Resumo Ingles
This study aimed to evaluate the performance and egg quality of European quails (Coturnix coturnix coturnix) fed diets containing 3% soybean or sunflower oil supplemented concomitantly with 0, 100, 200 or 400 ppm\kg of vitamin E. The experiment was conducted at the Laboratory of Metabolic Assay (Labem), located at Água Limpa Farm (FAL) a part of University of Brasilia(UNB) campus, with latitude 15056'S and longitude 47056' Wand an average altitude of 1080m, located on the Rural Center of Vargem Bonita, Brasília-DF. For the experiment 240 european quails,with157 days of age, were distributed in a completely randomized 2x4x5 factorial design(two oil sources x four levels of vitamin E x five cycles of production), with eight treatments and six replicates of five birds each. The experimental period was of 70 days divided into five 14-day cycles. Feed and water were provided ad libidum, feed was delivered three times a day and the water was provided in "nipple" drinkers. The light program consisted of 17 hours light continuous light exposure, 12 hours of day light and 5 hours of artificial light. Egg production (%) and the dietary intake (g/bird/day) were monitored daily and at the end of each14-day cycle, respectively. On the last day of each cycle, the eggs were collected and used to analyze egg’s physical quality: egg (shell, albumen and yolk) weight (g),percentage of shell, albumen and yolk(%) and shell thickness(mm). Egg lipid oxidation was monitored in two types of eggs, processed and raw, evaluating the concentration of Tetrametoxipropane (TMP). For this variable, processed eggs were cooked for 12 minutes at 97.6°C, stored refrigerated at 4 °C and analyzed during days 0, 7, 14, 21 and 28 of storage. Raw eggs were kept in refrigerated storage at 10º C, simulating commercial conditions, and analyzed periodically on days 0, 14, 28 and 42. According to the results, the sunflower oil promoted positive effects (P<0.05) in egg production, weight, percentage of yolk and shell thickness. Intake, feed conversion, egg weight, mass and percentage of eggshell were significantly improved by vitamin E supplementation. Significant effects were also observed in production cycles for feed intake, feed conversion, egg weight, yolk, albumen and shell thickness. Furthermore, the sources of oil used had no effect on the concentration of TMP regard less of the type and egg storage time. However, supplementation of 400 (mg/kg) of vitamin E promoted significant reductions of TMP concentrations for both raw and processed egg, but higher TMP values were observed in processed eggs when compared to the raw type.
