The effect of dietary inclusion of meat and bone meal on the performance of laying hens at old age (original) (raw)

Performance and egg quality of aged laying hens fed diets supplemented with meat and bone meal or oyster shell meal

South African Journal of Animal Science, 2012

Meat and bone meal (MBM) and oyster shell meal (OSM) were supplemented to a basal diet (LMS), either alone or in combination, in order to assess the dietary influences of those complementary Ca sources on performance and egg quality of laying hens. Four hundred and thirty-two Brown-Nick hens, at the beginning of their second production period, were divided into four treatment groups with six replicates each. The final body weight of OSM-fed hens was highest, whereas others did not differ significantly. Hens receiving OSM produced more eggs and egg mass along with considerably greater feed intake than those on all the other treatments. Egg weight was not affected by the treatments except for the lower egg weight of the MBM+OSM treatment. Hens fed a diet supplemented with MBM laid at a rate of 1.14%, 3.66% points lower than those on the control and OSM treatments, respectively. Feed efficiency was not influenced by origin of calcium source. Egg shape index and eggshell weight did not differ among treatments. Eggshell thickness and eggshell breaking strength were higher in hens fed with MBM as compared to control and OSM fed birds. Similar to the tendency in shell quality, MBM inclusion in the diet tended to enhance albumen height and Haugh unit. Dietary treatment with OSM resulted in the highest serum Ca and P concentrations. These results indicate that partially replacing limestone with OSM in the laying hen diet provided significant improvements in egg production performance, whereas most of the egg quality traits were enhanced by dietary supplementation with MBM at 4%.

Performance and Egg Characteristics of Laying Hens Fed Diets Incorporated with Poultry By-Product and Feather Meals

Journal of Applied Poultry Research, 2005

The effects of poultry by-product meal (PBPM) and feather meal (FM) incorporated separately and in combination in the diet on laying hen performance and egg characteristics during postpeak production were determined. Bovans White strain laying hens, 42 wk of age, were fed diets with 0% PBPM and FM, 5% FM, 5% PBPM, or 4% FM + 4% PBPM. Egg production, feed intake, and egg mass were not significantly affected by dietary treatments, whereas egg weight and feed conversion ratio (FCR) were significantly affected. Egg weights of hens receiving 4% FM + 4% PBPM were significantly lower than those fed the control diet, whereas those fed 5% FM or 5% PBPM were intermediate. FCR was significantly improved by the diets containing 5% FM or 5% PBPM compared with the diet containing 4% FM + 4% PBPM. Dietary PBPM decreased Haugh units, but FM did not. Egg breaking strength, shell weight, and weights of albumen and yolk were not affected by treatments. The results suggested that FM or PBPM could be incorporated up to 5% singly or up to 8% in combination in layer diets but with possible detrimental effects on Haugh units, egg weight, and FCR.

The effect of enzyme and protein source on laying hens performance, eggshell and bone traits

Emirates Journal of Food and Agriculture, 2019

The aim of the study was to investigate the interaction between exogenous phytase with protease and protein source in laying hens diet. A completely randomised design study with a 2 × 4 factorial arrangement was conducted to observe effects of protein source (soybean vs. yellow lupine seeds diet) and enzyme addition (no enzyme vs. phytase or protease or both) on laying hens performance, bone mineralization and some egg traits. One hundred sixty Hy-Line Brown hens at the age of 18 weeks were weighed and randomly assigned to 10 treatments, each with 16 birds. According to the producer recommendation in diets containing enzymes reduced the level of available phosphorus (50% reduction) and digestible amino acids - 5% reduction. The egg production during the entire experiment was similar in all groups without significant differences. The egg weight was also on an equal level in all treatments and it was about 58g. Birds fed different protein source were characterized by similar feed inta...

Productive Performance and Egg Quality of Brown Egg-Laying Hens in the Late Phase of Production as Influenced by Level and Source of Calcium in the Diet

