The Effect of Supplementation of Organic Copper to Commercial Quail Diets on Performance, Egg Quality and Haematological Parameters

Abstract

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of organic copper supplementation (0, 5, 10 and 20 mg/kg) in the commercial diet on performance, egg quality and haematological parameters in laying quails. In this 10-week trial, a total of 80 laying quails, aged 22 weeks, were randomly distributed among four experimental groups. Each experimental group contained four replicates of five female birds each. The addition of organic copper to the diets did not statistically affect egg production, egg weight, egg mass, feed conversion ratio, damaged eggs, egg shape index, Haugh unit, and blood parameters except neutrophils and mean corpuscular haemoglobin. Compared to other groups, body weight change was decreased by the addition of 20 mg/kg organic copper, and feed intake was decreased by the addition of 10 mg/kg copper in the quails. The addition of 20 mg/kg of organic copper to the quail diets significantly decreased the eggshell breaking strength and eggshell weight, while it significantly increased the eggshell thickness compared with the control group. The neutrophil and mean corpuscular haemoglobin were increased by the addition of 10 and 20 mg/kg organic copper, respectively, with compare to other groups. It can be said that up to 10 mg / kg of organic copper can be added to commercial quail diets, but its addition at 20 mg/kg negatively effects on some blood parameters as neutrophil and mean corpuscular haemoglobin in quails.