Egg production parameters of quails receiving dietary betaine supplementation with different floor space in a tropical environment

Abstract

Abstract This study investigated the effect of dietary betaine supplementation and floor space on quail egg production parameters. With six replicates, four hundred fifty-six quails (21-day-old) were randomly assigned to a 2×2 factorial arrangement. The first factor was floor space of 225 cm2 (F1) and 164 cm2 (F2) by allocating 16 and 22 birds per cage (size: 3600 cm2). The second factor was dietary betaine supplementation at 0% (CON) and 0.15% (BET). Egg production was collected in 2 periods (2×28 days) starting from 43 days old. The age of the first production, 10%, 50%, and peak production, was also recorded. There is an interaction between dietary betaine supplementation and floor space on the age of productive parameters, where quails receiving betaine supplementation reached faster 50% production and peak production (p<0.05). Furthermore, the F1 group had a higher average egg production than F2 (p<0.05). BET group had a higher average egg production than CON (p<0.05). Thus, floor space 225 cm2 can be applied in the tropics provided the quails received dietary betaine supplementation.