Effect of biovet on performance, egg quality characteristics and hatchability in quail breeders

The effect of Biovet (combination of prebiotic and probiotic) on the egg production, egg weight, egg quality characteristics and hatchability was studied in Japanese quail breeders for a period of 8 weeks (7–15 weeks). Control diet was formulated to meet the standard nutrient requirement of breeding quails. Biovet was supplied in drinking water (DW) @ 0, 0.5, 1.0 and 1.5 g per litre to 4 groups of breeding quails and each group further replicated to 4 sub-groups with 10 females and 5 males. Egg production, egg weight and feed conversion ratio (FCR) (Kg feed/Kg egg mass) were similar for all groups. The egg shell %, shell thickness, fertility and hatchability were significantly (P< 0.05) improved in quails given 0.5–1.0 g biovet/litre of DW. It was concluded that supplementation of biovet @ 0.5g/litre is beneficial in terms of improvement in egg shell quality, fertility and hatchability.