J. Appl. Poult. Res.
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J APPL POULT RES 2008. 17:323-330. doi:10.3382/japr.2007-00096
© 2008 Poultry Science Association
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Research Reports

Influence of Dietary Energy and Antibiotic on Performance, Egg Solids, and Egg Quality in Bovans White and Dekalb White Hens

G. Wu, P. Gunawardana, M. M. Bryant and D. A. Roland, Sr.1

Department of Poultry Science, Auburn University, AL 36849

1 Corresponding author: roland1{at}auburn.edu


   SUMMARY
TOP
 SUMMARY
DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS AND APPLICATIONS
 REFERENCES AND NOTES
 
A 4 x 2 x 2 factorial experiment with 4 dietary energy levels (2,776, 2,820, 2,864, and 2,908 kcal/kg) and 2 strains (Bovans White and Dekalb White) with and without Tylosin was conducted to determine the influence of dietary energy and antibiotic on performance, egg solids, and egg quality. The experiment lasted 10 wk. Bovans White hens (n = 768) and Dekalb White hens (n = 768) at 55 wk of age were randomly divided into 16 treatments (8 replicates of 12 birds per treatment). Bovans hens had significantly greater egg production and significantly lower egg weight, egg-specific gravity, and shell weight than Dekalb hens. Increasing dietary energy by the addition of poultry oil had no significant effect on performance, egg solids, or eggshell quality. An ideal dietary energy level for optimal performance could not be determined. There can be no fixed ideal dietary energy level for optimal profits, due to varying feed ingredient and egg price. Although Tylosin supplementation had no effect on performance or egg solids, Tylosin significantly reduced dirty eggs, resulting in a positive effect on egg quality.

Key Words: strain • dietary energy • Tylosin • egg composition • feed intake


   DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM
TOP
 SUMMARY
 DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM
MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS AND APPLICATIONS
 REFERENCES AND NOTES
 
Dietary energy, an important nutrient in layer diets, is typically supplied by cereal and protein sources and supplemental fat. Dietary energy level can significantly affect the cost of production, because increasing energy levels by the addition of fat can significantly decrease feed intake, increase egg weight, and improve feed conversion [1–7]. Protein (amino acid) intake significantly decreases with increasing dietary energy [3]. Because decreasing protein (amino acid) intake can adversely affect hens [8–10], there might be an ideal energy: protein ratio for optimal performance [3]. As hens age, protein requirements decrease so that more corn and less soy are included in corn-soy diets, resulting in greater dietary energy levels. Increasing dietary energy by the addition of fat to low-protein diets may not significantly improve performance, because low-protein diets may have sufficient dietary energy contributed from corn and soy. It is important to have a better understanding concerning the effect of dietary energy on performance.

Increasing dietary energy by the addition of poultry oil has been shown to significantly affect percentage of egg components [3]. The change in component percentages can affect total egg solids. Although the breaker egg industry has steadily increased during the last 10 yr, few experiments have been conducted to investigate the dietary energy effect on percentage of egg solids in current strains of Bovans White and Dekalb White hens. There is also a wide range of dietary energy levels (2,684 to 2,992 kcal of ME/kg) currently being used by the egg industry. However, there is limited information concerning the ideal dietary energy level required for optimal performance, egg solids, and profits.

Antibiotics are substances that inhibit the growth of bacteria and related microorganisms by interfering with their essential metabolic functions. Antibiotic supplementation has been reported to increase weight gain and improve feed efficiency in broilers [11, 12], whereas other researchers have reported no affect [13]. Tylosin, an antibiotic, made naturally by the bacterium Streptomyces fradiae acts to inhibit bacterial protein synthesis by inhibiting the 50S ribosome, a cellular structure of certain bacteria. Although Tylosin is widely used by the poultry industry, there are very few, if any, laying hen studies concerning the effect of Tylosin on performance, egg components, and egg quality.

