uso, distribución y reproducción en cualquier medio, siempre que la obra original sea debidamente citada de su fuente original

Instituciones: Universidad Nacional Agraria La Molina