- Email: [email protected]
Influence of Wheat Particle Size in Diets of Laying Hens1
RESEARCH NOTES Influence of Wheat Particle Size in Diets of Laying Hens1 M. D. OUART, J. E. MARION, and R. H. HARMS Poultry Science Department, University of Florida, Gainesville, Florida 32611 (Received for publication June 17, 1985) ABSTRACT Commercial strain Single Comb White Leghorn hens, 68 weeks old, were fed diets composed of four different cereal components; 100% of cereal as fine ground corn (FGC); 49% fine ground corn plus 51% fine ground wheat (FGC + FGW); 49% fine ground corn plus 51% coarse ground wheat (FGC + CGW); 49% fine ground corn plus 51% whole kernel wheat (FGC + WKW). Means for egg production, egg size, feed consumption, and feed conversion indicated that all diets gave equal layer performance. (Key words: wheat, particle size, layer diets) 1986 Poultry Science 65:1015-1017 INTRODUCTION
Use of wheat as a cereal component in poultry rations has been increasing. Lillie and Denton (1968) and Kim et al. (1976) found that layers fed wheat diets had egg production and body weights equal to hens receiving corn rations. Wheat ground in commercial mills results in varying particle sizes. Concern exists as to whether hens will consume adequate nutrients or overconsume dietary cereal in practical diets containing ground wheat. The objective of this study was to determine hen performance when fed practical layer diets of variable texture wheat plus corn. MATERIALS AND METHODS
A total of 320, 68-week-old Dekalb DK Single Comb White Leghorn hens (March hatch) were selected for uniform egg production, housed in an open-sided house in (20.3 X 45.7 cm) single bird cages, and assigned, in eight replicate pens of 10 birds each, to dietary treatments with four different cereal grain components. Treatments and amounts and particle sizes of various cereals in diets are shown in Table 1. Wheat for fine ground corn plus fine ground wheat (FGC + FGW) ration was ground with a small, experimental mill and wheat for the FGC + coarse ground wheat (CGW) ration was ground with a commercial type mill. All cereal components were sampled and screened by a
1 Florida Agricultural Experiment Station Journal Series Number 6478.
Model B, Ro-Tap testing sieve shaker using USA standard testing sieves. Diets (Table 2) were formulated to meet daily nutrient requirements (Harms, 1981). Birds were maintained in single bird cages and fed a standard corn-soy layer diet from 20 to 68 weeks of age. Records were maintained on egg production, feed consumption, and mortality for three 28-day periods. Egg weight and specific gravity measurements were made on a sample consisting of 56 to 61 eggs per treatment produced during 1 day each period. Birds were weighed at 68 and 79 weeks of age. During the last week of the trial, two eggs per replicate pen were randomly selected and composited for yolk color evaluation (Hinton et al, 1970; Fry and Damron, 1971). Data were analyzed using analysis of variance (Barr et al, 1976) and when appropriate the Waller-Duncan's K-ratio. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
There were no significant differences among treatments for any of the performance traits tested (Table 3). This result is in agreement with previous work that compared 100% wheat vs. 100% corn as dietary cereal (Lillie and Denton, 1968; Kim et al, 1976). The data also suggested that hens were able to maintain intake adequate for satisfactory production regardless of cereal particle size and agreed with results of Blair et al (1973) and Karunajeewa (1978). Colormetric values for egg yolks showed that diet had a significant (P-C.05) effect on yolk color. All yolk pigmentations were considered
1015
QUART ET AL.
1016
TABLE 1. Retention of particles of cereal in experimental diets on USA standard sieves Treatment (cereal source) 1
Corn component >#183 <#18 Wheat component >#18 <#18
FGC
FGW
CGW
WKW
(100%) 2 48.8 41.2
(49%) 28.8 20.2
(49%) 28.8 20.2
(49%) 28.8 20.2
(51%) 23.5 27.5
(51%) 30.1 20.9
(51%) 51.0
(0%)
'Treatment abbreviations are as follows: FGC = 100% fine ground corn; FGC + FGW = 49% fine ground corn plus 51% fine ground wheat; FGC + CGW = 49% fine ground corn plus 51% coarse ground wheat; FGC + WKW = 49% fine ground corn plus 51% whole kernel wheat. 2
Percentages in parentheses indicate amounts of cereals in diets.
3
USA standard sieve size.
