EFFECT OF DIETARY CALCIUM LEVEL ON THE PRODUCTIVE AND REPRODUCTIVE PERFORMANCE OF GIMMIZAH AND MAMOURAH LAYING HENS | ||||
| Journal of Animal and Poultry Production | ||||
| Article 2, Volume 31, Issue 3, March 2006, Page 1271-1287 PDF (1.2 MB) | ||||
| Document Type: Original Article | ||||
| DOI: 10.21608/jappmu.2006.235443 | ||||
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| Authors | ||||
| Kh. El. Sherif,1; M. H. Rabie1; M. A.A. Hussein2; M. G. Kassem2 | ||||
| 1Poultry Production Department, Faculty of Agriculture, Mansoura University | ||||
| 2Anim. Prod. Res. Institute, Agric. Res. Center, Ministry of Agriculture, Dokki, Giza | ||||
| Abstract | ||||
| The present study was undertaken to evaluate the effects of feeding four levels of dietary calcium on productivity, egg quality and reproductive performance of Gimmizah and Mamourah laying hens. A total number of 280, 18-week-old birds of two Egyptian breeds (120 pullets and 20 cockerels of each breed) were used. Pullets of each breed were randomly divided into four equal experimental groups; of 3 replications of 10 birds each, kept individually in laying battery cages set up in an open-sided laying house, exposed to a daily photoperiod of 16 hr, and managed similarly. Thus, four isocaloric (2700 kcal ME/kg)-isonitrogenous (16% CP) experimental diets, containing graded calcium (Ca) levels [3.0% (served as a control), 3.25, 3.50 and 3.75%] were formulated and given to the experimental birds from 18 to 46 weeks of age. At 25 weeks of age and onwards, the hens were artificially inseminated twice a week using freshly-collected undiluted semen from cockerels of the same age and breed, which had been fed the control diet (3.0% Ca). The criteria of response were change in body weight, productive performance (daily feed and Ca intakes, egg production rate, egg weight, daily egg mass and feed conversion ratio), some egg quality traits (egg components and certain measurements of egg quality), reproductive performance (egg fertility, hatchability, embryonic mortality and hatch weight of chicks) and certain blood parameters (plasma levels of glucose, total lipids, cholesterol, albumin, total calcium and inorganic P as well as activities of plasma alkaline phosphatase, alanine aminotransferase and aspartate aminotransferase). Ash, Ca and P contents of tibia bone and eggshell were also determined. In both Gimmizah and Mamourah laying hens, all criteria measured were not significantly affected by the dietary Ca level; but as it is expected, the daily Ca intake was significantly increased with increasing dietary Ca level from 3.0 to 3.75%. On the other hand, significant breed differences were observed in egg production rate, egg weight, percentages of egg yolk and albumen, eggshell thickness and egg yolk index, but were not detected in the other measurements, regardless of dietary Ca level. Gimmizah hens achieved higher means of egg production rate, percent egg yolk, eggshell thickness and yolk index compared with those of Mamourah hens while means of egg weight and percent albumen were in favor of Mamourah hens; however, the other measurements were not affected. The effects of dietary Ca level and hen breed, however, were not interrelated. Under the conditions of this study, daily Ca intake for Gimmizah and Mamourah laying hens of about 2.78 g/hen was sufficient to produce a satisfactory egg production, egg quality, and egg fertility and hatchability. | ||||
| Keywords | ||||
| Dietary calcium; Egyptian laying hens; productive and reproductive performance | ||||
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