UNIFORMIDADE DO PESO CORPORAL EM CODORNAS DE POSTURA

Abstract

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the uniformity of body weight in laying quails (Coturnix japonica). A total of 600 birds, from one to 35 days of age, were fed ad libitum with diets formulated to meet the nutritional requirements for each phase. The experiment was carried out in the Cooperaculture sector at the premises of a commercial farm, located in the municipality of Caldas Novas. The data obtained were collected between 01/16/2023 and 02/22/2023. The quails were received on the same day of birth and housed in the breeding and rearing aviary, in the traditional battery system, where it accommodated 16,934 quails in 228 cages. The temperature was regulated according to the age of the quails, through an automatic heater. Lighting was regulated through the age of the quails. The monitoring of the development of the quails was carried out every week, through weighing with a precision scale, in view of the standard weight that the farm expected each week. In the experiment, the performance was evaluated weekly, divided into rearing and rearing phases, through the variables: mean, standard deviation, coefficient of variation, minimum and maximum value, for the six body weights of laying and uniformity quails. Since the laying quails increased their body weight by approximately four times their initial weight in the period from one to 7 days of age, they finished sampling at 35 days with a total weight gain of 152.50 grams. Regarding the uniformity of the average weight of the quails, it was possible to verify that we obtained only a bad uniformity that was related to birth weight, while the others presented as regular, good and excellent. We conclude that the laying quails presented good uniformity performances in relation to the average weight, considering that among the six samples we obtained only one poor classification, related to the birth weight quails. Because they are newborn birds, which go through a long journey until they arrive at the farm, they end up going through stress, causing a loss of weight in the birds.