engleski

Production characteristics and quality of eggs from laying hens fed diets differing in commercial maize hybrid

The proportion of maize hybrids in the complete feed can be up to 70%, so even small differences in physicochemical properties between hybrids can affect the production characteristics of laying hens. The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of high-yielding maize hybrids on hen production traits and egg quality. Treatment diets contained 60% of grain and differed in only 15 commercial maize hybrids from six seed companies. By three in each cage, 225 Lohmann Brown hens were allocated to 15 dietary treatments in a completely randomised design (15 treatments×5 cages). The experiment lasted 12 weeks, during which egg number and weight were recorded daily, and diet intake was recorded weekly. Eggs for quality analysis were collected once a week during the last five weeks of the experiment. In terms of production characteristics, diet intake and egg production were similar among treatments, while treatments differed (P<0.05) in average egg weight (58.04-61.11 g), average daily egg mass (52.55- 60.68 g) and feed conversion ratio (2.01-2.45). For egg quality parameters, egg albumen height, Haugh units and shell thickness were similar between treatments, while treatments differed (P<0.05) for yolk colour fan (6.28-8.76) and shell strength (4.54-5.20 kg/cm2). The obtained results suggest that differences between hybrids could lead to different feed conversions and egg properties which could affect farmers' overall income.

maize hybrid ; laying hen ; production characteristics ; egg quality

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