Poultry Science, 2008

A total of 1,152 Lohmann Brown laying hens were used to study the influence of level (3.5 and 4.0%) and source (coded FIN, COA, and OYS) of Ca in the diet on productive performance and egg quality from 58 to 73 wk of age. The FIN diet contained all the Ca carbonate as fine limestone (LIM). In the COA and OYS diets, 40% of the fine LIM was substituted with either coarse LIM or oyster shell. Each treatment was replicated 8 times (24 hens). Productive performance and egg quality traits were recorded every 4 wk, and tibia characteristics and shell quality traits were determined at 73 wk of age. An increase in Ca intake from 4.08 to 4.64 g/hen per day improved egg production (71.2 vs. 74.9%; P < 0.001), egg mass (49.0 vs. 51.4 g; P < 0.05), and feed conversion ratio (2.43 vs. 2.30 kg of feed/kg of egg; P < 0.001). In addition, an increase in Ca intake improved shell weight (9.98 vs. 10.20%; P < 0.05), shell thickness (0.342 vs. 0.351 mm; P < 0.01), and shell density (82.0 vs. 83.8 mg/cm 2 ; P < 0.001). Calcium source had no effect on productive performance, tibia characteristics, or egg quality except for shell density, which was greater for hens fed COA than for hens fed FIN, with hens fed OYS being intermediate (81.9 vs. 84.0 vs. 82.7 mg/cm 2 , respectively; P < 0.05). It was concluded that Brown egg-laying hens in the late phase of production require more than 3.5% Ca in the diet (4.08 g of Ca/hen per day) and that the substitution of 40% of fine LIM with COA or OYS does not affect productive performance and has little impact on shell quality and tibia characteristics.

Eff ect of Two Dietary Phosphorus Levels on the Performance of Laying Hens and Eggshell Quality over the Common Laying Period

Th e aim of the present trial was to study the eff ect of two diff erent dietary phosphorus (P) levels on the laying performance in long-term (17 months) egg production and egg shell quality in terms of strength and thickness from the 7 th to 17 th month of laying. In case of eggshell quality parameters the time eff ect as well as the interaction between dietary P levels and time were also examined. Sixty Tetra-SL layers were fed diets with two diff erent levels of P (4.9 or 4.4 g/kg total phosphorus) at constant 38.5 g/kg calcium level. In the course of the trial egg production %, egg weight, feed intake and body weight were recorded. At every 4 th weeks 20 eggs per treatment were broken to deretmine the strength and thickness of eggshell. Results showed that the examined two levels of dietary P did not aff ect the percentage of egg production and the feed conversion ratio (kg feed/kg egg mass). Th e egg weight signifi cantly increased and eggshell strength was signifi cantly lower...

Effect of Dietary Calcium Sources on Laying Hens Performance and Egg Quality

Journal of Animal Production Advances, 2013

This study was designed to investigate the effect of feeding two different (oystershell and limestone) sources of calcium to layer hens (Bovan) on performance and egg shell quality. The experiment extended for 4 weeks during which 24 Bovan layers at 24 weeks were used. Birds were divided into two groups (12 bird/ treatment) with four replicates in each battery cage. Traits measured were egg production, feed intake, feed conversion ratio,, body weight change, egg weight, egg height, egg diameter, albumen weight, albumen height, yolk weight, shell weight, and shell thickness. Results showed that the source of calcium (oystershell versus limestone) significantly affected (P<0.05) egg production(59.82 Vs 76.19), feed intake(139.53 Vs142.02), feed conversion ratio(4.67 Vs 2.99) and body weight change (-4.67 Vs 8.91). On the other hand, the source of calcium had no significant effect (P<0.05) on egg weight, egg height, egg diameter, albumen weight, yolk weight, shell weight, shell thickness and shell ash. The results suggest that the inclusion of lime stone in layers ration as calcium source is more beneficial than oystershell.

Effect of different levels of methionine, protein and tallow on the productive performance and egg quality of laying hens in the late-phase production

Brazilian Journal of Poultry Science, 2012

An experiment was conducted to determine the effects of different levels of methionine, protein and tallow on productive performance and egg quality of laying hens in the late phase of production. A completely randomized design with a 3×2×2 factorial arrangement, with three levels (0.34, 0.31, and 0.27%) of methionine (MET), two levels (12.8 and 14.7%) of protein (PRO) and two levels (1 and 3%) of tallow (TAL) with constant level of linoleic acid (1.55 ± 0.02%), was used. A number of 144 Hi-Line W-36 layers from 70 to 76 wk of age was randomly distributed into 12 treatment groups with 4 replicates of 3 hens each. Egg production and egg weight were daily recorded and feed intake and egg quality traits were recorded every 2 wk. There was a significant interaction between PRO levels and TAL for egg weight. Low levels of TAL and PRO decreased egg weight throughout the experiment. High levels of MET and TAL with concomitant reduced PRO, increased eggshell thickness, and a significant interaction between levels of MET, PRO and TAL was observed during the experiment (70 to 76 wk). Low level of protein (12.8%) significantly decreased albumen weight in the third 2-wk period. Yolk color increased when hens were fed low levels of PRO and TAL. Results of this experiment indicated that the simultaneous reduction of dietary PRO and MET in diets of Hi-Line W-36 laying hens in the late phase of production, reduced egg weight (P<0.05). Productive performance and egg quality were not affected by 12 and 20% reduction of PRO and MET, respectively. It seems that decreasing the levels of MET and PRO to lower than the recommended values can decrease egg weight without negative effects on productive performance and egg quality of laying hens in the late phase of production.

