Growth performance and digestibility of nutrients by Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix japonica) chicks on processed sweet potato (Ipomea batatas) meal diets

Abstract

A six –week feeding trial was set up to investigate the effect of processing of sweet potato tuber on growth parameters and digestibility of nutrients by Japanese quail chicks. Five isonitrogenous (25%CP) diets were compounded. The control diet (A) had zero sweet potato tuber meal. The other four diets (B, C, D and E) contained sweet potato tuber meal processed in different ways (unpeeled, peeled, unpeeled and cooked and peeled and cooked) replacing maize at 15.60% of the diet. 300 day-old Japanese quail birds were randomly assigned the diets in a completely randomized design with feed and water given ad libitum. Each diet had 60 quail chicks and the diets were replicated thrice. None of the parameters (feed intake, water intake, weight gain, feed conversion ratio and feed cost/gain) measured differed significantly (p ˂0.05) from the control. Digestibility of dry matter was significantly better by birds on diets C (peeled sundried) and D (unpeeled cooked sundried sweet potato) than on diet A. Digestibility of crude protein was significantly better on diet E (peeled cooked sundried) than on the other diets. No significant differences were observed in ether extract digestibility across the diets. Results show that processed sweet potato can replace maize at 15.60% of the diet of quail chicks without adverse effects on performance or on digestibility of nutrients.