BACKGROUND: Due to the numerous biological effects of nanoparticles, nanotechnology can play a major role in future research areas in the poultry industry. OBJECTIVES: The SNP have antibacterial, antiviral and antifungal properties that are increasingly used in poultry farms. Therefore, the aim of this study was to investigate the effect of SNP on carcass and laying performance, qualitative and quantitative characteristics of eggs, fertility and hatchability in Japanese quail. METHODS: 96 quails including 24 male quails and 72 female quails were assigned to 4 experimental groups with 6 replications in a completely randomized design. The experimental groups consisted of 0 (control), 4, 8, and 12 ppm SNP, which were given to the birds in drinking water. Quantitative and qualitative parameters of eggs and determining the percentage of fertility and hatching were performed on a weekly basis. Also, at the end of the experiment, body weight and relative weight of internal organs were measured. RESULTS: The relative weight of liver and kidney organs increased in the SNP-receiving groups as compared to control (p < 0.05). There was a significant decrease in egg weight in SNP- receiving groups compared with the control group (p < 0.05). The effect of experimental groups on relative yolk weight was not significant. Albumin weight and yolk to albumin ratio increased in two groups of control and 8 ppm SNP, respectively (p < 0.05). Egg thickness and shape index decreased in groups 4, 8, and 12 ppm SNP as compared to control (p < 0.05). However, the effect of different experimental groups on quantitative and qualitative parameters of eggs including eggshell weight, eggshell membrane, and egg volume was not statistically significant. The SNP-receiving groups caused a dramatic increase in fertility rate as compared to control (p < 0.05); furthermore, the increase in hatchability rate in SNP groups was not significant (P>0.05). CONCLUSIONS: The results of the present study showed that the use of 4 and 8 ppm SNP can improve the laying performance, fertility and hatchability rates in Japanese quail.

Data of 229 hatches of commercial country chicken hatchery for a period of four years from 2017-2020 was collected and analyzed to study the effect of genetic makeup and season on fertility and hatchability in chicken varieties developed for rural chicken rearing viz., Aseel cross, Kaveri, Grampriya and Vanaraja. Kaveri chicken varieties recorded significantly higher fertility of 85.04 per cent (P&lt;0.01) followed by Aseel cross, Gramapriya and Vanaraja which are comparable in fertility values of 81.68, 81.33 and 82.80 per cent, respectively. In terms of fertile and total hatchability, Kaveri recorded significantly higher values of 94.16 and 80.08 per cent than other varieties. Winter and North East Monsoon seasons recorded significantly higher value of 89.39 and 87.91 per cent in Kaveri, 85.22 and&nbsp;83.84 per cent in Aseel Cross and 84.85 and 86.42 per cent in Gramapriya. On the other&nbsp;hand, summer season recorded the lowest fertility rates in all the chicken varieties.

A biological experiment was conducted to study the effect of different mating ratio on fertility and hatchability of TANUVAS Namakkal quail-1 breeders. The experiment was conducted by using two hundred and fifty adult birds of the age 15-25 weeks (males:25 and females:125) and 35-45 weeks (males:25 and females:125) TANUVAS Namakkal quail-1 breeders. The different male: female ratios viz. T1 (1:2), T2 (1:3), T3 (1:4), T4 (1:5) and T5 (1:6) were maintained in cages separately. All the birds were reared as per the standard management procedure and fed with Japanese quail breeder diet. The fertile eggs were collected from each male: female ratio separately for 28 days period. Eggs were set in the incubator and per cent hatchability, infertile, embryonic mortality and dead-in-shell were studied. The results of the experiment revealed that the hatchability was highly significant (P&lt;0.01) in T3 group (77.62%) with a mating ratio of 1:4 in 15 to 25 weeks age group and in T2 group (72.83%) with a mating ratio of 1:3 in 35 to 45 weeks age group. From this study it could be concluded that the optimum mating ratio for “TANUVAS NAMAKKAL Quail-1” breeder for younger age group is 1:4 and for older age group is 1:3.

A study was conducted to evaluate the effects of feeding processed kidney bean meal (PKBM) by replacing soybean meal (SBM) on fertility, hatchability, embryonic mortality and chick quality of white leghorn (WL) hens. A total of 225 white leghorn hens (195 layers and 30 cocks) with uniform body weight (BW) and age were randomly distributed into 15 pens and assigned to five treatments (i.e., T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5). A total of 360 eggs collected from all the treatment birds were used for the analysis. The feeds of the treatments were SBM substituted by PKBM at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100% levels for T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5, respectively. Replacement of SBM with PKBM in the diet did not affect the fertility, hatchability, embryonic mortality, chick length, chick weight, and chick quality by visual score. As no difference is observed, 100% replacement of SBM by PKBM (dosed at 100 g/kg concentrate diet) is possible.