The egg production, egg size, and the rate of broken eggs are closely related to the status of the gut mucosa and the absorption of nutrients at this level. Conditioning the state of the intestine and maximizing its absorption rate will allow us to achieve the desired performance on the farm.

A trial, performed by Dr. Alfonso Díaz, was carried out in a farm of high yield laying hens in order to improve egg size and reduce the rate of broken eggs, while maintaining production, through the combined use of intestinal conditioner pronutrients and an eggshell quality improver.

EXPERIMENTAL DESIGN

A group of 34580 Hy-Line Brown laying hens received 0.5 kg/t of intestinal conditioner pronutrients and 0.5 kg/t of an eggshell quality improver from week 73 to 100 of age. The results obtained were compared with the standard parameters of the breed.

RESULTS

As shown in chart 1, the initial production of the treatment batch was higher than the standard (10%) and, thanks to the treatment, this difference was increased and the treatment batch obtained a 12% higher laying rate at the end of the trial, compared to the standard. Furthermore, the treated group showed a slower drop in the laying rate than expected at the end of the cycle.

Egg weight was lower in the treatment group at the beginning of the trial (-1.6 g compared to the standard), but the treatment achieved a progressive increase in the egg weight, which exceeded the standard from week 10 of the trial, and remained above the standard until the end of the cycle, with 0.5 g more per egg than the standard (Chart 2).

This farm had a high rate of broken eggs at the beginning of the trial (1.98%) and, thanks to the treatment, this value was reduced to 0.75% at the end of the trial.

CONCLUSIONS

The use of intestinal conditioner pronutrients combined with an eggshell quality improver improved the laying rate of the treated flock compared to the breed standard, and reduced the drop in the laying rate that occurs at the end of the cycle.

Moreover, this treatment increased the egg size (+2.1 g difference between the beginning and end of the trial), which was above the standard values ​​of the breed and implies an economic benefit thanks to selling eggs of a bigger size.

Additionally, the applied treatment reduced the rate of broken eggs by 1.23 points at the end of the trial, which meant a reduction of 62% compared to the beginning of the trial.

These results confirm the positive effect of intestinal conditioner pronutrients and an eggshell quality improver on nutrient absorption and gut welfare and, therefore, in egg production and quality, considering egg size and eggshell quality.

In addition, this trial demonstrates the safety of these natural solutions to be used continuously and without a withdrawal period, without the risk of residues.

Intestinal conditioner pronutrients and the eggshell quality improver have  been developed by Biovet S.A. and are marketed under the name of Alquernat Nebsui and Alquerfeed Ovoponedoras, respectively.