ABSTRACT We assessed the effects of different amounts of water-treated black tea waste (BTW) in the diets of laying hens on performance, egg quality, yolk peroxidation, and blood parameters in this study. The experiment lasted for 12 weeks, during which a total of 108 Lohman layers, of 24 weeks old, were randomly allocated to one of six dietary treatments (18 hens each); each treatment consisted of six replicate cages, each containing three hens. Experimental animals were fed a commercial diet […]

ABSTRACT This study was performed to evaluate the effects of the association of different digestible arginine and phytogenic additive dietary levels on performance and health status of brown-egg layers. In this study, a total of 504 33-week-old Hisex Brown layers were distributed into a completely randomized experimental design to a 4 × 3 factorial arrangement (dietary digestible arginine levels: 880, 968, 1056, or 1144 mg/kg of feed × phytogenic additive levels: 0, 100, and 200 mg/kg of feed) with six […]

ABSTRACT The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the presence of roosters on welfare and egg production of laying hens reared in an alternative system. Two breeding systems were established: barn 1 – laying hens reared without roosters (4500 birds); and barn 2 – laying hens reared with roosters (4500 layers and 250 roosters). In the poultry facilities, microclimate, egg production, mortality rate, and bird behavior were evaluated. Microclimate analysis showed that the birds were subjected […]

The objective of this study was to evaluate the effect of the addition of xylanase enzyme (Econase XT25) on the metabolism of nutrients and the performance of laying hens from 24 to 48 weeks of age. It was used 288 laying hens, distributed in a completely randomized design in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement, with two levels of metabolizable energy (2,900 and 2,755 kcal/kg) combined or not with addition of xylanase enzyme (37.5 g/t of ration), totaling four treatments […]

The aim of this work was to evaluate the effects of the reduction on nutritional levels of diets for semi-heavy hens during the laying peak on performance, egg quality and bone parameters. A total of eight diets were evaluated, each one with five repetitions of eight birds: 1) control: formulated to supply requirements by the birds; 2) control + 0.03% or 600 FTU; 3) 15% crude protein; 2,800 kcal ME; 3.8% Ca and 0.28% aP; 4) diet 3 + 0.03% […]

Alternative methods were assessed of qualitative feed restriction compared to the conventional forced molt technique. Four hundred and eighty Babcock hens were used distributed in three levels of feed restriction (100, 75 and 50%) and three body weight reduction percentages (15, 20 and 25%), with five replications of 32 hens. When the birds reached the body weight reduction percentage the packed cell volume, percentages of ovary, oviduct, gizzard, intestine, abdominal fat and oviduct length were determined. Starting on day 28 […]

The objective of the present study was to evaluate the effect of using microminerals in organic form on the performance and quality of eggs from commercial laying hens at the end of laying. Four hundred and eighty Hisex strain hens, 72 to 80 weeks of age, were used. A randomized complete design was used, with six replications and 16 birds for each experimental unit. Five diets were evaluated: basal feed supplemented with all microminerals in inorganic form (control); basal feed […]

The objective of the study was to determine whether bioavailability of methionine hydroxy analogue free acid (MHA-FA) is higher than 65%, in product basis, for 24 to 40 week-old laying hens. Six hundred and forty 24-week commercial laying hens were used in four 28-day experimental periods in a randomized complete design with ten treatments, eight replications and eight birds per experimental unit. The treatments were based on a basal feed deficient in methionine, containing 2,830 kcal metabolizable energy (EM)/kg and […]

The objective of this research was to study productive and economical aspects of laying hens (Gallus gallus) submitted to different housing densities. Two hundred and sixty-four laying hens were housed in cages with dimensions of 100 cm × 50 cm × 40 cm in a randomized complete design with four groups distributed in a 4 × 4 factorial arrangement, with 8, 10, 12 and 14 animals/cage, corresponding to 625, 500, 416,6 and 357,14 cm2/animal. The following characteristics were assessed: egg […]

This research was carried out using 360 laying hens (180 Lohmann LSL and 180 Lohmann Brown), to establish the nutritional requirement of digestible methionine+cystine in the period from 54 to 70 weeks of age. A completely randomized experimental design, in a 5 × 2 factorial arrangement (5 levels of digestible methionine+cystine and 2 laying hen strain), with 6 replications and 6 hens per experimental unit, was used. The treatments consisted of diets supplemented with 5 levels of DL-methionine (98%), resulting […]