Kava-kava as a herbal additive in feed for laying quails

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of dietary kava-kava (Piper methysticum) during the laying period on performance (feed intake, feed conversion, weight of eggs and production), egg quality, tonic immobility time (TIT), intensity of injuries and blood heterophil/lymphocyte ratio (H:L). A total of 90 female Japanese quails of 21 weeks of age were distributed in a completely randomized experimental design and submitted to three treatments (0, 300 and 600mg of dried extract of kava-kava/kg of feed), with five replicates and six birds, in each batch. Kava-kava fed to laying quails has no effect on performance, egg quality, intensity of injury or H:L ratio. However, there is a reduction in time spent in tonic immobility with the inclusion of kava-kava that predisposes the quail to a reduction of stress.