A study on citric acid by-product as an energy source for Japanese quail

The increasing worldwide production of citric acid by the fermentation of substrates for use as a flavoring and a preservative in foods has resulted in the generation of large amounts of waste and by-products from fermented. There is a challenge to reduce the waste from these products by using them as animal feed. An experiment was conducted to study the utilization of citric acid by-products (CABP) as a feed ingredient in Japanese quail diets. A total of 560 1-day-old quail chicks were randomly distributed into five groups, with CABP included at 0, 3, 6, 9, and 12% of the diets. Each treatment had four replicate pens of 28 birds per pen throughout the 42-day trial period. CABP inclusion at 9 or 12% of the diet, respectively, resulted in a decrease in feed intake of 5.90 and 9.52%, body weight of 5.67 and 9.16%, and body weight gain of 5.44 and 9.97%, compared with the control diet (p < 0.05). Carcass traits and relative organ weights were not significantly different among the treatments (p > 0.05). The 12% CABP group showed a decrease in the digestibility of crude protein and apparent metabolizable energy, but there was an increase in the amount of crude fiber compared with the control diet (p < 0.05). The utilization of CABP in diets can reduce feed costs leading to increased investment returns. In conclusion, CABP can be included at up to 6% of quail diets without significant effects on growth performance or nutrient digestibility.