The objective of this experiment was to determine the effect of dietary energy and antibiotic (Tylosin) on performance, egg solids, and egg quality in Bovans White and Dekalb White hens during phase 3 (from 55 to 64 wk of age).


   MATERIALS AND METHODS
TOP
 SUMMARY
 DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS AND APPLICATIONS
 REFERENCES AND NOTES
 
This study was a 4 x 2 x 2 factorial arrangement of 4 dietary energy levels (2,776, 2,820, 2,864, and 2,908 kcal/kg) and 2 strains (Bovans White and Dekalb White [14]) with and without Tylosin. Ingredients and nutrient composition of experimental diets were shown in Table 1Go. Feed samples were sent to Elanco Animal Health (Memphis, TN) for Tylosin activity analysis. The average chemical analyzed value of Tylosin in the diets was 33.7 g/ton of feed, which was very close to the expected value of 33 g/ton of feed.


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  		Table 1. Ingredients and nutrient composition of experimental diets
 
In this experiment, Bovans White hens (n = 768) and Dekalb White hens (n = 768) at 55 wk of age were randomly assigned into 16 treatments (8 replicates of 12 birds per treatment). The trial lasted 10 wk. Replicates were equally distributed into upper and lower cages to minimize cage level effect. Three hens were housed in a 40.6 x 45.7 cm cage with 5 adjoining cages being a treatment replicate. One cage in each replicate remained empty. All hens were housed in an environmentally controlled house with temperature maintained as close to 25.6°C as possible. However, because the experiment was conducted during winter months, the average house temperature was less than 25.6°C. The house had controlled ventilation and lighting (16L:8D). All hens were supplied with feed and water ad libitum. Egg production and mortality were recorded daily, feed consumption was recorded weekly, egg weight was recorded every other week, and egg-specific gravity was recorded monthly. Egg weight and egg-specific gravity were measured using all eggs produced during 2 consecutive days. Egg-specific gravity was determined using 9 gradient saline solutions varying in specific gravity from 1.060 to 1.100 with 0.005-unit increments [15]. Body weight was obtained by weighing 3 hens per replicate at the end of the experiment. Egg mass and feed conversion (g of feed/g of egg) were calculated from egg production, egg weight, and feed consumption.

Dirty eggs and cracked eggs were determined by using all eggs produced during 2 consecutive days at the middle and end of the experiment (wk 5 and 10, respectively). Dirty eggs were scored as follows: 0 = clean egg; 1 = dirty area (adhering manure or blood) less than 25% of egg (light dirty egg); 2 = dirty area (adhering manure or blood) more than 25% of egg (heavy dirty egg). Dirty egg score per replicate = [(1 x number of light dirty egg) + (2 x number of heavy dirty egg)]/total number of eggs per replicate. Cracked eggs were determined by visual examination using a candle light.

Three eggs from each replicate were collected to measure whole egg solids (wk 5 and 10 of experiment). Albumen and yolk solids were also measured by using 3 eggs from each replicate (wk 5 and 10 of experiment). The procedures for measuring whole egg solids, albumen and yolk solids, and shell weight were the same as those of Wu et al. [3]. Shell thickness was determined on 3 eggs from each treatment replicate after removing the shell membrane. Yolk color and Haugh units were measured (3 eggs from each treatment replicate) at the end of the experiment using an egg multitester EMT-5200 [16]. Haugh units were calculated from the records of albumen height and egg weight using the formula: UH = 100 log10 (H – 1.7 W0.37+ 7.56), where UH = Haugh unit; H = height of the albumen; and W = weight of the egg.

Data were analyzed by the PROC MIXED procedures of SAS Institute [17] for a randomized complete block with a factorial treatment design. The factorial treatment arrangement consisted of 4 dietary energy levels, 2 layer strains, and 2 Tylosin levels. Dietary energy, strain, and Tylosin were fixed, whereas blocks were random. The following model was used to analyze data:


Formula

where Yijkl = individual observation; µ = experimental mean; {alpha}i = dietary energy effect; βj = layer strain effect; {gamma}k = Tylosin effect; ({alpha}β)ij = interaction between dietary energy and strain; ({alpha}{gamma})ik = interaction between dietary energy and Tylosin; (β{gamma})jk = interaction between Tylosin and strain; ({alpha}β{gamma})ijk = interactions among dietary energy, strain, and Tylosin; Pl = effect of block; {varepsilon}ijkl = error component.

