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Effects of Energy-Restricted Feeding during Rearing on the Performance, Uniformity, and Development of Rugao Layer Breeders at the Initiation of the Laying Period
- Source :
- Animals : an Open Access Journal from MDPI, Animals, Volume 11, Issue 8, Animals, Vol 11, Iss 2222, p 2222 (2021)
- Publication Year :
- 2021
- Publisher :
- MDPI, 2021.
-
Abstract
- The aim of this study was to assess the effects of energy-restricted feeding during rearing on the performance, uniformity, and development of layer breeders at the initiation of the laying period. A total of 2400 8-week-old Rugao layer breeders were randomly assigned to one of five groups (480 pullets per group) with eight replicates and were fed one of five diets that were nutritionally equal with the exception of apparent metabolizable energy corrected for nitrogen (AMEn) content (2850, 2750, 2650, 2550, and 2450 kcal AMEn/kg) from 8 to 18 weeks of age. The daily amount of feed was restricted to the absolute quantity of the diet consumed by laying hens fed 2850 kcal AMEn per kg diet ad libitum (control). From 18 to 21 weeks of age, all hens were fed a basal diet ad libitum. The body weight (BW) of the laying pullets decreased linearly with increasing energy restriction (p &lt<br />0.001) but recovered within 3 weeks of ad libitum feeding (p = 0.290). A gradual increase in the degree of energy restriction resulted in a gradual decrease in average daily weight gain (ADG) and a gradual increase in the feed conversion ratio (FCR) and energy conversion ratio (ECR) from 8 to 18 weeks of age (p &lt<br />0.001, p &lt<br />0.001, p = 0.008). In contrast, the ADG and ADFI (p &lt<br />0.001) gradually increased, while the FCR and ECR (p &lt<br />0.001) gradually improved from 18 to 21 weeks of age. From 8 to 21 weeks of age, ECR improved (p = 0.005) with an increasing degree of energy restriction. The energy-restricted feeding for 6 weeks to the end of the trial improved BW uniformity (p &lt<br />0.05). The relative length and circumference of tarsus (p &lt<br />0.001), and the relative weights and lengths of the small intestine, duodenum, jejunum, ileum, and caeca increased linearly (p &lt<br />0.001, p = 0.012, p &lt<br />0.007, p = 0.012, p = 0.040<br />p &lt<br />0.001, p = 0.003, p = 0.032, p = 0.029, p = 0.040) with increasing energy restriction at 18 weeks of age. After switching to ad libitum feeding for 3 weeks, the relative weights and lengths of the small intestine, duodenum, and jejunum of laying pullets increased linearly with increasing energy restriction (p &lt<br />0.001, p = 0.016, p = 0.011<br />p = 0.009, p = 0.028, p = 0.032). In conclusion, moderate energy restriction (85.97%, 2450 vs. 2850 kcal AMEn/kg) from 8 to 18 weeks of age and switching to ad libitum feeding from 18 to 21 weeks of age can be used to improve BW uniformity and stimulate the development of the duodenum and jejunum of native layer breeders at the initiation of the laying period without compromising BW.
- Subjects :
- Veterinary medicine
layer breeder
Ileum
Biology
Feed conversion ratio
Article
Jejunum
03 medical and health sciences
Animal science
SF600-1100
medicine
Amen
development
030304 developmental biology
0303 health sciences
General Veterinary
0402 animal and dairy science
04 agricultural and veterinary sciences
040201 dairy & animal science
uniformity
Small intestine
medicine.anatomical_structure
QL1-991
energy-restricted feeding
Duodenum
Animal Science and Zoology
medicine.symptom
Gradual increase
Weight gain
Zoology
performance
Subjects
Details
- Language :
- English
- ISSN :
- 20762615
- Volume :
- 11
- Issue :
- 8
- Database :
- OpenAIRE
- Journal :
- Animals : an Open Access Journal from MDPI
- Accession number :
- edsair.doi.dedup.....c2d3c6b953b4fa4dc48be0807e80f195