GROWTH PERFORMANCE OF MEAT MALE QUAILS (COTURNIX SP.) OF TWO LINES UNDER TWO NUTRITIONAL ENVIRONMENTS

Com o objetivo de avaliar o efeito de duas linhagens (italiana e japonesa) e de dois niveis de proteina bruta (20 e 26% PB) sobre o desempenho para corte foram utilizados 144 machos de codorna, criados em gaiola de 1 a 49 dias. Foram alojadas nove aves por gaiola, sorteadas de acordo com um esquema fatorial 2 x 2 em delineamento inteiramente aleatorizado com quatro repeticoes. O desempenho foi avaliado semanalmente. A linhagem italiana apresentou maiores peso medio, ganho de peso medio e consumo medio do que a japonesa. O consumo medio relativo e a conversao alimentar da linhagem italiana foram menores, indicando melhor capacidade de utilizacao do alimento. Abstract Male quails (144) were reared from 1 to 49 days in cages, to evaluate the effect of line (Italian and Japanese), and crude protein level (20 and 26% CP) upon growth performance for meat production. Nine birds were housed per cage, sorted out according to a 2 x 2 factorial scheme in an entirely randomized design with 4 repetitions. Growth performance was evaluated weekly. The Italian line had higher mean body weight, mean gain weight and mean feed intake than the Japanese line. The Italian line showed lower or equal means of feed intake adjusted for body weight, indicating that it had better feed utilization. Mean feed conversion of the italian line was better than that of the Japanese line.