If differences in treatment means were detected by ANOVA, Duncan’s multiple range test was applied to separate means. Contrast statements were utilized to test for linear or quadratic dietary energy effects. A significance level of P ≤ 0.05 was used.


   RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
TOP
 SUMMARY
 DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
CONCLUSIONS AND APPLICATIONS
 REFERENCES AND NOTES
 
There were no significant interactions on all parameters among dietary energy, strain, and Tylosin (Table 2Go). Feed intake of Bovans hens was similar to that of Dekalb hens. Increasing dietary energy by the addition of poultry oil had no significant effect on feed intake. This was in agreement with that of Jalal et al. [18], who reported that there was no significant effect of dietary energy on feed intake. This is inconsistent with that of Wu et al. [3], who reported that feed intake linearly decreased as dietary energy increased. This might be due to smaller increments between dietary energy levels (approximately 44 kcal of ME/kg) in this experiment, compared with that (approximately 80 kcal of ME/kg) of Wu et al. [3]. In addition, because this experiment was conducted in the winter, feed consumption was already high. The energy effect on feed intake might be offset by low environmental temperature. There was no significant effect of Tylosin on feed intake.


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  		Table 2. Influence of dietary energy and Tylosin on performance of Bovans White and Dekalb White hens from 55 to 64 wk of age
 
Bovans hens had significantly greater egg production than Dekalb hens (Table 2Go). There was no significant energy effect on egg production. This result was in agreement with that of Harms et al. [2], Jalal et al. [18], and Wu et al. [19], who reported that dietary energy had no effect on egg production. Antibiotic supplementation had no significant effect on egg production.

Egg weight of Bovans hens was significantly lower than that of Dekalb hens (Table 2Go). Increasing dietary energy by the addition of poultry oil had no significant effect on egg weight. Similarly, Wu et al. [19] reported that there was no response of egg weight to dietary energy for laying hens during phase 2 (from 40 to 51 wk of age). However, Wu et al. [3] reported that egg weight linearly increased with increasing dietary energy for laying hens during phase 1 (from 21 to 36 wk of age) and suggested that the increase of egg weight was mainly due to increased yolk weight for young hens during early production. Sell et al. [20] hypothesized that hens during early egg production might need more exogenous fat to supply lipids for egg yolk development. Tylosin supplementation had no significant effect on egg weight.

There was no significant difference on egg mass or feed conversion between Bovans hens and Dekalb hens (Table 2Go). As dietary energy increased from 2,776 to 2,908 kcal of ME/kg, feed conversion numerically decreased from 1.95 to 1.88, but the improvement was not significant. When dietary energy increased from 2,776 to 2,908 kcal of ME/kg, hens adjusted feed intake, according to egg mass, to achieve a constant energy intake (5.4 to 5.5 kcal) to produce each gram of egg. Because increasing dietary energy had no significant effect on feed intake, egg production, egg weight, egg mass, feed conversion, body weight, or mortality, an ideal dietary energy level for optimal performance could not be determined. There was no significant effect of Tylosin on egg mass, feed conversion, body weight, or mortality. Izat et al. [13] also reported that antibiotics had no effect on feed conversion in broilers.

There were no significant effects of strain, dietary energy, or Tylosin on whole egg solids, albumen solids, yolk solids, Haugh units, or yolk color (Table 3Go). Similar results were reported by Wu et al. [3].


