Abst ract The objective of this study was to evaluate different levels of inclusion of cottonseed meal in the diet of Japanese quail. Twenty Japanese quails were used in a completely randomized design consisting of five treatments and six replicates, with eight quails per replicate. The treatments used were: basal diet with 0% cottonseed meal; inclusion of 4% cottonseed meal, 8% cottonseed meal, 12% cottonseed meal, and 16% cottonseed meal. Feed intake per egg mass (kg/dz), feed conversion per

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... gg mass (kg/kg), viability of birds, and weight gain were evaluated. The egg quality variables were: egg weight (g), yolk weight (g), eggshell weight (g) albumen weight, percentage of yolk, eggshell and albumen, and specific gravity (g/cm 3 ). Cottonseed meal in the diet influenced (P<0.05) individual feed intake (g/bird/day), yolk weight (g), albumen, and percentage of yolk, eggshell and albumen. No significant difference was observed for the other variables (P>0.05). Cottonseed meal can be added to the diet of Japanese quail without compromising performance or egg quality. Keywords alternative food, egg quality, yolk weight. Palavras -chave alimento alternativo, qualidade do ovo, peso da gema.