THE EFFECT OF BEE BREAD ON THE EGG QUALITY OF JAPANESE QUAILS DURING LAYING PERIOD

The aim of the study was to detect effect of supplementation bee bread in diet on Japanese quail's egg quality during laying. The quails were divided into four groups as follows: E1 with addition of 2 g, E2 with 4 g, E3 with 6 g bee bread per 1 kg of feed mixture and the control without additives (C). The groups were kept under the same conditions. The supplementation of BB into diets affected the laying parameters in favor of the experimental groups. The average egg weight was significantly (P <= 0.05) affected by diet and by age. E2 had significantly lower egg weight than C and E3. The animals had significantly lower egg weight regardless of the experimental group at age of 16 weeks. The most significant differences between the C and E groups were in eggshell thickness. All experimental groups had a thinner eggshell than C. The average egg weight was significantly (P <= 0.05) affected by diet and by age. The weight of the egg, yolk and albumen were significantly lower at the beginning of laying (P<0.01). We recorded significant differences between the control group and some experimental groups in the weight and width of the albumen; in the percentage of albumen and yolk between the control group and E2 (P<0.05). The control group had darker eggs (9.58 degrees HLR) than experimental groups (from 8.89 to 9.34 degrees HLR). We can conclude that the BB supplementation in diet had significant effect on selected parameters of egg quality of Japanese quails, mainly on the eggshell thickness.