Dietary Metabolizable Energy and 

Methionine
Affect Performance of Quails

Adi Ratriyanto, Rysca Indreswari, Adi Magna Patriadi Nuhriawangsa,

and Ade Afrina Arifin

Abstract  To determine the effects of metabolizable energy (ME) levels and methi-
onine supplementation on production performance, 408 quails (Coturnix coturnix
japonica) were randomly allocated to four dietary treatments in a completely ran-
domized design of factorial 2 × 2 with 6 replicates containing 17 quails. The average
initial body weight of the quails was 162.09 g ± 13.63 g. The dietary treatments
were formulated to contain 18 proteins as follows: ME 2700 kcal/kg (2700˗Control),
ME 2700 kcal/kg supplemented with 0.12% methionine (2700˗Met), ME 2900 kcal/
kg (2900–Control), and ME 2900  kcal/kg supplemented with 0.12% methionine
(2900–Met). Dietary treatments were given for 2 periods of 28 days in laying phase.
The variance analyses followed by Duncan’s test were performed using R program.
The ME level of 2700 kcal/kg has a higher feed intake, egg production, egg weight,
and egg mass than 2900 kcal/kg (P < 0.05). The ME intake of 2700–Met was higher
than 2700–Control and 2900–Met (P < 0.05). Feed efficiency of both 2700–Met and
2900–Met was higher than 2900–Control (P < 0.05). Methionine supplementation
improved quails’ performance including egg production, egg weight, egg mass, and
feed efficiency (P  <  0.05). It is concluded that feeding 2700  kcal/kg ME
supplemented with 0.12% methionine provided benefit to improve the performance
of quails.

Keywords  Quails • Performance • Metabolizable energy • Methionine

1  Introduction

The too high content of nutrients such as protein or metabolizable energy (ME) in
the diet will not have a positive impact on performance of poultry in hot climates but
otherwise may depress the performance. The main emphases in feed formulation
are placed on energy and protein which comprises major cost of feed [1]. The ME

A. Ratriyanto (*) • R. Indreswari • A.M.P. Nuhriawangsa • A.A. Arifin

Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Universitas Sebelas Maret,
Jl. Ir. Sutami 36A, Surakarta 57126, Indonesia
e-mail: ratriyanto@staff.uns.ac.id; rysca1103@yahoo.com; magnapatriadi67@yahoo.com;
adeafrinaarifin@gmail.com

© Springer International Publishing AG 2017 329

A. Isnansetyo, T.R. Nuringtyas (eds.), Proceeding of the 1st International
Conference on Tropical Agriculture, DOI 10.1007/978-3-319-60363-6_31
330 A. Ratriyanto et al.

requirements for quail can vary depending on several factors such as body weight,
amino acids balance, quail species, and environmental conditions [2]. At the tem-
perature 21  °C, the ME required by the laying quails is 2900  kcal/kg and crude
protein 20% [3], but in different condition, some researchers recommend nutrient
requirements for laying quails by 18% protein and ME 2700 kcal/kg [4].
Furthermore, feed intake is strongly controlled in terms of energy intake. Feed
intake will increase as dietary ME decreases and vice versa [2, 5]. Consequently, the
level of ME in the diet may also affect the intake and absorption of other nutrients
[6]. Therefore, it is essential to maintain optimal protein/amino acids or ME in
accordance with local conditions.
The ME requirement in poultry is associated with the amino acid methionine
content in the diet. Methionine lessened the amount of gross energy discharged
through excreta; thus, the energy absorbed and digested can be improved [7]. Other
author explained an increase in methionine requirement as ME level increased.
Since the high level of ME will reduce feed intake, a higher nutrient content is
needed as well, including methionine [8]. Moreover, methionine can be utilized in
protein synthesis and as a methyl group donor which plays an important role in
metabolism of protein and energy [9].
Previous reports showed that feeding with lower ME levels improved feed intake
in quails [10, 11]. Moreover, methionine restriction in laying hens had no effect on
feed intake and egg production but decreased egg weight and increased feed conver-
sion [12]. Increasing dietary methionine level from 0.24 to 0.34% enhanced feed
intake and egg production and decreased feed conversion in laying hens [13].
Several studies had been conducted concerning dietary ME or methionine supple-
mentation as aforementioned. However, there is still limited information about the
study with the focus on ME in combination with methionine, especially in quails.
Therefore, the objective of this experiment was to determine the effects of ME lev-
els and methionine supplementation on production performance of quails.

