Abstract
The effects of including leucena leaf (FFL) or cunha (FC) hay into diet on performance and egg quality of 100 Hisex Brown (64 weeks old) laying hens were compared. Birds were distributed into a completely randomized design with five treatments and five replicates of 4 birds each. The treatments were designed in a factorial 2 x 2 + 1, which evaluated the factors energy source (corn or sorghum) and type of hay (leucena or cunha) and an a control diet based on corn and soybean meal without inclusion of hay. The trial lasted 63 days (three periods of 21 days), during which the birds received feed and water ad libitum. Treatments did significantly affect, neither production, weight, mass, component proportion and Haugh units of eggs, nor feed conversion. However, laying hens fed ration without hay (control diet) had the lowest consumption. The inclusion of FFL, in the diet containing corn or sorghum, resulted in higher yolk pigmentation than inclusion of FC. The inclusion of FFL or FC, independent of the grain utilized as an energy source, results in a similar performance, but FFL increased yolk pigmentation capacity.
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