HIGHLIGHTS:
The electrical conductivity of the water does not decrease quail performance.
At air temperature of 32 °C the birds consume less feed.
Water with electrical conductivity of 6.0 dS m-1 does not affect the weight of the organs.
ABSTRACT
The supply of salt water in the semiarid region is a recurrent practice, as there is a severe shortage of water for use in animal consumption. Thus, most of the times the water offered to the birds can contain salts above the recommended amount. The present study aimed to evaluate the production performance and morphometry of the organs of Japanese quails as they were supplied with drinking water with different concentrations of sodium chloride, while being maintained in comfort and under thermal stress. The birds received water with increasing electrical conductivity (1.5, 3.0, 4.5 and 6.0 dS m-1) and were kept in a climate chamber at thermoneutral air temperature (24 °C) and under thermal stress (32 °C), being distributed in a completely randomized design and 2 × 4 factorial scheme. Water electrical conductivities did not affect the performance of the birds, except for the weight of the gizzard, which showed an increasing linear effect as the electrical conductivities increased. At the stress temperature, there was reduction in feed intake, egg weight and mass, and in feed conversion per dozen eggs, but with no effect on the weights of the heart, liver and gizzard. Japanese quails in the production phase can consume water with electrical conductivity of up to 6.0 dS m-1, showing good production performance and without compromising organ morphometry.
Key words:
animal behavior; stress physiology; thermal stress; egg quality; feed intake
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