Impact of a Laying Feed Enriched with Soybean Oil and Sprouted Sorghum Powder on the Quality of Laying Hens’eggs (Warren Strain)

Abstract

This study assessed the effect of a laying feed enriched with soybean oil and sprouted sorghum powder on the external and internal quality traits of eggs from Warren laying hens. Fifty 20-week-old pullets that had started laying were fed a layer feed containing 2% soybean oil and 0.8% sprouted sorghum powder. The trial was conducted over 68 weeks. Each week, ten eggs were randomly collected from both the experimental and control groups and examined for external and internal quality parameters. Experimental eggs had a higher mean weight than control eggs, with values of 55.43 ± 1.4 g and 53.26 ± 1.2 g, respectively, and were classified as category 4/calibre M. Experimental eggs also showed higher mean diameter (4.4 ± 0.1 cm), mean length (5.7 ± 0.2 cm) and shell thickness (0.62 ± 0.03 mm) than the corresponding control values of 4.1 ± 0.1 cm, 5.5 ± 0.2 cm and 0.58 ± 0.02 mm. For yolk colour, all experimental eggs scored between 5 and 7 on the Roche scale, whereas 80% of control eggs scored between 5 and 7 and 20% between 3 and 4. Albumen height was classified as AA quality in 20% and A quality in 80% of experimental eggs. These findings indicate that the enriched laying feed was associated with favourable changes in the egg quality parameters measured.