Impact of Supplementing a Frankincense-Melissa officinalis Mixture to Drinking water on the Performance and Economic Efficiency of Two Commercial Japanese Quail Strains

Abstract

The purpose of the experiment was to investigate how a Frankincense-Melissa officinalis (F-MO) mixture in drinking water affected the growth, carcass traits, sensory meat quality, and economic efficiency of two commercial Japanese quails strains. A total of 120 one-day-old Japanese quails, comprising black quails (n=60) and white quails (n=60), were utilized for the experiment. The experiment commenced when the quails were 14 days old, after a two-week adaptation period. They were randomly divided into two treatment groups, each containing 30 birds, with three replicates of 10 birds in each group. The basic diet plus 2 ml F-MO mixture in drinking water and the basic diet plus drinking water without any supplement (control) were the two treatments used in the experiment over a four-weeks period. The results demonstrated that supplementation with F-MO significantly improved growth traits, dressing-out percentage, sensory meat quality, and economic efficiency compared to the control group. When the strain effect was considered, the white strain outperformed the black strain in terms of growth traits, dressing-out percentage, and economic efficiency.