Effects of using different levels of Pennyroyal (Mentha plugium L.) and Thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.) medicinal plants on performance and Blood metabolites of Japanese Laying Quails

This experiment was conducted to assess the effects of using different levels of pennyroyal and thyme medicinal plants on performance, egg quality, blood biochemical and immunity cells of Japanese Laying Quails. This study carried out in as factorial (2×2) include 2 levels of pennyroyal (0 and 0.75%) and 2 levels of thyme (0 and 0.75%) in 4 treatments, 4 replicates and 15 laying quails in each replicate in 5 weeks from 6 up to 11 weeks of quail ages in a completely randomized design. The results showed that using different levels of pennyroyal, thyme and interaction between them, significantly affect the egg weight, egg traits and blood immune cells of laying quails (P0.05). The overall results indicated that in laying quails, using 0.75% of thyme has positive effects on egg weight, eggshell quality and level of immune cells, whereas using 0.75% of pennyroyal has adverse effects on performance, but improve the eggshell quality. Using pennyroyal and interaction between thyme and pennyroyal decreased the Haugh unit of quail's eggs.