Considering the surge in feed raw materials, taking into account factors such as the stock level of laying hens, the impact of the new crown epidemic, the cost of laying hens, and the conversion from the price of obsolete chickens, the combined market demand and breeding costs squeezed both ends, further compressing fresh eggs profit margins. In the pursuit of cost reduction and efficiency enhancement of laying hens, in addition to using alternative raw materials or low-protein technology to reduce feed costs, how to improve eggshell quality, reduce defective egg rate and prolong the peak period of laying hens also determines the overall production capacity and profitability of laying hens.
Poultry R&D Sector
Technical Manager
Jiang Dongcai
There are many factors that affect egg shell quality and peak laying period, including breed, breeding age, environmental control, nutritional level and health status of laying hens. Based on the empirical case summary of Debon in recent years, this article analyzes it from the perspective of trace mineral nutrition.
01
Nutrient storage during growth
Determining the length of the peak egg production period as experts and scholars at home and abroad have gradually deepened the research on the whole-term nutrition of laying hens, more and more experiments have confirmed that during the breeding period, giving laying hens sufficient nutrient reserves will be beneficial to prolonging laying hens. The peak egg production period is of great significance.
Why do “paralyzed chickens” and egg reduction syndrome appear in the late stage of egg laying
Debon’s technical team also found in the national market research that in many laying hen farms in China, with the gradual increase in the age of the laying hens, the tibia of the laying hens became more brittle in the later stage, and a large proportion of the tibia often appeared. “Paralyzed chicken”, and the tibia has gradually hollowed out. This is mainly due to the instinctive “mother’s love” of laying hens, which uses its own body reserves to meet the needs of offspring to ensure the quality of eggs. But what follows is the loss of bone calcium, zinc, manganese and other minerals due to the excessive consumption of the body’s reserves, which affects the normal nutritional metabolism of the laying hen’s body, which in turn aggravates various problems such as egg reduction syndrome. The occurrence of hens has an irreversible impact on the laying performance of laying hens. This is why the length of the tibia is used as an important measure of the quality of the rearing hens during the breeding period.
Enhance the body storage during the breeding period, and the organic trace amount can effectively stabilize the egg-laying performance
In order to improve the body’s reserve of trace mineral elements in the breeding period and improve the quality of breeding, it is necessary to take into account the national limit of trace elements in the feed, the low absorption rate of inorganic trace elements, and the easy interference by anti-nutrients in the feed. , the current breeding market factors and other issues, Debon recommends using organic trace elements to replace 1/3~1/2 of inorganic trace elements during the breeding period of laying hens . It can not only strengthen the accumulation of trace mineral elements in laying hens, but also avoid excessive use of body storage to meet production needs, thereby ensuring the production performance of laying hens.
02
Solve the problem of eggshell quality decline of hens in the later stage of laying
Regulate the nutrition in the later stage of laying eggs and supplement the eggshell requirements
From the laying stage to the peak stage of laying, there is basically no serious eggshell quality problem on the premise of not suffering from major diseases. However, with the gradual extension of the egg laying period, the quality of eggshells declines significantly, resulting in a series of problems include soft-shelled eggs, cracked eggs, pimply eggs etc.
And these problems will be exacerbated in the process of transportation and sales, sometimes as high as 6%-10%, causing great economic losses to producers and wholesale retailers.
The main reason for this problem is that many producers do not design “feed for later stage” for laying hens separately, and more of them are fed to the end during the peak period. We can refer to the breeding manual of Hy-line Brown. As the age gradually increases, the weight of the laying hens increases, and the egg weight and volume of the eggs they lay gradually increase, but the time for each egg cell to pass through the oviduct to form an egg is not too long. Large changes will cause the secreted eggshell to be blown up like a balloon, which will inevitably lead to a decrease in the thickness of the eggshell, which will lead to a series of eggshell quality problems, resulting in an increase in the egg breaking rate. And as the laying time prolongs and the cumulative number of eggs increases, the reproductive system of laying hens will also have problems due to “overwork”, resulting in soft-shelled eggs, pimply eggs, deformed eggs and blood-spotted eggs.
Strengthen eggshell essential nutrients and improve eggshell quality
Therefore, for the late stage of laying hens, we need to increase the secretion of eggshell substances and enhance the quality of eggshells. From the nutritional point of view of trace elements, we need to strengthen the understanding of the function of trace elements: Zinc is a component of carbonic anhydrase that affects egg formation and promotes the deposition of CaCO3, directly or indirectly affects the formation of calcium carbonate crystals. Manganese improving the synthesis of eggshell membrane glycosaminoglycan and uronic acid, the ultrastructure and eggshell quality of eggshell can be improved, as well as the strength, thickness and toughness of eggshell. Copper can participate in the formation of lysyl oxidase, and then affects the matrix film in the eggshell formed by the adhesion of collagen fibers. Adding organic trace elements can improve the absorption rate of trace elements, thereby improving the quality of eggshells.
03
OTM can more effectively improve the absorption and utilization of trace elements by laying hens
First of all, we must understand that in the process of using inorganic trace elements, there are various problems that are not conducive to the formation of eggs, as follows:
❖ ITM are the products of extensive processing of industrial residues, and heavy metals are easy to exceed the standard
❖ There is antagonism between the absorption of inorganic trace elements and the absorption rate is low
❖ Inorganic trace elements are easily interfered by feed anti-nutritional factors
❖ Inorganic traces in ionic state are prone to oxidation of oils and vitamins
❖ Inorganic trace dosage is not standardized
❖ The environment is unfriendly and the absorption rate is low, causing the unabsorbed part to be discharged with the feces to pollute the environment
OTM can slow down or avoid the drawbacks of ITM, thereby improving feed quality and production performance of laying hens.
Post time: Oct-11-2022