ScientificWorldJournal. 2014 Jan 23;2014:573470. doi: 10.1155/2014/573470. eCollection 2014.
Abstract
One hundred and eighty 7-week-old laying quail
were fed various diets over a 12-week period. The diets included a
control diet (without essential oil mixture (EOM) or antibiotics
(ANTs)), a basal diet including EOM (24 mg/kg feed), and a basal diet
including an ANT (avilamycin, 10 mg/kg feed). Each treatment comprised 4
replications with 4 cages (15 quail per cage), amounting to 60 quail
per treatment group. Diets (in mash form) and water were provided for
ad libitum consumption. EOM consisted of 6 different essential oils
derived from the following herbs: oregano (Origanum sp.), laurel leaf
(Laurus nobilis L.), sage leaf (Salvia triloba L.), myrtle leaf (Myrtus
communis), fennel seeds (Foeniculum vulgare), and citrus peel (Citrus
sp.). In comparison with the control diet, adding supplements such as
EOM and ANTs to the basal diet increased egg production in quail
(P < 0.001). However, egg production was similar between EOM and ANT
treatment groups. Moreover, there were no differences between the
treatment groups with regard to egg weight. Feed intake was not affected
by EOM or ANT supplementation, whereas feed conversion ratio was
significantly improved by EOM and ANT supplementation. Thus, we
concluded that EOM has beneficial effects as a dietary supplement on egg
production and feed conversion ratio.
