Effect of Dietary Fat Type on Broiler Breeder Performance and Hatching Egg Characteristics

Abstract

SUMMARY The effect of dietary fat type on broiler breeder performance was evaluated in the experiment. Three different fat sources (sunflower oil, fish oil, tallow) were supplemented into a corn-soybean meal-based broiler breeder diet. The control diet included no supplemental fat. All diets were isocaloric and isonitrogenous. Feeding of experimental diets was initiated when breeders (Ross 508) were 22 wk old. Body weights of hens and males were not affected by dietary treatments during the experimental period. Tallow supplementation to breeder diet significantly decreased hen-day egg production and cumulative settable egg yield (P < 0.01) when compared with other treatments. Hens fed with tallow and sunflower oil-added diets produced significantly heavier settable eggs than control and fish oil treatments. However, settable egg weight of hens fed with fish oil was lower than other dietary treatments (P < 0.01). Egg yolk weight, albumen weight, and eggshell weight were not affected by dietary treatments. These data suggest that supplementation of different fat sources at a level of 1.5% to the corn-soybean meal diet may affect egg production performance, fertility, egg weight, chick weight, hatch of eggs set, and specific gravity without any adverse effects on body weight and settable egg characteristics.