This work aimed at evaluating the performance of Japanese quails fed diets with processed whole soybean during the laying phase. It was used 320 Japanese female quails at 29 weeks of age with an average weight of 186.1 ± 4.0 g distributed in a complete randomized experimental design, with 8 replicates, each one with 10 quails per experimental unit. Diets were isocaloric and isonutritives for crude protein, digestible lysine, digestible methionine + cystine, calcium, available phosphorus and sodium. Thus, it was evaluated a control diet based on corn and soybean meal, and three other diets with partial substitution of the soybean meal for roasted whole soybean, extruded or micronized, so the whole soybean supplied 50% of the crude protein provided by soybean meal in control diet. No differences were observed on egg production, egg mass, feed conversion, viability of the birds, percentage of commercial eggs, egg specific weight, percentage of yolk and albumen neither on egg shell percentage. Substitution of soybean meal for roasted whole soybean reduced feed intake. It was not observed any differences in the studied parameters when soybean meal was replaced by extruded whole soybean. Substitution of soybean meal for micronized whole soybean reduced body weight variation of the quails, resulting in weight loss of the birds. Soybean meal can be substituted, in 50% of the protein, by roasted or extruded whole soybean in diets for laying Japanese quails. However, substitution of the soybean meal for micronized whole soybean, in 50% of the protein, is not recommended, because it worsens the performance results, mainly causing weight loss of the birds.
Coturnix coturnix japonica; egg quality; performance; whole soybean
