Journal of Animal Production, Print ISSN: 2008-6776., Online ISSN: 2382-994X

Effect of different levels of Pahak on growth performance, blood parameters, carcass traits, intestinal morphology, and gut microbiota in Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica)

Document Type : Research Paper

Authors

Enayat Rahmatnejad 1
Hassan Habibi 2
Hassan Shirzadi 3
Mohammad Amin Kohanmoo 4

1 Corresponding Author, Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Persian Gulf University, Bushehr, Iran. E-mail: rahmatnejad@pgu.ac.ir

2 Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Persian Gulf University, Bushehr, Iran. E-mail: h.habibi@pgu.ac.ir

3 Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture. Ilam University, Ilam, Iran. E-mail: h.shirzadi@ilam.ac.ir

4 Department of Plant Genetic and Production Engineering, Faculty of Agriculture and Natural Resources, Persian Gulf University, Bushehr, Iran. E-mail: kohanmoo@pgu.ac.ir

https://doi.org/10.22059/jap.2026.406767.623881
Abstract
Objective: This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of different levels of Pahak (green Khalal-stage date) on growth performance, blood biochemistry, carcass characteristics, intestinal morphology, and gastrointestinal microbial population in Japanese quail.
Methods: A completely randomized design was used with four dietary treatments and six replicates per treatment (15 birds per replicate) for a 35-day experimental period: (1) control (basal diet without Pahak); (2) 5% dietary Pahak; (3) 10% dietary Pahak; and (4) 15% dietary Pahak.
Results: Body weight was not significantly alteredby the dietary inclusion of Pahak at any inclusion level. The inclusion of 5% Pahak reduced feed intake and improved feed conversion ratio and energy and protein efficiency ratios, whereas 15% Pahak increased feed intake (P < 0.05). Dietary inclusion of 10% and 15% Pahak decreased the total cholesterol levels, and all three levels of Pahak reduced the cardiac risk ratio and atherogenic index (P<0.05). Relative carcass and liver weights were reduced by 10% Pahak and increased with 15% Pahak (P<0.05). with the lowest liver weights occurring in birds fed the control diet and 5% Pahak, while the highest liver weight occurred with the 15% inclusion level (P<0.05). Villus height increased and submucosal thickness decreased in the duodenum due to feeding 5% Pahak (P<0.05), while the greatest submucosal thickness was observed in birds fed 15% Pahak (P<0.05). In the ileum,10% and 15% Pahak inclusion reduced villus height, villus thickness, and the villus height-to-crypt depth ratio (P<0.05), while 15% Pahak increased both the submucosal and muscular layer thicknesses (P<0.05). Feeding 5% and 10% Pahak moderately decreased the average number of goblet cells in the ileum, whereas 15% Pahak markedly reduced goblet cell counts (P<0.05). Treatments were significantly different for ileal villus surface area, with the largest and smallest areas found in birds fed 5% and 15% Pahak, respectively (P<0.05); and crypt depth, which was unaffected by Pahak but had a quadratic response to level of Pahak (P<0.05). Compared with the control, 10% and 15% Pahak increased colonization of Salmonella-Shigella, Clostridia, and coliform colonization in the ileum (P<0.05). Compared with the control, 5% Pahak decreased and 15% increased the total aerobic bacterial colonization in the cecum (P<0.05), whereas, the colonization of Salmonella-Shigella and coliforms increased (P<0.05) in the cecum of birds fed the 15% Pahak diet increased compared to the other treatments (P<0.05).
Conclusion: Tthe results indicate that Pahak can be safely used at a dietary inclusion rate of 5% for Japanese quail during the first 35 days of the rearing period with no detrimental effects on productive performance.

Keywords

Atherogenic coefficient
Atherogenic index
Cardiac risk ratio
Energy and protein efficiency ratios
Specific growth rate
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Journal of Animal Production, Print ISSN: 2008-6776., Online ISSN: 2382-994X
Volume 28, Issue 3
Summer 2026
Pages 391-405

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