O uso de Pfaffia paniculata na redução do estresse de codornas japonesas

Abstract

The aim of this study was to evaluate the use of the herbal medicine Pfaffia paniculata in productivity and stress-related behavior parameters of Japanese quails. The ingredient acts as a general stimulant of the human organism and it is indicated to relieve conditions of stress and depression. The work was carried out in the poultry sector of Rural Federal University of Amazon (UFRA) – Belém Campus. During 14 days, the quails were exposed to 4 treatments, one control and the others with 0, 250, 500 and 750mg of Pfaffia paniculata / kg of feed with a total of 3 repetitions each and 24 birds per experimental unit, for each treatment, this way totalizing 288 Japanese quails. The frequencies of stress-indicating behaviors, the time of non-aggressive activity as leisure, feed and water intake, feather investigation, and the tonic immobility time in quails exposed to the 4 treatments were compared. Furthermore, parameters related to bird productivity were measured. The achieved data were compiled and statistically evaluated for normality, as the behavior and deposition variables of shelled and pigmented eggs analyzed by Kruskall Wallis non-parametric test, and the parameters of egg production and feed consumption compared using the Tukey Test. The used level of significance was 5%. The obtained results demonstrated that the use of herbal medicine in the quail's diet did not showed significant difference for the behavior parameters observed in the experiment. In contrast, the inclusion of herbal medicine as an additive in the diet of quails at laying phase showed significant results in variables for performance, increasing the consumption and production of all bird eggs, in addition to reducing the production of shelless and pigmentless eggs.