2  Materials and Methods

In total, 408 forty-two-day laying quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) with average
initial body weight of 162.09 g ± 13.63 g were used in this study. The experiment
was arranged in a factorial design (2  ×  2) using two levels of ME (2700 and
2900  kcal/kg of diet) and two levels of methionine supplementation (0% and
0.12%). Each treatment was subdivided into 6 replicates of 17 birds. The four
dietary treatments were formulated to contain 18% protein as follows: ME 2700 kcal/
kg (2700˗Control), ME 2700  kcal/kg supplemented with 0.12% methionine
(2700˗Met), ME 2900 kcal/kg (2900˗Control), and ME 2900 kcal/kg supplemented
with 0.12% methionine (2900˗Met). The nutrient composition of the diets can be
seen in Table 1.
These birds were randomly distributed to 24 units of colony cages with the size
75 cm × 50 cm × 35 cm (p × l × t). The birds had free access to water and diet during
Dietary Metabolizable Energy and Methionine Affect Performance of Quails 331

Table 1 Nutrient ME levels

composition of Nutrient 2700 kcal/kg 2900 kcal/kg
experimental diets
Metabolizable energy (kcal/kg) 2700 2900
Crude protein (%) 18.00 18.00
Calcium (%) 3.40 3.40
Non-phytate phosphorus (%) 0.50 0.50
Lysine (%) 1.01 1.03
Methionine (%) 0.40 0.40

the experiment. The diets were given twice a day, at 07.00 hr. and 13.30 hr. During
adaptation from 42-day to 10% hen-day production, the birds were fed a basal diet
containing ME 2800 kcal/kg, and then the experimental diets were fed for 2 periods
of 28 days. The data of feed intake, egg production, and egg weight were recorded
daily and averaged in each period.
The data were checked for outlier and homogeneity and then analyzed using
analysis of variance to determine the effect of treatment. When the treatment indi-
cated significant effect, it was continued to Duncan’s test. Significance level was set
at α = 0.05. The data analyses were performed using R [14].

3  Result and Discussion

Interactions were found between ME and supplementation of methionine on feed

intake, ME intake, and feed efficiency (Table 2). The highest feed intake was indi-
cated by 2700˗Met because there was a combined influence of increased feed intake
of the lower ME and the tendency toward increased feed intake of the methionine-­
supplemented diets. Accordingly, the highest ME intake was observed in 2700˗Met,
which might be attributed to the highest feed intake although the diet is containing
lower level of ME (Fig. 1). Previous report showed that methionine stimulates appe-
tite of quails due to the change in amino acids profile [15]. The feed efficiency of
2700˗Met and 2900˗Met was higher than 2900˗Control (P < 0.01). The lowest feed
efficiency for 2900˗Control might be associated with a combined effect in the lower
of egg production and weight when the birds fed ME 2900 kcal/kg without supple-
mentation of methionine (Fig. 2). This result indicates that methionine optimized
nutrient utilization due to its role in protein and energy metabolisms [8, 16].
The observed increase in feed intake of the birds fed ME 2700 kcal/kg compared
with 2900  kcal/kg was in support with previous finding in quails [11]. It is well
known that birds eat to meet the energy requirements; thus, the lower ME might
increase feed intake [5, 17]. Moreover, feeding ME 2700 kcal/kg improved egg pro-
duction, egg weight, as well as egg mass compared with 2900  kcal/kg by 7.9%,
4.5%, and 12.9%, respectively (P < 0.05). These results indicated that feeding ME
2700 kcal/kg was adequate for laying quails in the tropics. As a consequence of the
increase in feed intake of the birds fed ME 2700 kcal/kg, other nutrient intake was
332 A. Ratriyanto et al.

