Egg quality and laying performance of pullets fed different protein sources and Ronozyme-P supplementation

Abstract

A study was designed to assess the laying performance of pullets in response to different protein sources and phytase supplementation. One hundred and twenty Nera-Brown pullets of 26 weeks (8 weeks in lay) were randomly allotted to five experimental diets replicated four times with six birds per replicate in a completely randomized design. Five diets were formulated such that diet 1 contained protein sources of both plant and animal origin, Diets 2 and 3 had groundnut cake as protein source, but diet 3 had phytase supplementation, diets 4 and 5 had soyabean meal as protein source, but diet 5 had phytase supplementation. The birds where fed experimental diets for 36 weeks during which laying performance, egg internal and external quality traits were assessed. The result obtained showed that hen day production of birds on diet 3 recorded highest (P<0.05) value (66.35±0.44%) and highest egg weight was obtained for birds on diets 1 and 3. The internal egg quality characteristics of laying birds were not affected by the experimental diets except Haugh units. This study reveals that phytase inclusion in laying pullets diets enhance egg quality. However, birds fed groundnut cake diets with phytase laid heavier eggs and better egg production.