Impact of quail ration supplementation with melatonin on physiological, productive performance and antioxidant status

Abstract EN

This study designed to demonstrate the effect of adding different levels ofmelatonin in some productive and physiological characteristics of quail birds at theage of 35 days.

Melatonin added from 7 days to 21 days age, a total 225 bird aged 7days divided into three treatments with three replicates.

The first treatmentrepresented the control treatment (without addition).

The second and thirdtreatments Ration supplemented with melatonin at a concentration of 20 and 30 mg/ Kg feed respectively.

The results showed: the melatonin addition did not havesignificant effect on the live body weight, body weight gain, feed consumption, andthe feed conversion ratio from the age of 7 to 35 days, although there was asignificant decrease in the melatonin treatments body weight at 21 Day.

In addition, melatonin treatment had no significant effect on the total number of redblood cells, white blood cells, PCV% and hemoglobin concentration.

While thethird treatment showed a significant decrease in MCV and MCH compared tocontrol treatment.

About the antioxidants status, Melatonin (20 mg|kg) reduceMDA and increase GSH significantly.