The Effect of Processing Method of Distiller's Dried Grains with Solubles on Hen Egg Production, Egg Quality, and Yolk Color

Abstract

Distiller’s dried grains with solubles (DDGS) is a common byproduct of the ethanol industry and is used in animal feeds. Carotenoids (xanthophylls) are already present in the human eye, and increasing the amount of carotenoids in the eye can help prevent eye diseases. The purpose of this research was to confirm that adding DDGS to standard corn and soybean meal hen diets may increase the amount of lutein available in egg yolks. An experiment was conducted with Hy-Line W-36 hens to evaluate the effects of DDGS in corn-soybean meal diets. Three hundred fifteen hens were fed one of seven treatment diets with five replications of nine hens per replicate in a completely randomized design. This was a 56-d trial. The treatment diets were: 1) Control (no DDGS), 2) 10% DDGS processed with heat treatment (DDGS+H), 3) 10% DDGS processed without heat treatment (DDGS-H), 4) 20% DDGS+H, 5) 20% DDGS-H, 6) 30% DDGS+H, and 7) 30% DDGS-H. Average daily feed intake, feed efficiency, egg specific gravity, egg mass, yolk color, and Haugh units were determined on three consecutive days at the end of each 28-d period. The eggs collected on the last three days of each 28-day period were stored either at room temperature or under refrigeration. Half of the stored eggs were broken out after three days of storage while the other half were broken out on day seven of storage, and measurements were collected. Throughout the trial, there was no effect of dietary treatment on average daily feed intake, feed efficiency, hen day production, egg weight, specific gravity, or hen weight. At the end of both 28-d periods, yolk redness (a*) was increased in eggs from hens fed DDGS-H or DDGS+H. Yolk yellowness (b*) was increased in hens fed diets with 20% of either DDGS+H or DDGS-H at the end of the second 28-d period. Storage method did affect egg quality. Eggs stored in refrigeration were higher in quality. The inclusion of any level of DDGS in hen diets did not affect hen egg production or egg quality but did increase yolk redness (a*) and yellowness (b*) which could be an indicator of increased lutein content.