Evaluating the Productive Performance of Japanese Quail When Naringenin Is Added To The Feed Under A Thermally Stressed Environment

• ABEER S. ALI

  Author

This experiment was conducted at the Animal Production Field of the College of Agriculture, University of Sumer, from January 7, 2025, to February 19, 2025, for a period of six weeks, One hundred and eighty one-day-old Japanese quail were used, obtained from the Irfan Reserve in Suq al-Shuyukh District, Dhi Qar Governorate, and raised on the floor. At the end of the third week, the birds were randomly divided into four experimental treatments with three replicates per treatment. Each treatment consisted of 45 birds, and each replicate consisted of 15 birds. naringenin powder was used as a feed additive at a rate of 400 mg/kg of feed. T1 was the control, with no additives used. T2 involved the addition of 400 mg/kg of naringenin powder to the quail's diet. T3 involved the addition of naringenin powder at a rate of 400 mg/kg of feed with heat applied at a rate of 4°C resulted in a temperature of 29°C in the fourth week, exceeding the normal temperature in other treatments T4 was only a heat stress treatment and in this study we reached the following results:

1. T2 showed a significant improvement during the experimental weeks for all production performance indicators in quail: live body weight, weight gain, feed consumption, feed conversion ratio, and dressing percentage, which could be due to the addition of naringenin to the feed.

2. T3 had similar weight values to the control group, indicating no response or negative effects from heat stress caused by adding naringenin to the feed.

3. T4 recorded the lowest values for production performance indicators due to continuous exposure to heat stress.

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