Infl uence of low-protein diet with different levels of amino acids on laying hen performance, quality and egg composition

Annals of the Brazilian Academy of Sciences, 2020

The present study aimed to investigate the consequences of dietary levels of crude protein (CP) and total sulfur amino acids (TSAA, Met+Cys) on productive performance, egg quality and egg components for Lohmann Brown laying hens through 18-34 weeks of age. A 2×3 factorial design experiment was conducted using two levels of CP (16 and 18 %) and three levels of Met+ Cys (0.67, 0.72 and 0.77 %). A total of 144 Lohmann Brown laying hens at 18 weeks of age were randomly divided into 6 treatment groups. The best values of fi nal body weight and body weight change were recorded by the hens fed 18 % CP diet. Increasing dietary CP up to 18 % accompanied with the best (P> 0.01) feed conversion, egg weight and egg mass. The combination between low-CP diet (16 %) and 0.72 % Met+ Cys gave the best percentage of egg production. The majority of egg quality traits were not signifi cantly altered by dietary treatments. The interaction between CP and Met+Cys levels had a statistical (P>0.01) impact on egg content of moisture and total solids only. It could be concluded that the best production criteria could be obtained by using 0.72% Met+Cys. Moreover, dietary level of 16 or 18 % CP with 0.72% Met+Cys is recommended for feeding Lohmann hens.

Laying Performance, Physical, and Internal Egg Quality Criteria of Hens Fed Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles and Exogenous Enzyme Mixture

animals

Simple Summary: The present study was designed to investigate the simultaneous use of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and exogenous enzyme mixture (EEM) on layer performance and egg characteristics. Results confirmed that DDGS is an acceptable feed ingredient in layer diets and that the maximum inclusion level of DDGS in the diet should be around 12% for the best performance and egg characteristics. Abstract: The effects of dietary inclusion of distillers dried grains with solubles in laying hen diets with and without exogenous enzyme mixture (EEM) on performance and egg characteristics were evaluated. One of the main objectives of this study was to examine the effects of distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) and enzyme cocktail on egg yolk fatty acids. The study used total of 144 Hisex Brown laying hens in a 4 × 2 factorial arrangement, including four levels of DDGS (0, 6, 12, and 18% of diet) and two levels of enzyme cocktail (0 or 250 mg EEM/kg of diet) through 32-42 weeks of the age. The inclusion of 18% DDGS was associated with the worst (p ≤ 0.001) egg production and the lowest daily feed intake. Numerically, hens fed 6% DDGS diet consumed more feed and had the greatest egg production. The best feed conversion ratio (FCR) was recorded in the control, while the worst was recorded in the 18% DDGS group. Compared with EEM-free diets, EEM supplementation improved FCR by about 2.79%, but the difference was not significant. Shell thickness and shell percentage were significantly increased in hens fed 6% DDGS diet compared to other groups. Egg weights in the 6% and 12% DDGS groups were significantly higher than those in the control and 18% DDGS groups. Non-significant increases in shell and albumin percentages were recorded in groups fed EEM-supplemented diets. The interaction effect of DDGS and EEM was significant (p ≤ 0.01) for the majority of egg characteristics. As dietary DDGS level increased, yolk color density increased. Elevating DDGS level up to 18% increased yolk cholesterol, total fat, and total unsaturated fatty acids. The effects of EEM supplementation on egg yolk fatty acid composition and the interaction effects between DDGS and EEM were not significant. Considering these results, it could be concluded that DDGS is an acceptable feed ingredient in layer diets and that the maximum inclusion level of DDGS should not exceed 12% of the whole diet.

Calcium in pre-laying and laying rations on the performance and quality of laying hens’ eggshell

The experiment evaluated the effect of different calcium (Ca) levels in pre-laying and laying diets on the performance and egg quality of laying hens. Two hundred and fifty-six 16-week-old Brown Hisex pullets were housed in a conventional shed. The experiment had a completely randomized design with 4 x 2 factorial arrangement (four calcium levels-0.8, 1.3, 1.8 and 2.3% in pre-laying phase; two calcium levels-2.5 and 3.5% in laying phase), totaling eight treatments with four repetitions of eight birds per experimental unit. The experiment started with 16-week-old hens receiving pre-laying diets provided until they were 18 weeks old. At this period, the laying diets started. Four 28-day cycles were evaluated for the following variables: production and egg weight, feed intake, feed conversion, mass of eggs and eggshell quality. Results show that a good performance was obtained with 0.8% calcium level in the pre-laying phase, whereas in the laying phase the 3.5% calcium level provided greater weight egg and better eggshell quality.