Effects of Age, Sex, and Dietary Supplementation on Carcass Traits, Meat Quality, and Lipid Composition of Manchurian Golden Quail

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effects of age, sex, and dietary supplementation with resveratrol and defatted black soldier fly (Hermetiaconfirmedillucens) larvae meal (BSF) on the carcass traits, meat quality, and lipid profile in Manchurian Golden quail. A total of 180 birds were examined: 90 young quail at 35 days of age before the onset of laying and 90 older quail at 128 days of age during the laying period, with both sexes represented. The birds were assigned to three dietary treatments: a commercial basal diet, the same basal diet supplemented with 250 mg/kg of resveratrol, and a diet including 10% BSF. The carcass composition, meat physicochemical properties, lipid profile, and nutritional quality indices were analyzed. Older quail exhibited higher body, carcass, and organ weights and greater internal fat deposition, whereas younger quail showed more intense breast meat color and higher ash and cholesterol contents. Females generally demonstrated leaner carcasses and more favorable lipid profiles than males. Dietary BSF supplementation increased body weight and the intramuscular fat content but negatively influenced fatty acid indices, whereas resveratrol supplementation enhanced polyunsaturated fatty acid levels and the PUFA/SFA ratio (p < 0.001), despite an associated increase in meat cholesterol. Meat from older quail was tougher but showed healthier lipid characteristics, including higher (p < 0.001) PUFA proportions, lower (p < 0.001) atherogenic index (AI) and thrombogenic index (TI) values, and more favorable (p < 0.001) hypocholesterolemic/hypercholesterolemic fatty acid ratio (H/h) and health-promoting index (HPI) values. Overall, slaughtering dual-purpose quail after three months of laying did not compromise meat nutritional quality and may even enhance certain health-related attributes.