Leveraging rice bran as an alternative feed ingredient: Effects on growth performance, carcass traits, and economic efficiency of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica)

The study was conducted to evaluate the potential use of rice bran (RB) as a partial substitute for conventional feed in the diet of Japanese quails (Coturnix japonica). A total of 240 unsexed, 2-week-old quails were randomly assigned to one of four dietary treatments (0%, 10%, 20% and 30%) in a completely randomized design, with six replicates per treatment and ten birds per replicate. Growth performance parameters, including feed intake, body weight gain, average daily gain (ADG), and feed conversion ratio (FCR), were recorded weekly. At the end of the experiment, two birds per replicate, closest to the mean cage weight, were selected for carcass evaluation. Results showed rice bran inclusion did not significantly (P > 0.05) influence final body weight, body weight gain, ADG, total feed intake, ADFI, and FCR. Nonetheless, at the starter phase, BW (P = 0.0193), BWG (P = 0.0146), TFI and ADFI (P = 0.0010), and FCR (P = 0.0075) were significantly affected by dietary treatments. From the results, the RB_20 diet recorded the highest BW (143.33 g), BWG (90.83 g), and ADG (4.33 g/day), significantly outperforming the RB_30 group, which exhibited the lowest growth performance. Feed intake parameters showed a similar trend, with RB_20 significantly increasing ADFI (21.22 g/day) and TFI (445.50 g), while RB_0 recorded the lowest values. Conversely, FCR was adversely affected at higher inclusion levels, with RB_10 and RB_20 showing significantly higher FCR values than RB_0, whereas RB_30 exhibited intermediate efficiency. Carcass weight (95–102 g), thigh muscle yield (21.33–23.00 g), and wing weight (5.67–8.33 g) were also not significantly (P > 0.05) affected by dietary RB levels. Compared with the other treatment diets, the economic analysis showed that 30% RB inclusion resulted in the lowest feed cost (GH₵ 5.58). In summary, growth performance was optimized at 20% RB inclusion, suggesting improved nutrient utilization at moderate inclusion levels. Furthermore, increasing RB inclusion up to 30% in Japanese quail diets did not adversely affect growth performance or carcass traits, while significantly reducing feed costs. These findings highlight the potential of rice bran as a cost-effective alternative feed ingredient.