Effects of Different Concentration of Copper on Performance, Immunity and Carcass Traits in Broiler Japanese Quails

In this study, the effects of dietary copper supplements on broiler Japanese quail growth performance, immune response, blood biochemistry, and carcass quality were examined. Two copper sources (copper sulphate-CuS, and copper methionine-CuM), each at five distinct dietary dosages of 5, 10, 15, 100, and 150 mg/kg, were used. A total of 280 (10 x 4 x 7) day-old quail chicks of uniform body weight were randomly distributed into 10 treatments with 4 replicates each and having 7 chicks in each replicate. In comparison to CuS-supplemented diets, CuM-supplemented diets (100 mg Cu/kg diet) considerably (P <= 0.01) increased body weight gain and improved feed conversion ratio (FCR). In the 150-mg CuM/kg diet, the cell-mediated immune response (foot web index to PHAP) was considerably (P <= 0.01) greater. The humoral immune response (HA titre to SRBC) was substantially (P <= 0.01) lower with CuS-supplemented meals than with CuM-supplemented diets. When compared to CuS source, the weight of the bursa and spleen from CuM source was considerably (P <= 0.01) higher. The 100- and 150-mg CuM/kg diets considerably (P <= 0.01) reduced serum cholesterol levels. Thus, it may be concluded that dietary supplementation of copper methionine as a source of Cu @ 100 mg Cu/kg diet to broiler Japanese quails was more effective in improving growth performance, immunological response, carcass quality features, and serum cholesterol reduction.