THE FEEDING VALUE OF CASSAVA MEAL DIETS FOR GROWING JAPANESE QUAIL (Coturnix Coturnix Japonica)

Abstract

A six-week feeding trial was conducted to determine the replacement value of Cassava meal for maize in a piratical quail diet. It involved ninety six day-old quail chicks housed in cages in a brooding house. Four isonitrogenous (22%mde protein) diets incorporating graded levels (0.0, 15, 25 and 35%) of cassava meal as a replacement for maize were tested. The diets were also isocaloric (280Kcal/kg  M. E.) and contained crude protein (25.53%; diet 1, 25.00%; diet 2, 24.34%; diet 3and 24.00% diet4) and were replicated three times. Feed intake weight gain feed/gain ratio and feed cost/kg gain did not differ significantly (P > 0.05) across the treatment. Feed cost decreased numerically across the treatments and was lowest for diet 4, i.e., the diet in which all the maize was replaced by 35% cassava meal. Feed cost/kg gain was numerically lower for diet 4 (146.34) than the other diets (233.16, 169.39, and 159.94).  Results of this study indicated that at dietary crude protein levels of between 24 and 25% and M.E. of 2800Kcal/kg feed, 35% cassava meal based diet was suitable for acceptable ‘growth performance in Japanese quail chicks in the first six weeks of life’