Ground Prosopis juliflora Pod as Feed Ingredient in Poultry Diet: Effects on Laying Performance and Egg Quality

摘要

One hundred and eighty 26-week old Bovans Brown commercial layers were used to determine the performance and economic of layers fed with ration containing Ground Prosopis Juliflora Pods (GPJP) at levels of 0 (T1), 10 (T2), 20 (T3) and 30% (T4) of the total ration. The experiment was arranged in a Completely Randomized Design (CRD) with four treatments, each replicated three times with 15 birds per replicate. The experiment lasted 12 weeks. Hens were individually weighed at the start and end of the experiment. Data on Dry Matter Intake (DMI), Hen Day Egg Production (HDEP), egg weight and egg mass were recorded daily. Egg quality parameters (egg shell weight and thickness, albumen weight and height, Haugh unit and egg yolk weight and color) were determined at an interval of 3 days on 6 eggs per replicate. GPJP contained 12.1% CP, 7.3% ether extract, 14.4% crude fiber and 82.3 g/100 g beta-carotene. DMI and HDEP was lower (0.05) for T4 than T1 and T2 and that of egg mass was significantly lower (0.05) for T4 than T1 (DMI: 111.4, 111.8, 110.5 and 105.4 g/day (SEM = 1.92); HDEP: 67.2, 67.7, 62.7 and 60.0% (SEM = 0.02); egg mass: 44.0, 43.8, 41.3 and 39.6 g/day (SEM = 1.49) for T1, T2, T3 and T4, respectively). Body weight change and feed conversion ratio was not impacted (p>0.05) by treatment. Except for egg yolk color which was greater (0.05) for T4 than other treatments, all quality parameters were similar among treatments. Therefore, based on the results of the current study, the 10% GPJP inclusion level in the ration of layers is more economical. Although 30% GPJP inclusion level in the ration of layers improved egg yolk color and it appeared to result in reduction of egg production and egg mass. Therefore, up to 20% GPJP inclusion in layers ration is recommendable based on the performance of the birds, although the treatment with 10% GPJP in the ration seems to be more economical.