Abstract
A single corn gluten meal, three alfalfa products, and two Coastal bermudagrass products were evaluated for their effects on xanthophyll utilization and coloring capability in egg yolks. Test diets were formulated to contain 11 mg total xanthophyll/kg from yellow corn and an additional 13 mg/kg from the test products. Laying hens were fed control and test diets for a 21-day repletion period prior to egg collection for yolk xanthophyll and color analyses. Yolk xanthophyll content was determined by the same method used for feed xanthophyll analysis, and yolk color was determined using the Roche color fan and reflectance colorimetry. All of the products resulted in a significantly improved yolk color, compared with the control, but xanthophyll utilization decreased at the higher relative feed xanthophyll levels of the test diets. The corn gluten meal and alfalfa products resulted in similar xanthophyll utilizations and yolk colors significantly greater than those of the Coastal bermudagrass products. There were no differences within the respective groups of alfalfa or Coastal bermudagrass products for either xanthophyll utilization or yolk color.
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