Sprinkling coarse marble powder during the afternoon, toward the end of the laying period, may increase eggshell quality

The aim of this study was to investigate the effects of time, particle size (PS) and level of calcium supplementation above the requirements toward the end of the laying period on egg production and eggshell quality. A total of 675 Isa-Brown layer hens were distributed in a completely randomized factorial arrangement of 3×3×3, using three sprinkling times (08.00, 12.00, 16.00 hours), PC (mash, granular and large size) and amounts (0 g control, 0.75 g/day/h, 1.50 g/day/h) of marble sprinkling as a calcium source. All hens were fed a commercial layer diet from 55 to 67 weeks of age. Sprinkling of 1.50 g marble reduced ( P  < 0.05) egg production compared to 0.75 g marble, and feed efficiency (FE) compared to that of 0 and 0.75 g marble. Sprinkling of 0.75 and 1.50 g marble increased ( P  < 0.01) eggshell weight, shell strength and shell thickness compared to that of 0 g marble. The interaction of sprinkling time-by-PS-by–quantity of marble was significant for egg production ( P  < 0.05), FE and shell strength ( P  < 0.01). Results showed that sprinkling of coarse marble powder to complete diet increased shell strength without reduction in egg production and FE.     

A study on feeding hazelnut kernel oil meal as a protein source for broiler chickens

An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of substituting different levels of hazelnut kernel oil meal (HKM) for soybean meal (SBM) in diets for broiler. A total of 450 one-day-old female Ross 308 broiler chicks were allocated randomly to three treatment groups of 150 birds each in a randomized design. Each treatment group consisted of five replicates each of 30 chicks. All diets (in mash form) were formulated to meet nutrient concentrations recommended for broilers. The experiment lasted for six weeks. In the experiment, an SBM control (SBM) diet was compared to two HKM diets, replacing 50 (50HKM) and 100% (HKM) of SBM protein, respectively. Body weight gain, feed intake and feed conversion ratio of broilers were adversely affected ( P  < 0.05) by the HKM diets at 42 days of age. Broilers fed 50HKM and HKM had growth performances similar ( P  > 0.05). The carcass yield and abdominal fat pads of birds fed diets with SBM were higher ( P  < 0.05) than those of chicks fed the 50HKM and HKM diets. The edible inner organ weight of chicks fed diets with HKM was the heaviest ( P  < 0.05). It is concluded that SBM cannot be replaced even up to 50% with HKM in commercial broiler diet.