Table 2  Effects of metabolizable energy and supplementation of methionine on performance of

quails
Feed Egg Egg Egg Feed
intake ME intake production weight mass efficiency
Treatments (g/day) (kcal/day) (%) (g) (g) (%)
Interaction ME × Met
2700 Control 23.15a 62.50b 58.90 9.53 5.62 24.29ab
2700 Met 24.68b 66.64a 64.31 9.91 6.38 25.82a
2900 Control 22.23bc 64.46ab 52.08 9.22 4.80 21.55b
2900 Met 21.73c 63.03b 62.11 9.39 5.83 26.81a
Significance < 0.01 < 0.01 0.24 0.08 0.47 0.02
Effect of ME
2700 23.92a 63.48 61.6a 9.72a 6.00a 25.05
2900 21.98b 64.83 57.1b 9.30b 5.32b 24.18
Significance < 0.01 0.31 0.03 < 0.01 0.02 0.23
Effect of Met
Control 22.69 64.57 55.49b 9.37b 5.21b 22.92b
Met 23.21 63.75 63.21a 9.65a 6.11a 26.31a
Significance 0.08 0.11 < 0.01 < 0.01 < 0.01 < 0.01
ME metabolizable energy, Met methionine
a,b,c
Means within a treatment and column with different superscripts differ significantly (P < 0.05)

also increased which explains the improved production performance. The higher
nutrient intake leads to the increase in follicle number and development [18] as well
as egg weight [19]. In support with these results, previous observation indicated that
feeding ME 2600  kcal/kg improved egg weight in laying hens compared with
2750 kcal/kg [20].
Supplementation of 0.12% methionine tended to improve (P = 0.08) feed intake
(Table 2) which may be attributed to the ability of methionine to modify the plasma
amino acids profile to stimulate appetite [15]. This result confirmed previous obser-
vation in laying hens [21]. Accordingly, supplementation of methionine improved
egg production, egg weight, and egg mass compared with control by 13.9%, 2.9%,
and 17.3%, respectively (P  <  0.01). It suggests that methionine contributes to
increase protein synthesis, and it is expressed in the improvement of quails’ perfor-
mance [9]. Similarly, supplementation of methionine improved feed efficiency
compared with control by 14.8% (P < 0.01), which was in line with the increase in
egg production and egg weight. Previous study in quails revealed that increasing
dietary methionine improved egg production and egg mass as well as decreased
feed conversion ratio [22]. In laying hens, methionine supplementation improved
the production performance [23], and response to the addition of methionine was
influenced by ME content in the diet [8].
Dietary Metabolizable Energy and Methionine Affect Performance of Quails 333

a ME
25.0

24.0
Feed Intake (g)

23.0

22.0

21.0

20.0
Control Met

Supplementation
2,700 kcal/kg 2,900 kcal/kg

b
ME
68,0
ME Intake (kcal/day)

66,0

64,0

62,0
Control Met
Supplementation

2,700 kcal/kg 2,900 kcal/kg

Fig. 1  Interaction between metabolizable energy and supplementation of methionine on (a) feed
intake and (b) ME intake
334 A. Ratriyanto et al.

ME
28,0
Feed Efficiency (%)

26,0

24,0

22,0

20,0
Control Met
Supplementation

2,700 kcal/kg 2,900 kcal/kg

Fig. 2  Interaction between metabolizable energy and supplementation of methionine on feed

efficiency

4  Conclusions

Dietary metabolizable energy 2700 kcal/kg for quails resulted in better performance

than 2900  kcal/kg. Moreover, supplementation with 0.12% methionine also
improved quails’ performance. Thus, feeding quails containing 2700 ME kcal/kg
diet supplemented with 0.12% methionine provided benefits to improve the perfor-
mance of quails.

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