Effects of Sodium Bicarbonate on the Egg Production, Egg Quality and Some Blood Parameters in Japanese Quails

Abstract

This study was processed to establish the effect of the addition of different amounts of sodium bicarbonate during the laying period in quail diets. The total 240 quails were used and energy- and protein-balanced diets were prepared with sodium bicarbonate contents of 0, 0.1, 0.3 and 0.5 percent, and the experiment lasted 12 weeks. The addition NaHCO<inf>3</inf> was found to increase the pO<inf>2</inf> and HCO<inf>3-</inf> levels in blood (P<0.01), and to have no effect on pH, pCO<inf>2</inf> and plasma Ca and Na levels. The highest P and K levels were found in the 0.1 % NaHCO<inf>3</inf> (P<0.01) group without significant relation to other levels, while the Cl level was reduced (P<0.01). No statistical significance was seen in terms of live weight gain, feed consumption, egg yield or feed efficiency ratio among groups. The effects of NaHCO<inf>3</inf> on egg quality characteristics such as yolk ratio (%), albumen ratio (%), shape index, shell thickness, eggshell ratio and eggshell weight were not found to be significant.