Parental methyl-enhanced diet and in ovo corticosterone affect first generation Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) development, behaviour and stress response.

ABSTRACT: The role of maternal investment in avian offspring has considerable life history implications on production traits and therefore potential for the poultry industry. A first generation (G₁) of Japanese quail (Coturnix japonica) were bred from a 2 × 2 factorial design. Parents were fed either a control or methyl-enhanced (HiBET) diet, and their eggs were treated with a vehicle or corticosterone injection during day 5 of incubation. A subset of G₁ birds were subjected to an open field trial (OFT) and capture-restraint stress protocol. Significant effects of HiBET diet were found on parental egg and liver weights, G₁ hatch, liver and female reproductive tract weights, egg productivity, latency to leave the OFT central zone, male baseline 11-dehydrocorticosteron

SUBMITTER: Boulton K 

PROVIDER: S-EPMC8548525 | biostudies-literature | 2021 Oct

REPOSITORIES: biostudies-literature