TABLE 2. Composition of experimental diets Ingredient Corn Wheat' Soy meal Salt DL-Methionine Limestone Dicalcium phosphate Vitamin-mineral2 Calculated analysis Crude protein Metabolizable energy/kg Methionine + cystine Lysine Tryptophan Agrinine Ca Total P 1 2
Corn 72.02 18.08 .42 .06 7.36 1.57 .50 14.96 2913 .60 .72 .18 .91 3.20 .60
Corn + wheat 36.00 37.22 16.92 .42 .06 7.36 1.53 .50 15.66 :]2
.60 .76 .19 .91 3.20 .60
All wheat was of soft, red, winter varieties.
Supplied the following activities per kilogram of diet: vitamin A, 6600 IU; vitamin D 3 , 2200 ICU; menadione dimethyl-pyrimidinol bisulfite, 2.2 rag; riboflavin, 4.4 mg; pantothenic acid, 13.2 mg; niacin, 39.6 mg; choline chloride, 499.4 mg; vitamin B 1 2 , 22 meg; ethoxyquin, .0125%; manganese, 60 mg; iron 50 mg; copper, 6 mg; cobalt, .198 mg; iodine, 1.1 mg; zinc, 35 mg.
RESEARCH NOTE
1017
TABLE 3. Means for egg production, egg weight, feed consumption, feed conversion, and egg yolk Treatment 1
pigmentation
Yolk pigmentation 2
source)
Egg production
Egg weight
Feed cons
conv
DWL
(% hen-day)
(kg/doz)
(nm)
71.88 73.18 72.82 72.69
(g) 65.33 63.34 62.69 62.85
(g/hen/day)
FGC FGC + FGW FGC + CGW FGC + WKW
86.62 89.61 88.52 87.61
1.45 1.47 1.49 1.45
580.5 C 578.6 a 578.9 b 578.6 a
EP
LUM
91.94 c 83.20 a 84.98 b 83.89 a
27.73 a 31.10 c 29.85 b 3O.70c
' ' Means within columns with different superscripts differ significantly (P<.05). 'Treatment abbreviations are as follows: FGC = 100% fine ground corn; FGC + FGW = 29% fine ground corn plus 51% fine ground wheat; FGC + CGW = 49% fine ground corn plus 51% coarse ground corn; FGC + WKW = 49% fine ground wheat plus 51% whole kernel wheat. 2 Macbeth colorimeter value abbreviations are as follows: DW = dominant wavelength (hue); EP = excitation purity (color intensity); LUM = luminosity (darkness or brightness).
selection could have caused an imbalance in intakes of Ca or P.
F«C DIET QQQ FSC + FOW DIET * * • FGC+CGW DIET
1.080
• ••
X.075
1.070
FGC + WKWDIET
-
1
1
1
FIG. 1. Period X diet interaction means for specific gravity. Diets are: FGC = 100% fine ground corn; FGC + FGW = 49% fine ground corn plus 51% fine ground wheat; FGC + CGW = 49% fine ground corn plus 51% coarse ground corn; FGC + WKW = 49% fine ground wheat plus 51% whole kernel wheat.
acceptable for consumers (DeGroote, 1970). Treatment means for egg specific gravity are not shown because a treatment X period interaction was significant (P<.05) (Fig. 1). Interactions of treatment and period were due to the decline from first period to second for FGC + whole kernal wheat (WKW) and the decline from Period 2 to 3 for FGC + CGW. Hens fed these diets would have been able to selectively eat large particles of wheat. This
REFERENCES Barr, A. J., J. H. Goodnight, J. P. Sail, and J. T. Helwig, 1976. A User's Guide to SAS 76. SAS Inst. Inc., Raleigh, NC. Blair, R., W. A. Dewar, and J. N. Downie, 1973. Egg production responses of hens given a complete mash or unground grain together with concentrate pellets. Br. Poult. Sci. 14:373-377. De Groote, G., 1970. Research on egg yolk pigmentation and its practical application. World's Poult. Sci. J. 2 6 : 4 3 5 - 4 4 1 . Fry, J. L., and B. L. Damron, 1971. Computer calculation of poultry and egg pigmentation data. FoodTechnol. 2 5 : 4 4 - 4 5 . Harms, R. H., 1981. Specifications of feeding commercial layers based on daily feed intake. Feedstuffs 53(47): 10, 4 0 - 4 1 . Hinton, C. F. Ill, E. M. Ahmed, J. L. Fry, and R. H. Harms, 1970. Reflectance colorimetric evaluation of egg yolk pigmentation. Poultry Sci. 49:1397. (Abstr.) Karunajeewa, H., 1978. The performance of cross-bred hens given free choice feeding of whole grains and a concentrate mixture and the influence of source of xanthophylls on yolk color. Br. Poult. Sci. 19:699-708. Kim, S. M., M. B. Patel, S. J. Reddy, and J. McGinnis, 1976. Effects of different cereal grains in diets for laying hens on production parameters and liver fat content. Poultry Sci. 55:520-530. Lillie, R. J., and C. A. Denton, 1968. Evaluation of four cereal grain and three protein level combinations for layer performance. Poultry Sci. 47: 1000-1004.
