The experiment was conducted to evaluate layer quails performance fed in different periods with corn meal or laying diet during a 7-day post-molt period. Following this, birds were fed laying diet during the experimental period of 20 weeks. The experiment followed a completely randomized design with three treatments (laying diet during 7 days; laying diet ration during 3 days + corn meal during 4 days or corn meal during 7 days) and three replications of 24 birds per pen. The results showed that quails fed laying diet during 7 days post-molt presented larger egg production during the first six weeks of production period than the others receiving corn meal. However there was no effect of treatments on egg production, egg weight, feed consumption and feed conversion during the experimental period of 20 weeks.
egg production; forced molt; layer quail
