Levels of calcium in the maintenance of internal egg quality of Japanese quails after storage

Abstract

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of increasing levels of dietary calcium in improving the external quality and consequent maintenance of internal quality quail eggs at the end of production, stored for 14 days at room temperature. 400 Japanese quails with 46-58 weeks of age, distributed in a completely randomized design where they were tested five calcium levels: 2.95%, 3.25%, 3.55%, 3.85%, 4.15% Ca. The parameters evaluated were: shell thickness, weight and percentage of shell, percentage of yolk, albumen percentage, average egg weight and weight loss of quail eggs. The results showed that increasing levels of calcium promoted after the storage period (P <0.05) better skin thickness, higher percentage of yolk, albumen and a lower percentage of increase in egg weight without significantly influence the weight percentage of bark and weight loss quail eggs after storage at room temperature for 14 days. It was concluded that the increasing levels of calcium in the diet was effective in maintaining the internal egg quality of Japanese quails after room temperature storage for 14 days.