-The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of chamomile extract on Japanese quail on their performance, animal behavior, tonic immobility, body injuries, and surface temperature. The trial was conducted using 108 quail distributed in a completely randomized experimental design, with three treatments (0, 2.5, and 5.0 g chamomile/kg of feed), six replicates, and six birds per treatment, evaluated in six measures repeated in time (14, 28, 42, 56, 70, and 84 days of trial). The inclusion of chamomile presented a quadratic effect on sitting behavior, estimating the inclusion of 1.8 g chamomile/kg to maximize this behavior. There was a decreasing linear effect for aggressive pecking, that is, the higher the inclusion of chamomile in the diet, the lower the expression of this behavior. The inclusion of 1.8-5.0 g chamomile/kg in a Japanese quail diet reduces the behavior of aggressive pecking, in addition to keeping the birds seated longer. These results are innovative because they show in the literature for the first time that chamomile supplemented in Japanese quail diets has the capacity to modulate the behavior of the quail, leading to an improvement in the welfare of quail raised in cages.

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Objective: This study aimed to evaluate the replacement of degummed soybean oil (DSO) by acid soybean oil (ASO) in diets with or without the inclusion of emulsifier on broiler performance, relative organ weight, lipase activity, intestinal morphometry, and nutrient digestibility.Methods: A total of 704 1-day-old male broiler chicks were allotted to a 2×2 completely randomized factorial design (with or without emulsifier × two lipid sources [ASO and DSO]), with eight replicates and 22 birds each. The metabolizable energy level in diets with emulsifier was reduced by 40 kcal/kg from 1 to 21 d and 50 kcal/kg from 22 to 49 d.Results: Broilers fed diets containing ASO without emulsifier had higher (p = 0.005) weight gain than DSO-fed animals and with the inclusion of emulsifier had worse (p = 0.018) feed conversion ratio (FCR). Birds fed diets with emulsifier worsened FCR regardless of lipid source from 1 to 21 days (p = 0.006) and from 1 to 49 days (p = 0.0002). There was an increase (p = 0.026) in the relative pancreas weight, at 14 days, in birds fed diets containing ASO. Lipase activity and morphometry of the duodenum and jejunum, at 14 and 21 days, were not affected (p>0.05). The dietary inclusion of emulsifier improved the digestible energy (p = 0.053) in the presence of ASO. For the digestibility coefficients (gross energy, crude protein, and mineral matter), no interference was observed (p>0.05).Conclusion: The inclusion of emulsifier to energy-restricted diet with ASO maintained broiler performance in the first week, but worsened FCR in subsequent phases. The ASO can be considered as an alternative lipid source to DSO and does not interfere with the morphophysiological characteristics and performance of broilers. The combination of ASO and emulsifier increased the digestible energy content by 6.2%.

The objective of this study was to evaluate the internal quality and lipid oxidation of eggs coated with a carnauba wax-based product at different concentrations and stored for up to 28 days under two temperatures. For analysis of internal quality, the eggs were assigned to a completely randomized 3 x 4 factorial design (uncoated eggs (control); eggs coated with carnauba wax at 12% concentration (Aruá®); eggs coated with carnauba wax at 15% concentration (Aruá®); four storage periods - 7, 14, 21, and 28 days). Fifteen eggs from each treatment were evaluated in each storage period, with each egg representing one replicate, i.e., 300 eggs per storage temperature (10 and 25°C). Egg weight loss, yolk percent (%), albumen percent (%), Haugh unit, yolk index, and specific gravity were calculated. Lipid oxidation of the egg yolk was measured by thiobarbituric acid reactive substances (TBARS), using 10 eggs at time 0 (fresh) and 30 eggs in each storage period (7, 14, 21, and 28 days), in triplicate, under only one storage temperature (25°C). A total of five pools, consisting of two eggs each, were used for each treatment. Each pool was considered a replicate, and each treatment consisted of five replicates. The weight loss of the eggs stored at 10°C and 25°C during the storage period was, on average, 46.1% and 37.3% lower for the eggs coated with carnauba wax than in uncoated eggs, respectively. Overall, coated eggs, regardless the concentration of the wax (12 or 15%) had higher Haugh units, specific gravity, and yolk index than uncoated eggs, in both temperatures (10 and 25°C). Uncoated and coated eggs showed similar lipid oxidation values regardless of the storage period. On the other hand, eggs coated with solutions containing 15% wax showed less oxidation than eggs coated with 12% wax. The coating of commercial eggs with carnauba wax, both at concentrations of 12 and 15%, was effective in maintaining their internal quality during storage at both storage temperatures (10 and 25°C). Eggs stored at 25°C had lower quality traits during storage compared with eggs kept under refrigeration. Coating eggs with wax did not minimize the oxidative processes in the egg yolk.

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