The effects of peppermint and rosemary essential oils on performance, internal organ weights and some blood indices of Japanese quail

This study aimed to investigate the effects of different levels of Rosemary (0, 100 and 200 mg per kg) and peppermint (0, 100 and 200 mg per kg) essential oils on performance, internal organs and some blood indices using360 one-day old quail. The experiment was conducted in a 3×3 factorial arrangement based on a completely randomized design with nine treatments and four replications (10 birds per repetition). The results showed that the consumption of highest level of rosemary essential oil caused the increased feed consumption during week 2 of age (P0.05). The essential oils of rosemary and peppermint plants did not change the blood indices of triglyceride, protein, urea, creatinine and HDL (P>0.05). There was a trend for the effect of rosemary essential oil on length of both jejunum and ileum (P=0.09) and the 100 and 200 ppm rosemary caused the higher length of both jejunum and ileum at day 35 of age. In conclusion, the consumption of rosemary and peppermint essential oils improved the performance of quails in the early ages.