Document Type : Original Articles
Authors
1
Research Center for Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and Medicinal Plants, Sanandaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Sanandaj, Iran
2
Research Center for Agriculture, Animal Husbandry, and Medicinal Plants, Sanandaj Branch, Islamic Azad University, Kurdistan, Iran
10.22092/ari.2023.363659.2876
Abstract
The aim of this study was to determine the effect of chamomile (Chamomilia Matricaria L.) flower powder on performance, blood parameters and morphological jejunum of Japanese quail from 7 to 35 days of age. A total of 200 7-day-old male Japanese quail were as randomly distributed to 5 treatments, with 4 replicates, and 10 birds in each pen. The experimental treatment included (T1) a control diet (treated only by basal diet), (T2-T5) basal diet supplemented with of 0.5, 1, 1.5 and 2 % of CFP, respectively. Live body weight (LBW) and Feed intake (FI) as weekly were determined, and then feed conversion ratio (FCR) was calculated. At the final of research, from each experimental treatment, 5 birds with an average weight close to the same treatment were selected, blood and intestine (jejunum section) samples were removed at 35 days of age for further analysis. Blood sample were collected from the axillary vein and poured into test tubes without heparin. Blood serum was separated using centrifuge and stored at -20ₒC until the test. Then, the birds were slaughtered and after opening the abdominal cavity, a section (3 cm) from the middle part of the jejunum was separated and kept in 10% formalin (pH=7.2) to investigate the jejunum morphology. Results showed that live body weight, feed intake and feed conversion ratio were significantly improved (P<0.05) at the birds fed with CFP compared to control. Adding of 1% and 1.5% CFP (T3 and T4) to the basal diet showed the best performance results. The level of HDL had significantly (P<0.05) decreased in the birds fed CFP (T3 and T4) compared to control. Other lipid profile parameters were not significantly (P>0.05) affected by CFP used, although results indicated a numerically trend decreasing compared to control. Villus height and depth crypt of bird jejunum significantly increased (P<0.05) with comparison to control. In conclusion, these results suggest that dietary supplementation with 1% and/or 1.5% CFP has beneficial effect on growth performance, lipid profile and jejunum morphometric of quails.
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