Predicting yolk and albumen weight using egg weight of quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) fed diet supplemented with betaine

Betaine as a methyl donor is proven to increase the synthesis of egg components which presence in poultry diet is suspected to modify the composition of the eggs. Eggs are multipurpose animal product. It is utilized in various ways; either as a whole or separated between its yolk and albumen. For the later purpose, the knowledge about egg composition is essential. This study aimed to build models to predict the yolk and albumen weight using egg weight of quails (Coturnix coturnix japonica) fed diet supplemented with betaine. In total, 239 data obtained from 3 assay diets were subjected to analysis of variance, correlation, regression and cross validation. The assay diets consisted of a basal diet containing 16.5% protein fed without or with supplementation of 0.06 and 0.12% betaine. The supplementation of 0.12% betaine increased egg, yolk and albumen weight (p<0.01). The correlation of egg weight similar to yolk weight and egg weight similar to albumen weight ranged between 0.65-0.69 and 0.69-0.79, respectively. The regression models showed high predictability between 92.7-94.5% for yolk weight prediction and 96.0-97.2% for egg weight prediction based on egg weight. Thus, egg weight is a good predictor to predict the yolk and albumen weight of quail eggs.