Metabolizable energy levels for meat quails from 15 to 35 days of age.

This trial was carried out to evaluate the effects of dietetic metabolizable energy levels on performance and carcass traits of meat quails from 15 to 35 days old. Five hundred sixty, 15-d old, meat quails were randomly assigned to five treatments (2.850; 2.950; 3.050; 3.150 e 3.250kcal of ME kg-1 of diet), with eight replicates and fourteen birds per experimental unit. Feed intake, protein and lysine intake and feed conversion decreased linearly as the metabolizable energy content of diets increased (P<0.01), whereas metabolizable energy intake, body weight, weight gain and viability were not affected (P>0.05) by the treatments. Diets did not influence (P>0.05) carcass traits as dry matter, moisture and protein content in carcass. However a quadratic effect (P<0.04) were observed on carcass fat content. Based on these results, the adequate metabolizable energy level to ensure better meat quails' growth is 3.250kcal of ME kg-1 diet, that corresponds to a metabolizable energy: crude protein ratio of 139,24. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]