Effects of Hot Pepper Waste Powder on Meat Quail Performance, Carcass Yield, and Small Intestine Microflora

In sustainable animal husbandry, wastes generated as a result of agricultural activities need to be evaluated for more effective animal feeding. The world generates approximately 1.2 billion tons of agricultural waste annually. This study aimed to investigate the impact of adding hot pepper waste powder (HPWP) to Japanese quail diets on performance, carcass characteristics, and small intestinal microflora. Each group consisted of 4 replications, with each replication consisting of 10 chicks. A total of 160-day-old meat Japanese quail were used in the study, which lasted for 42 days. The experimental groups: included a control group fed with standard feed and groups that had 100, 200, and 400 ppm HPWP added to the ration. At the end of the study, the average live body weights were determined as 275.39, 276.91, 276.15, and 285.92 g, respectively. The average feed intake in the last week was determined as 887.13, 907.33, 890.47, and 936.29 g, respectively. There was a significant increase in feed intake (p < 0.01-0.05) in all groups, especially during the growth period (at 2-5 weeks). As a result, while feed consumption and body weight increased in the HPWP added groups compared to the control, there was also a decrease in feed conversion. The study found statistically significant differences in cooking loss, breast L*, b*, chroma, and h° (p < 0.01), as well as leg L* and a* values of quail meat with the addition of HPWP (p < 0.05). The total bacterial count was 1.5, 15, 1.5, and 1.0 log10⁶ cfu/g, respectively.