Egg production performance of crossbred Japanese quail breeders under cage and deep litter systems of rearing

A study was conducted to assess the comparative egg production performance of crossbred Japanese quail parent breeders under deep litter and cage systems of management. Per cent hen day egg production was significantly (P £ 0.01) higher in cage reared birds as compared to deep litter rearing (72.96 ± 0.53 vs 68.46 ± 0.61). Age and age x system interaction effects were also found to be significant (P d”0.01). Peak production was witnessed during 17-20 weeks of age which declined as the age advanced. Egg weight (g) was found to be 14.23 ± 0.02 and 14.15 ± 0.02 for deep litter and cage rearing and the difference was found significant (P d”0.01). Age effect on egg weight was also significant (P d”0.01). Feed efficiency per dozen eggs was not found to be significantly (P >0.05) different between the two systems of rearing. However age effect was found to be significant (P d”0.01) and the best feed efficiency figures were noticed between 13-24 weeks of age. Feed cost (Rs) for 100 eggs was marginally higher for cage rearing and the difference was not significant.