Age and sex-related differences in performance, carcass traits, hemato-biochemical parameters, and meat quality in Japanese quails

The effect of sex and age of Japanese quails (Coturnix japonica) on their performance, blood biochemical parameters, carcass traits, and meat quality was evaluated in this experiment. A total of 450, 3-wk-old Japanese quails (225 males and 225 females) were equally divided into six groups (75 birds each) in a 2 x 3 factorial design, including two sex (male and female) and three slaughter ages (5, 6, and 7 wk of age). Each group was subdivided into five replicates each of 15 birds. The body weight (BW) and feed intake (FI) values were significantly higher in female quails than in males, and these values showed an increasing trend with age. Female quails recorded the higher percentages of liver and giblets, and lower heart percentage than males. Sex x age interaction had a significant impact on carcass parameters except for breast and thigh yield. No significant sex-based differences were detected for quail meat chemical composition except for meat fat content. Moisture and ash content of meat were gradually deceased with age. Meat from female showed higher values for tenderness, intramuscular fat percentage (IMF), and meat lightness, but showed lower values of water holding capacity (WHC) and meat redness. Meat juiciness and tenderness decreased, while WHC, IMF, and meat redness increased with age. Mean values of red blood cells (RBC), packed cell volume (PCV), hemoglobin (Hb), and white blood cells (WBC) were higher (P < 0.05) in male quails than female ones. Plasma total protein, cholesterol, triglycerides, calcium, phosphorus, and uric acid were decreased in males comparable to females. The progress in quail age (5 to 7 wk) leads to significant increase in values of RBC, PCV, and Hb. Plasma cholesterol, total protein, triglycerides, and hemoglobin were linearly deceased with age. It could be concluded that Japanese quails (both males and females) should be slaughtered at 5 or 6 wk of age to obtain higher carcass yields and the best meat quality and composition. Furthermore, male quails recorded the highest values of meat quality and composition when compared to females.