Accelerated Increase in Egg Weight of Young Pullets Fed Practical Diets Supplemented with Corn Oil

Abstract

JENSEN et al. (1958) reported evidence for an unidentified factor necessary for maximal egg weight in chickens. Substituting ground yellow corn for glucose monohydrate or supplementing a semi-purified diet with 3% crude corn oil markedly improved egg weight. Further studies showed that vegetable oils high in linoleic acid were the most effective and that a level of 5% corn oil was necessary to reach a plateau in response (Shutze et al., 1958, 1959). It is well known that pullets just beginning to lay produce small eggs and that several weeks must pass before a high percentage of eggs fall into the “large” egg grade as used commercially. Because of the results obtained with semi-purified diets, experiments were undertaken to determine the effect of supplementing practical rations with 5% corn oil on the rate of increase in egg weight of pullets during the first few weeks of egg production. PROCEDUREFour …