Effect of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol supplementation on egg quality, body weight and feed intake in commercial laying hens

Abstract

HyLine Brown layer hens from 19 to 50 weeks of age were used to determine the effects of supplemental 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25(OH)D₃) on egg internal quality, eggshell quality, amount of cuticle present on the eggshells, body weight, and feed intake. Birds were housed individually in cages and divided into three groups (A, B, and C), 30 birds per group, where group A was control fed with normal commercial layer mash feed, group B was fed with normal layer mash feed plus 0.5 g of 25(OH)D₃ premix (68.9 µg 25(OH)D₃) per kg of feed, and group C fed with normal layer mash feed plus 1 g of 25(OH)D₃ premix (137.8 μg 25(OH)D₃) per kg of feed. Our results indicated there was a significant main effect (P≤0.05) of hen age and treatment group on albumen height, Haugh unit, and yolk color score, whereas a significant interaction between these two factors was recorded only for yolk score. Shell quality results indicated that there was a significant main effect of both hen age and treatment group on shell reflectivity, egg weight, shell deformation, shell weight, percentage shell, shell thickness, translucency score, and cuticle single score value. There was a significant effect of hen age on shell breaking strength and shell reflectivity prior to staining. The results showed that the highest shell weight and percentage shell and lowest shell deformation were found in group C. The lowest shell thickness and highest albumen height, Haugh unit, yolk color score, difference in shell reflectivity, translucency score, and cuticle single score value were found in group A. Egg weight was higher in groups A and C than group B. Body weight and feed intake were not significantly different among the groups.