Effect of Dietary Supplementation of Withania Somnifera on Egg Production and Egg Quality Parameters in Japanese Quails

An experiment was conducted on laying quails to determine optimum dietary level of Ashwagandha supplementation on egg production and egg quality traits at Instructional poultry farm Nagla, GBPUA&T. Hundred quails were randomly distributed in four treatments and reared on standard managemental conditions. The root powder of Ashwagandha was added over the basal ration at 0.5% level (T2), 1% (T3), 1.5% level (T4), whereas the T1 was control group. A maize, soybean and fish meals based quail layer basal diet having all the nutrients in required quantity was prepared. Each of such diets was offered as mash ad libitum to Japanese laying quails reared in individual laying cages for a period of 15 weeks (8-23 weeks of age) significantly (P<0.05) higher per cent egg production was observed in diet T3 containing 1 percent Ashwagandha groups, but the groups T2 & T4 in diet did not differ significantly from each other. Egg weight was also significantly (P<0.05) higher in diet containing 1 percent Ashwagandha than T1 group. Cumulative feed intake (g/b) for 823 weeks feeding period was significantly (P < 0.05) higher in T1 and lower in the entire Ashwagandha treated groups. FCR (feed intake/egg mass) and net FCR were significantly (P<0.05) poor in T1 group than other Ashwagandha supplemented groups. Shell thickness weight was found higher in birds fed with Ashwagandha @ 1.00 per cent (T3) group than T1, T2 and T4 group, whereas groups fed T2, T3 and T4 diet did not differ significantly from each other. Shell weight on per cent of egg weight was significantly (P<0.05) higher in diet fed T3 than other dietary groups. The results of present study on production performance of laying quails indicated that supplementing dietary level of 1.0 percent Ashwagandha (Withania somnifera) in diet to common feedstuffs is sufficient to support the optimum egg production, performance of laying quails under tropical climate and there is no need to supplement the diet with additional ingredients.