Abstract
ABSTRACT This study aimed to examine the impact of levels of dietary supplementation with fat-soluble vitamins on the production performance and egg quality of laying hens. Three hundred Hy-Line White W-36 laying hens were evaluated from 28 to 44 weeks of age. The birds were allotted to one of six treatments in a randomized block design with 10 replicates with five birds each. Performance and egg quality parameters were evaluated in four 28-day periods. A corn and soybean meal-based basal diet was formulated so as to meet the nutritional requirements of the animals, with the exception of fat-soluble vitamins. The treatments consisted of dietary supplementation with 0%, 33.3%, 66.7%, 100.0%, 133.3% or 166.7% of fat-soluble vitamins (100% supplementation consisted of 7500 IU, 2000 IU, 10 IU and 1.8 mg of vitamins A, D3, E and K per kilogram of diet, respectively). Eggshell weight, shell thickness, shell strength, feed intake, egg weight, feed conversion per egg mass and feed conversion per dozen eggs showed a quadratic response (p≤0.05) to the treatments, whereas egg mass responded linearly. Optimal results were obtained at an average fat-soluble vitamin supplementation level of 109%, which corresponds to 8175 IU of vitamin A, 2180 IU of vitamin D3, 10.9 IU of vitamin E and 1.96 mg of vitamin K per kilogram of diet.
Highlights
Vitamins are nutrients required in small amounts which may or may not be synthesized by the animals organism
Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) have a primary role in the birds metabolism. These vitamins are digested and absorbed through the same pathway as fats because they are associated with food lipids and are stored in tissues like the liver and adipose tissue (Barroeta et al, 2012)
The present study examined levels of supplementation with fatsoluble vitamins for laying hens from 28 to 44 weeks of age
Summary
Vitamins are nutrients required in small amounts (milligrams or micrograms) which may or may not be synthesized by the animals organism. They are classified according to their physiological functions in the body and how they contribute to the maintenance of health. Fat-soluble vitamins (A, D, E and K) have a primary role in the birds metabolism. According to Rostagno et al (2011), the recommended fat-soluble vitamin supplementation levels to ensure satisfactory performance are 7500 IU of vitamin A, 2000 IU of vitamin D3, 10 IU of vitamin E and 1.8 mg of vitamin K per kilogram of diet. Published requirements – especially by the NRC – indicate minimum values to prevent vitamin deficiency eRBCA-2019-1239
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