Use of wheat as a cereal component in poultry rations has been increasing. Lillie and Denton (1968) and Kim et al. (1976) found that layers fed wheat diets had egg production and body weights equal to hens receiving corn rations. Wheat ground in commercial mills results in varying particle sizes. Concern exists as to whether hens will consume adequate nutrients or overconsume dietary cereal in practical diets containing ground wheat. The objective of this study was to determine hen performance when fed practical layer diets of variable texture wheat plus corn. MATERIALS AND METHODS
A total of 320, 68-week-old Dekalb DK Single Comb White Leghorn hens (March hatch) were selected for uniform egg production, housed in an open-sided house in (20.3 X 45.7 cm) single bird cages, and assigned, in eight replicate pens of 10 birds each, to dietary treatments with four different cereal grain components. Treatments and amounts and particle sizes of various cereals in diets are shown in Table 1. Wheat for fine ground corn plus fine ground wheat (FGC + FGW) ration was ground with a small, experimental mill and wheat for the FGC + coarse ground wheat (CGW) ration was ground with a commercial type mill. All cereal components were sampled and screened by a
1 Florida Agricultural Experiment Station Journal Series Number 6478.
Model B, Ro-Tap testing sieve shaker using USA standard testing sieves. Diets (Table 2) were formulated to meet daily nutrient requirements (Harms, 1981). Birds were maintained in single bird cages and fed a standard corn-soy layer diet from 20 to 68 weeks of age. Records were maintained on egg production, feed consumption, and mortality for three 28-day periods. Egg weight and specific gravity measurements were made on a sample consisting of 56 to 61 eggs per treatment produced during 1 day each period. Birds were weighed at 68 and 79 weeks of age. During the last week of the trial, two eggs per replicate pen were randomly selected and composited for yolk color evaluation (Hinton et al, 1970; Fry and Damron, 1971). Data were analyzed using analysis of variance (Barr et al, 1976) and when appropriate the Waller-Duncan's K-ratio. RESULTS AND DISCUSSION
There were no significant differences among treatments for any of the performance traits tested (Table 3). This result is in agreement with previous work that compared 100% wheat vs. 100% corn as dietary cereal (Lillie and Denton, 1968; Kim et al, 1976). The data also suggested that hens were able to maintain intake adequate for satisfactory production regardless of cereal particle size and agreed with results of Blair et al (1973) and Karunajeewa (1978). Colormetric values for egg yolks showed that diet had a significant (P-C.05) effect on yolk color. All yolk pigmentations were considered
1015
QUART ET AL.
1016
TABLE 1. Retention of particles of cereal in experimental diets on USA standard sieves Treatment (cereal source) 1
Corn component >#183 <#18 Wheat component >#18 <#18
FGC
FGW
CGW
WKW
(100%) 2 48.8 41.2
(49%) 28.8 20.2
(49%) 28.8 20.2
(49%) 28.8 20.2
(51%) 23.5 27.5
(51%) 30.1 20.9
(51%) 51.0
(0%)
'Treatment abbreviations are as follows: FGC = 100% fine ground corn; FGC + FGW = 49% fine ground corn plus 51% fine ground wheat; FGC + CGW = 49% fine ground corn plus 51% coarse ground wheat; FGC + WKW = 49% fine ground corn plus 51% whole kernel wheat. 2
Percentages in parentheses indicate amounts of cereals in diets.
3
USA standard sieve size.
TABLE 2. Composition of experimental diets Ingredient Corn Wheat' Soy meal Salt DL-Methionine Limestone Dicalcium phosphate Vitamin-mineral2 Calculated analysis Crude protein Metabolizable energy/kg Methionine + cystine Lysine Tryptophan Agrinine Ca Total P 1 2
Corn 72.02 18.08 .42 .06 7.36 1.57 .50 14.96 2913 .60 .72 .18 .91 3.20 .60
Corn + wheat 36.00 37.22 16.92 .42 .06 7.36 1.53 .50 15.66 :]2
.60 .76 .19 .91 3.20 .60
All wheat was of soft, red, winter varieties.
