Abstract

Background: The studies were carried out on quails, in the feed of which fat of various compositions was added.

Objective: To establish the effect of adding fat from pigs of different breeds and vegetable oil to quail feed on their growth, productivity, and characteristics of lipid metabolism.

Methods: Three groups of 60 chickens each were fed with vegetable oil (control) and fat of two pig breeds sharply differing in the chemical composition of fat - Kemerovo (К) and Pietrain (P) up to 23 weeks of age (3.0 - 3.5% of the mass of the diet). At 8 and 23 weeks of age, 10 individuals from each group underwent biochemical blood tests.

Results: The most rapid growth was observed in quails fed with K-breed fat. The level of total cholesterol (TC) during the period of the experiment in quails significantly decreased, including those receiving vegetable oil - by 1.49 times, fat of the K breed - by 1.58 times, fat breed P - 1.32 times. The atherogenic index (AI) turned out to be significantly higher (Р<0.01) in quails that received fat of the P breed, containing a high level of TС and rich in PUFA (0.93 conventional units against 0.69 in birds that received fat of the K breed and 0.57 - in the control group).

Conclusion: The obtained data indicate that fat of breed K is more useful for animal nutrition and maybe a priority in human nutrition.

Keywords: Pig fat, quail, growth rate, atherogenic index, cholesterol, peroxidation.