Effect of dried mealworms (Tenebrio molitor) larvae and olive leaves (Olea Europeae L.) on growth performance, carcass yield and some blood parameters of Japanese quail

The aim of this study was to investigate the effect of Tenebrio molitor (TM) and/or olive leaves (OL) supplementation to the diet of quail on their growth performance, carcass yield and some blood parameters. One hundred and forty-four 1-day-old Japanese quails (body weight: 29.9±0.46 g, mean ± SE) were divided into four groups of 36 chicks, with three replications. The chicks in Group 1 were fed with a standard commercial diet (Diet1); Group 2 received the Diet1 diluted with 3% replacement of dried Tenebrio molitor (TM) larvae (Diet2); Group 3 received the Diet1 with 3% of olive leaves (Diet3); and Group 4 received the Diet1 with 3% of TM and 2% t of OL (Diet4). Feed and water were provided ad libitum.
The results showed that TM and OL inclusion promoted growth performance of quails at 5 weeks of age (205.0 vs. <192g; P=0.001). Feed conversion ratio (FCR) of the group 3 was significantly (P <0.01) reduced compared to the others groups (2.78 vs. >3). The overall mortality was not significantly different (at around 6.25%; P>0.05) for any of the dietary regimens. Carcass [71.5-74.3%], gizzard [2.5-2.7%], heart [1.1-1.2%] and giblets [6.8-6.9%] yields were not significantly (P>0.05) influenced by the diet. No significant effect of the diet was observed for blood constituents (TP: 3.0-3.2 g/dL; Alb: 1.3-1.4 g/dL; Glob: 1.6-1.7 g/dL; Alb/Glob: 0.76-0.80%; Creatinine: 0.25-0.28mg/dL; Urea: 6.53-6.81g/dL) and lipid profile (TC: 190.7-197.0mg/dL; TG: 214.6-220.2mg/dL; HDL: 54.3-56.1mg/dL; LDL: 91.6-99.1mg/dL; VLDL: 42.4-45.1mg/dL).
In conclusion, the results demonstrated that the supplementation with TM (3%) and OL (2%) of quail diet improve body weight at 5 weeks old, reduce FCR and did not negatively influence carcass yield and blood parameters of Japanese quail.