Comparison of the effect of live and autolyzed yeast on performance and cecal microbial population of Japanese quail

In order to investigate the effects of using live, autolyzed yeast and their combination on performance, and intestinal histology in Japanese quail, 360 of one-day-old chicks were used. Birds were randomly divided into 4 experimental groups in a completely randomized design with 6 replicates. The experimental groups included the control group: fed with basal diet without additives, the second group: fed with basal diet containing 0.4% live yeast, the third group: fed with basal diet containing 0.4% autolyzed yeast and the fourth group: fed with basal diet containing 0.2% live yeast and 0.2% autolyzed yeast. The results showed that the addition of autolyzed yeast caused the greatest increase in body weight gain compared to the control and their mixture in the whole period of experiment (P<0.05). The weight of thigh and pancreas as well as the length of duodenum increased significantly in birds fed with autolyzed yeast compared to live yeast and their mixture (P<0.05). The highest height of duodenal villi was observed in birds fed with autolyzed yeast and live yeast compared to the control treatment and their mixture. Birds fed with autolyzed yeast showed a significant decrease in E. coli bacteria and an increase in Lactobacillus bacteria (P<0.05). The results showed that the use of autolyzed yeast as well as live yeast can be useful in feeding Japanese quails due to improving performance, increasing the height of duodenal villi, reducing the microbial population of E. coli and increasing the cecal population of Lactobacillus.