Impact of Substituting Maize with Treated Cocoa Pod Powder on Reproductive Performances, Egg Quality, and Biochemical Status in Quail (Coturnix Japonica)

Abstract

Due to adverse effects of anti-nutritional factors (ANFs), feeds containing those substances undergo several processing techniques to enhance their nutritional value before being included in monogastric diets. This study aimed to evaluate the suitability of replacing maize with treated cocoa pod powder (TCP) in the diets of laying Japanese quails, focusing on reproductive performance and egg quality. For this purpose, 72 quails, aged 3 weeks and weighing between 70 and 80 g, were randomly assigned to four treatments. Throughout the study, the control group (R1) had a diet with 0% TCP, whereas the other groups received diets containing 20%, 40%, and 60% TCP, respectively. At 12 weeks of age, eight birds from each treatment were randomly selected and slaughtered, and the blood collected was used for biochemical analysis. The remaining females were housed with untreated males to assess fertility, egg characteristics, and hatchability traits. Results showed that egg characteristics in TCP-fed birds did not decrease significantly (p > 0.05) compared to the control group. Quails fed 60% TCP exhibited a significant decrease (p < 0.05) in fertile egg hatchability, overall hatchability, and embryonic mortality rates compared to the control. However, the fertility rate and chick hatch weight remained unaffected (p > 0.05) by the level of TCP inclusion. Birds fed 60% TCP had significantly (p < 0.05) higher levels of protein, cholesterol, and triglycerides compared to the control. However, levels of urea, creatinine, ALAT, and ASAT showed the opposite trend. In conclusion, treated cocoa pod powder can replace maize by up to 40% without altering the reproductive performance, egg quality, or biochemical parameters of Japanese quails.