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  		Table 3. Influence of dietary energy and Tylosin on egg solids, Haugh unit, and yolk color in Bovans White and Dekalb White hens from 55 to 64 wk of age
 
Strain had a significant effect on egg-specific gravity (Table 4Go). Egg-specific gravity of Dekalb hens was significantly greater than that of Bovans hens, because Dekalb hens had significantly greater shell weight than Bovans hens (Table 4Go). Increasing dietary energy had no significant effect on egg-specific gravity, shell weight, shell thickness, dirty eggs, or cracked eggs. Tylosin supplementation had no effect on egg-specific gravity, shell weight, shell thickness, or cracked eggs. Hens fed diets supplemented with Tylosin had significantly less dirty eggs. Dirty eggs can be significantly increased by wet excreta [21], which can be caused by gastrointestinal disorders like diarrhea in hens. Fuller et al. [22] reported that antibiotics can control and limit the growth of some species of pathogenic bacteria. Tylosin supplementation might have prevented and decreased gastrointestinal disorders in hens, resulting in less dirty eggs.


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  		Table 4. Influence of dietary energy and Tylosin on egg quality in Bovans White and Dekalb White hens from 55 to 64 wk of age
 
The Economic Feeding and Management Program developed by Roland et al. [23, 24] was used to calculate profits at different dietary energy levels and at different poultry oil prices. When poultry oil price was $0.22/kg, maximum profits per dozen eggs were obtained in hens fed the diet containing 2,908 kcal of ME/kg of dietary energy (Table 5Go). However, when poultry oil price increased to $0.40/kg, maximum profit was obtained in hens fed the diet containing 2,776 kcal of ME/kg of dietary energy. Because feed ingredient prices and egg price often vary, there can be no fixed ideal dietary energy level for optimal profits during phase 3 (wk 55 to 64).


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  		Table 5. Influence of dietary energy and poultry oil price on profits1,2 from 55 to 64 wk of age
 

   CONCLUSIONS AND APPLICATIONS
TOP
 SUMMARY
 DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS AND APPLICATIONS
REFERENCES AND NOTES
 
  1. Bovans hens had significantly greater egg production and had significantly lower egg weights, egg-specific gravity, and shell weights than Dekalb hens.
  2. Increasing dietary energy 132 kcal/kg in increments of 44 kcal/kg by the addition of poultry oil had no significant effect on hen performance, egg solids, or eggshell quality.
  3. An ideal dietary energy level for optimal performance could not be determined.
  4. There can be no fixed ideal dietary energy level for optimal profits, due to varying feed ingredient and egg prices.
  5. Although Tylosin supplementation had no effect on performance or egg solids, it significantly reduced dirty eggs, resulting in a positive effect on egg quality of laying hens.


   REFERENCES AND NOTES
TOP
 SUMMARY
 DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
 CONCLUSIONS AND APPLICATIONS
 REFERENCES AND NOTES
 

