**Background:** Improving poultry productivity and egg quality using natural botanical by-products is increasingly important due to rising costs of conventional feed ingredients and consumer concerns about synthetic additives. Carotenoids are widely used as pigments in poultry diets, but information on natural carotenoid sources in feed is limited. Purple carrots (Daucus carota ssp. sativus var. atrorubens Alef.) are rich in anthocyanins and carotenoids, and low-quality carrots (22% of total production) are often discarded, offering potential as animal feed. This study aimed to determine the effects of purple carrot powder (PCP) at different concentrations on performance, egg quality, yolk color, and antioxidant capacity in laying quails.
**Methods:** A total of 150 female Japanese quails (22 weeks old, 259.90 ± 9.37 g body weight) were randomly assigned to 5 dietary treatments with 6 replicates of 5 quails each. The treatments consisted of a basal diet supplemented with PCP at 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3, and 0.4% (0 to 4000 mg/kg diet). The experiment lasted 70 days in an indoor farm in Selçuklu, Konya, Türkiye, with a temperature of 22 ± 2.0°C and a 16-hour lighting program. Performance parameters (body weight, feed intake, feed conversion ratio), egg production, egg quality (shell weight, thickness, breaking strength, albumen index, yolk index, Haugh unit), yolk color (L*, a*, b*), and antioxidant capacity (TBARS and DPPH) were measured. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA using SPSS 22.0, with P < 0.05 considered significant.
**Key Results:** No mortality or disease symptoms were observed. Dietary PCP did not affect (P > 0.05) any performance parameters or egg production. Values ranged: initial body weight 258.0–267.5 g, final body weight 271.1–288.4 g, body weight change 13.1–20.9 g, egg production 91.07–92.43%, egg weight 12.46–13.05 g, egg mass 11.36–12.00 g/day/quail, feed intake 34.07–35.77 g/day/quail, and feed conversion ratio 2.94–3.01 g feed/g egg. Eggshell weight (P < 0.01) and eggshell thickness (P < 0.01) were linearly increased by PCP, reaching maximum at 0.4% PCP (8.90% and 250.3 µm, respectively) vs. control (8.22% and 238.1 µm). Damaged eggs and egg-breaking strength were not significantly different. Internal quality (albumen index 2.24–2.50, yolk index 43.74–46.82, Haugh unit 85.19–87.38) was unaffected. Yolk yellowness (b*) was significantly higher in all PCP groups (34.49–35.67) vs. control (31.96, P < 0.05), while L* and a* were unchanged. TBARS values decreased linearly with increasing PCP (P < 0.01), from 5.225 µmol MDA/kg (control) to 3.868 µmol MDA/kg (0.4% PCP). DPPH values increased linearly (P < 0.01), from 3.792% (control) to 5.263% (0.4% PCP).
**Clinical Implications:** Purple carrot powder, a safe and readily available agricultural by-product, can be included in laying quail diets up to 0.4% without adversely affecting performance or egg production. PCP supplementation improves eggshell weight and thickness, enhances yolk yellowness (an important consumer attribute), and significantly increases the antioxidant capacity of egg yolks by reducing lipid peroxidation (TBARS) and increasing free radical scavenging activity (DPPH). These improvements could extend egg shelf-life and increase consumer acceptability, offering a natural alternative to synthetic pigments and antioxidants in poultry production.