Egg production of hens fed homemade or commercial feed in a cage-free system
Objective: To evaluate two feeds (homemade or commercial) on egg production (PP, %), egg weight (PH, g) and egg mass (MH, g bird-1 d-1), of hens in a cage-free system. Methodology: Sixty hens of 37 weeks of age (Rhode Island Red and Barred Plymouth Rock) were allocated to two treatments: COM, 150 g of commercial feed bird-1 d-1 and CAS, 150 g of homemade feed bird-1 d-1. Birds were in a cage-free system with free-range in white clover (Trifolium repens L.) paddock. During 11 weeks, the PP, PH, and MH were evaluated. Results: PP was different between treatments (P < 0.05) the last four weeks of the study. During this period, COM birds had higher egg production (17 to 24 %) than CAS hens. Through all the study time, PH of birds in COM treatment (59.1 a 60.7 g) was higher (P < 0.05) than that of CAS (55.0 a 57.0 g). Lower MH (P < 0.05) was observed in CAS treatment (24.7 to 31.8 g bird-1 d-1) comparing to COM (39.7 to 41.8 g bird-1 d-1) in the second half of the experiment. Implications of the study: The results are only valid for the type of feed evaluated and under the specified experimental conditions. Conclusions: Reduced productive performance (PP, PH, and MH) was observed when laying hens are fed homemade feed comparing to a commercial diet.
| Main Authors: | , , , , , |
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| Format: | Digital revista |
| Language: | spa |
| Published: |
Colegio de Postgraduados
2021
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| Online Access: | https://revista-agroproductividad.org/index.php/agroproductividad/article/view/1891 |
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