Hassan Habibi

Objectives: The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of different levels of Stachys lavandulifolia powder as additive in diet on performance and immunity parameters in Japanese quail. Materials & Methods: 270 one-day Japanese quail randomly divided in three groups and for each treatment designed 3 replicates with 30 quail per replicate. The treatment groups received 0 (control), 0.5% and 2% of Stachys lavandulifolia powder in their ratio during 42 days. Feed intake, daily body weight gain and feed conversion ratio were measured weekly. The birds were vaccinated with the Newcastle disease Vaccine on days 21 of age and in serum sampling for HI test were measured on day 42. Results & Conclusion: The results showed that live body weight and feed conversion ratio were not affected significantly by different level of Stachys lavandulifolia powder (p>0.05). Consumption of 0.5% and 2% Stachys lavandulifolia powder increased Newcastle vaccine antibody titer (P<0.05). Finally according to the result suggested that, adding 0.5% and 2% of Stachys lavandulifolia to the ratio could be improved immune responses in Japanese quail against Newcastle disease virus.