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Effect of Fasting and Post-Fast Diets on Performance in Molted Flocks

Cooperative Extension, Highlander Hall, #142, University of California, riverside, CA 92521; Phone: (714) 787-4555; FAX: (714) 787-7251

Douglas R. Kuney

Cooperative Extension, 21150 Box Springs Road, Moreno Valley, CA 92380

Correspondence: Donald D. Bell

Four induced molt experiments, ranging from 28 to 40 weeks in duration were conducted to determine the effects of 10 or 14 days fasting followed by 18 or 14 days respectively of cracked milo or a conventional layer diet on subsequent performance. The two fasting periods resulted in 24.5 and 28.8% losses in body weight respectively. Body weights at 28 days after fasting were below initial weights by 5.1 and 8.5% for the two fasting periods and 9.8 and 3.9 for the two diets, respectively. Significant differences in hen-day and hen-housed egg production, egg mass, feed conversion, and shell roughness and thickness were observed. Egg production and profit favored the 14 days fast plus cracked milo treatment over the 10 days fast plus cracked milo treatment by 6.4 eggs and $. 22 per hen-housed, respectively. Shell quality was significantly reduced when layer diets were fed immediately following the fast. Combining similar experiments resulted in a noticeable increase in the number of significant treatment differences compared to individual experiment analyses.

Key Words: Molting • molt methods • recycling • induced molting