  1. Grobas, S., J. Mendez, C. De Blas, and G. G. Mateos. 1999. Laying hen productivity as affected by energy, supplemental fat, and linoleic acid concentration of the diet. Poult. Sci. 78:1542–1551.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  2. Harms, R. H., G. B. Russell, and D. R. Sloan. 2000. Performance of four strains of commercial layers with major changes in dietary energy. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 9:535–541.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  3. Wu, G., M. M. Bryant, R. A. Voitle, and D. A. Roland Sr. 2005. Effect of dietary energy on performance and egg composition of Bovans White and Dekalb White hens during phase 1. Poult. Sci. 84:1610–1615.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  4. Keshavarz, K. 1995. Further investigations on the effect of dietary manipulations of nutrients on early egg weight. Poult. Sci. 74:62–74.[Web of Science][Medline]
  5. Keshavarz, K., and S. Nakajima. 1995. The effect of dietary manipulations of energy, protein, and fat during the growing and laying periods on early egg weight and egg components. Poult. Sci. 74:50–61.[Web of Science][Medline]
  6. Bohnsack, C. R., R. H. Harms, W. D. Merkel, and G. B. Russell. 2002. Performance of commercial layers when fed diets with four contents of corn oil or poultry fat. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 11:68–76.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  7. Sohail, S. S., M. M. Bryant, and D. A. Roland Sr. 2003. Influence of dietary fat on economic returns of commercial Leghorns. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 12:356–361.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  8. Roland, D. A., Sr., S. K. Rao, M. M. Bryant, and J. Self. 1992. Econometric nutrition: Maximizing profits in commercial Leghorns by optimizing feeding method, total sulfur amino acid intake and environmental temperature. Pages 47–57 in Degussa Technical Symposium. Degussa Corp., Indianapolis, IN.
  9. Novak, C., H. Yakout, and S. Scheideler. 2004. The combined effects of dietary lysine and total sulfur amino acid level on egg production parameters and egg components in Dekalb Delta laying hens. Poult. Sci. 83:977–984.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  10. Wu, G., M. M. Bryant, R. A. Voitle, and D. A. Roland Sr. 2005. Performance comparison and nutritional requirements of five commercial layer strains in phase IV. Int. J. Poult. Sci. 4:182–186.
  11. Miles, R. D., G. D. Butcher, P. R. Henry, and R. C. Littell. 2006. Effect of antibiotic growth promoters on broiler performance, intestinal growth parameters, and quantitative morphology. Poult. Sci. 85:476–485.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  12. Miller Publishing Company. 2000. Feed Additive Compendium. Miller Publishing Company, Minnetonka, MN.
  13. Izat, A. L., R. A. Thomas, and M. H. Adams. 1989. Effects of dietary antibiotic treatment on yield of commercial broilers. Poult. Sci. 68:651–655.[Web of Science]
  14. Centurion Poultry, Lexington, GA.
  15. Holder, D. P., and M. V. Bradford. 1979. Relationship of specific gravity of chicken eggs to number of cracked eggs and percent shell. Poult. Sci. 58:250–251.[Web of Science]
  16. Robotmation Co. Ltd., Tokyo, Japan.
  17. SAS Institute. 2000. SAS/STAT User’s Guide. SAS Institute Inc., Cary, NC.
  18. Jalal, M. A., S. E. Scheideler, and D. Marx. 2006. Effect of bird cage space and dietary metabolizable energy level on production parameters in laying hens. Poult. Sci. 85:306–311.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  19. Wu, G., M. M. Bryant, R. A. Voitle, and D. A. Roland Sr. 2005. Influences of dietary energy and Tylan on performance, egg composition, and egg quality in Bovans White and Dekalb White in phase II. Poult. Sci. 84(Suppl. 1):50. (Abstr.)
  20. Sell, J. L., R. Angel, and F. Escribano. 1987. Influence of supplemental fat on weights of eggs and yolks during early egg production. Poult. Sci. 66:1807–1812.[Web of Science][Medline]
  21. Smith, A., S. P. Rose, R. G. Wells, and V. Pirgozliev. 2000. The effect of changing the excreta moisture of caged laying hens on the excreta and microbial contamination of their egg shells. Br. Poult. Sci. 41:168–173.[CrossRef][Medline]
  22. Fuller, R., C. B. Cole, and M. E. Coates. 1984. The role of Streptococcus faecium in antibiotic-relieved growth depression of chickens. Pages 11–30 in Antimicrobials and Agriculture. M. Woodbine, ed. Butterworths, London, UK.
  23. Roland, D. A. Sr, M. M. Bryant, J. X. Zhang, D. A. Roland Jr, S. K. Rao, and J. Self. 1998. Econometric feeding and management. 1. Maximizing profits in Hyline W-36 hens by optimizing total amino acid intake and environmental temperature. J. Appl. Poult. Res. 7:403–411.[Abstract/Free Full Text]
  24. Roland, D. A., Sr., M. M. Bryant, J. X. Zhang, D. A. Roland Jr., and J. Self. 2000. Econometric feeding and management of commercial Leghorns: Optimizing profits using new technology. Pages 463–472 in Egg Nutrition and Biotechnology. J. S. Sim, S. Nakai, and W. Guenter, ed. CABI Publishing, Wallingford, UK.



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