Performance, egg quality, and sensory analysis of the eggs of quails fed whole rice bran stabilized with organic acids and stored for different amounts of time

Abstract

Whole rice bran (WRB) was added to Japanese quail feed, and the effects of stabilization of the WRB with organic acids and its storage for different amounts of time were evaluated with respect to performance and egg quality, centesimal composition, and sensory characteristics. We used 150 90-d-old Japanese quails. We had a 5 × 2 factorial scheme of five storage periods (0, 30, 60, 90, and 120 d), with and without organic acid treatment. To replace corn, 20% WRB was added to the diet. Feed consumption increased for up to 71 d of bran storage (P = 0.01) and then subsequently decreased. An increasing quadratic relationship was observed between egg mass and storage time for up to 71 d of storage (P = 0.03); egg mass then decreased thereafter. The specific gravity of the eggs produced by birds that received treated WRB at 0 d of storage was greater than those of eggs produced by birds that received treated WRB after 90 d of storage. In conclusion, the organic acid treatment maintained the quality of the WRB over up to 120 d of storage and could comprise 20% of the laying quails’ diet without affecting growth performance, egg quality, bromatological composition, or the sensory attributes of the eggs.