The Effect of Malic Acid on Performance and Some Digestive Tract Traits of Japanese Quails

Abstract

To evaluate the effect of malic acid (MA) on performance and some digestive tract (gut) traits of Japanese quails, 320 quails were divided into 4 treatment groups each with 4 replicates containing 20 birds. While one of groups was fed a mash form basal diet with no additives (0MA), other groups were fed the diets with malic acid at 0.4 (0.4MA), 0.8 (0.8 MA) or 1.2 (1.2 MA) g/kg from 7 to 42 d of age. The weight gains of 0.8 MA and 1.2 MA birds and the feed consumption of 1.2 MA were higher than those of 0 MA. Addition of the malic acid to the diets did not affect the feed efficiency. The 0.8 MA birds had a higher carcass weight compared to other groups. The 1.2 MA birds had a higher gut length compared to the 0 MA. The results indicated that feeding diets with malic acid at 0.8 and 1.2 g/kg might increase weight gain and feed consumption without affecting feed efficiency and a significant benefit of feeding diet with malic acid at 0.8 g/kg compared to the control diet was obtained in terms of carcass weight in the Japanese quails. Copyright © 2009, Japan Poultry Science Association.