Abstract
This experiment was conducted to determine the effects of supplemental methionine, lysine, choline, and sulfur on laying performance, metabolic parameters, and egg quality of hens fed diets containing sorghum (Sorghum vulgare) during the peak laying period. Lohman layers (n = 144), 30-wk of age as 6 replicate cages of 4 hens, were allocated randomly to receive basal diets containing either 22% corn (B) or 22% sorghum (BS) and diets BS plus 0.57% methionine, 0.66% lysine, 0.47% choline, or 0.05% sulfur for 98 d. Feed intake (FI) and egg production (EP) were recorded daily, egg weight (EW) was measured bi-weekly, and body weight (BW) was measured monthly. A sample of 12 eggs from each experimental group was collected every month to evaluate egg quality. At the end of the experiment, blood samples were collected for metabolite concentrations. Data were analyzed using one-way ANOVA as repeated measures and significant differences between the experimental groups were assessed using Duncan's Multiple Range test. Partial replacement of corn with sorghum in the basal diet did not affect BW, EP, and FCR but increased FI by 5.7% and EW by 2.4%. The effects of additives on laying performance were variable. Except for serum total protein (STP) concentration, other metabolic parameters were not affected by partial replacement of corn with sorghum in the basal diet. Hens fed diet BS had lower SPT concentration than hens fed diet B. Except for methionine supplementation, other supplements ameliorated depression in STP concentration. The additives did not affect other metabolic parameters. Egg quality responses to the experimental diets were also variable. Partial replacement of corn with sorghum in the basal diet did not affect eggshell characteristics (both thickness and stiffness), whereas it had variable effects on inner egg quality parameters (increased yolk index, depressed yolk color, and unaltered albumen index and Haugh unit). In conclusion, laying hen diets could include low-tannin sorghum (0.26%) up to 22% without necessitating extra supplements to overcome compromised performance.
Highlights
Sorghum (Sorghum vulgare) is well adapted to arid and semi-arid regions and could be used as corn substitute due to its energy content in poultry feeding
Initial and final body weights of laying hens did not differ across the experimental diets (1.61±0.05 and 1.58±0.04 kg, respectively [mean±SE])
Availability of methionine and lysine in sorghum depends on its tannin content (Ford, 1977), suggesting that either feeding sorghum may increase demand for methionine and lysine or their supplementation could alleviate the adverse effects of tannin
Summary
Sorghum (Sorghum vulgare) is well adapted to arid and semi-arid regions and could be used as corn substitute due to its energy content in poultry feeding. Sorghum ranks the fifth most produced crop worldwide after wheat, corn, rice, and barley (NRC, 1996). The chemical composition of sorghum is similar to corn, except for being deficient in lysine, methionine, and threonine (Sikka and Johari, 1979). Due to presence of tannin predominantly in bran, its usage is limited (Nelson et al, 1975). The condensed tannins consist of Numerous articles have focused on improving nutritional quality of high-tannin cereal grains. Physical (Teeter et al, 1986; Elkin et al, 1990) and chemical
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