17 Aqeel Ur Rehman Zahid Farooq Irfan Baboo Haseeb Khaliq Journal of Animal and Plant Sciences JAPS 20252025/07/29 35 4 1148-1154 1018-7081 https://doi.org/10.36899/JAPS.2025.4.0098 <p><strong>ABSTRACT</strong></p><p>This study evaluates the impact of cadmium chloride (CdCl₂) exposure on breeding Productivity and the potential mitigating role of&nbsp;<em>Moringa oleifera</em>&nbsp;as an antioxidant agent in Japanese quail (<em>Coturnix japonica</em>). The experimental design followed a completely randomized design (CRD) with 400 day-old Japanese quail, divided into eight treatment groups: NC (negative control), PC (positive control fed with&nbsp;<em>Moringa oleifera</em>), T1 (Cd 25 mg/kg), T2 (Cd 50 mg/kg), T3 (Cd 75 mg/kg), T4 (Cd 25 mg/kg + Moringa), T5 (Cd 50 mg/kg + Moringa), and T6 (Cd 75 mg/kg + Moringa). Production and breeding productivity were assessed through body weight, hen-housed egg production (HHEP), hen-day egg production (HDEP), egg weight, egg mass, fertility, hatchability, and key egg quality parameters from the month of November 2023 to April 2024 at 24^th&nbsp;week. Results indicated that Cd exposure significantly impaired breeding productivity and egg quality (p &le; 0.01), with the highest Cd level (75 mg/kg) causing the most severe declines. Conversely, groups supplemented with&nbsp;<em>Moringa oleifera&nbsp;</em>demonstrated significant improvements (p &le; 0.01) in body weight, egg production, egg mass, fertility, and hatchability, highlighting Moringa&rsquo;s protective antioxidant effects. ANOVA analysis confirmed significant differences among groups, reinforcing the effectiveness of&nbsp;<em>Moringa oleifera</em> supplementation at 7 g/kg feed in counteracting cadmium toxicity in quail. These findings suggest Moringa as a viable dietary intervention for improving poultry health under heavy metal contamination.</p> Cadmium chloride, Moringa oleifera, productive performance, egg quality, Japanese quail Pakistan Agricultural Scientists Forum https://thejaps.org.pk/AbstractView.aspx?mid=2024-JAPS-2729