Birds, Treatments, and Management

In total, 250 Japanese quails with an average body weight of 215 ± 10 g at 6 wk of age in the laying phase were randomly divided into 5 treatment groups in a complete randomized design experiment with 5 treatments having 5 replicates of 10 birds (eight hens and 2 males) each.

The experiment lasted 5 wk. The PC (from Spirulina platensis) and FUC (from brown seaweed) sourced from the coastlines of the Persian Gulf were purchased from Zarband Co. (Yasuj, Iran). The study involved the addition of 2 different concentrations of PC and FUC extracts to the drinking water, resulting in the following 4 treatment groups, which were compared to a control group receiving water with no additives: 20 mg/L phycocyanin (PC20), 40 mg/L phycocyanin (PC40), 20 mg/L fucoidan (FUC20), and 40 mg/L fucoidan (FUC40). The composition of the basal diet ingredients was formulated to meet requirements by the NRC (1994), and the details are presented in Table 1. At every stage of the trial, the birds had unlimited access to feed and drink. The lighting regimen followed a schedule of 16 h of light and 8 h of darkness, and the temperature inside the housing facility was maintained at a constant 20°C, whereas, the relative humidity was maintained at approximately 60 to 70%. All quails were raised in wire batteries under uniform management, hygiene, and environmental conditions.

Composition and calculated analysis of the basal diet (6–11 wk).