Supplied the following activities per kilogram of diet: vitamin A, 6600 IU; vitamin D 3 , 2200 ICU; menadione dimethyl-pyrimidinol bisulfite, 2.2 rag; riboflavin, 4.4 mg; pantothenic acid, 13.2 mg; niacin, 39.6 mg; choline chloride, 499.4 mg; vitamin B 1 2 , 22 meg; ethoxyquin, .0125%; manganese, 60 mg; iron 50 mg; copper, 6 mg; cobalt, .198 mg; iodine, 1.1 mg; zinc, 35 mg.
RESEARCH NOTE
1017
TABLE 3. Means for egg production, egg weight, feed consumption, feed conversion, and egg yolk Treatment 1
pigmentation
Yolk pigmentation 2
source)
Egg production
Egg weight
Feed cons
conv
DWL
(% hen-day)
(kg/doz)
(nm)
71.88 73.18 72.82 72.69
(g) 65.33 63.34 62.69 62.85
(g/hen/day)
FGC FGC + FGW FGC + CGW FGC + WKW
86.62 89.61 88.52 87.61
1.45 1.47 1.49 1.45
580.5 C 578.6 a 578.9 b 578.6 a
EP
LUM
91.94 c 83.20 a 84.98 b 83.89 a
27.73 a 31.10 c 29.85 b 3O.70c
' ' Means within columns with different superscripts differ significantly (P<.05). 'Treatment abbreviations are as follows: FGC = 100% fine ground corn; FGC + FGW = 29% fine ground corn plus 51% fine ground wheat; FGC + CGW = 49% fine ground corn plus 51% coarse ground corn; FGC + WKW = 49% fine ground wheat plus 51% whole kernel wheat. 2 Macbeth colorimeter value abbreviations are as follows: DW = dominant wavelength (hue); EP = excitation purity (color intensity); LUM = luminosity (darkness or brightness).
selection could have caused an imbalance in intakes of Ca or P.
F«C DIET QQQ FSC + FOW DIET * * • FGC+CGW DIET
1.080
• ••
X.075
1.070
FGC + WKWDIET
-
1
1
1
FIG. 1. Period X diet interaction means for specific gravity. Diets are: FGC = 100% fine ground corn; FGC + FGW = 49% fine ground corn plus 51% fine ground wheat; FGC + CGW = 49% fine ground corn plus 51% coarse ground corn; FGC + WKW = 49% fine ground wheat plus 51% whole kernel wheat.
acceptable for consumers (DeGroote, 1970). Treatment means for egg specific gravity are not shown because a treatment X period interaction was significant (P<.05) (Fig. 1). Interactions of treatment and period were due to the decline from first period to second for FGC + whole kernal wheat (WKW) and the decline from Period 2 to 3 for FGC + CGW. Hens fed these diets would have been able to selectively eat large particles of wheat. This
REFERENCES Barr, A. J., J. H. Goodnight, J. P. Sail, and J. T. Helwig, 1976. A User's Guide to SAS 76. SAS Inst. Inc., Raleigh, NC. Blair, R., W. A. Dewar, and J. N. Downie, 1973. Egg production responses of hens given a complete mash or unground grain together with concentrate pellets. Br. Poult. Sci. 14:373-377. De Groote, G., 1970. Research on egg yolk pigmentation and its practical application. World's Poult. Sci. J. 2 6 : 4 3 5 - 4 4 1 . Fry, J. L., and B. L. Damron, 1971. Computer calculation of poultry and egg pigmentation data. FoodTechnol. 2 5 : 4 4 - 4 5 . Harms, R. H., 1981. Specifications of feeding commercial layers based on daily feed intake. Feedstuffs 53(47): 10, 4 0 - 4 1 . Hinton, C. F. Ill, E. M. Ahmed, J. L. Fry, and R. H. Harms, 1970. Reflectance colorimetric evaluation of egg yolk pigmentation. Poultry Sci. 49:1397. (Abstr.) Karunajeewa, H., 1978. The performance of cross-bred hens given free choice feeding of whole grains and a concentrate mixture and the influence of source of xanthophylls on yolk color. Br. Poult. Sci. 19:699-708. Kim, S. M., M. B. Patel, S. J. Reddy, and J. McGinnis, 1976. Effects of different cereal grains in diets for laying hens on production parameters and liver fat content. Poultry Sci. 55:520-530. Lillie, R. J., and C. A. Denton, 1968. Evaluation of four cereal grain and three protein level combinations for layer performance. Poultry Sci. 47: 1000-1004.