Minimum Phosphorus Requirement of One-Cycle and Two-Cycle (Molted) Hens

In experiment 1 (one cycle), hens were fed diets containing 0.10, 0.115, 0.125, 0.135, 0.15, or 0.45% available P (AP) from 40 to 56 wk of age, with the last diet being a positive control. Egg production, egg mass, and BW were reduced (P < 0.05) by all lower AP levels except 0.15% AP when compared with the 0.45% AP treatment. In the second experiment (two cycles with a molt), hens were initially fed diets containing 0.10, 0.12, 0.14, 0.16, 0.18, 0.20, or 0.45% AP from 21 to 63 wk of age. Diets containing 0.10, 0.12, and 0.14% AP were terminated at 35, 39, and 50 wk, respectively, due to low egg production and increased mortality. Hens fed 0.16% AP also had significantly lower production performance than hens fed 0.45% AP during the first cycle. Hens on the 0.16 to 0.45% AP treatments were induced molted at 64 wk of age by 10 d of feed removal. The hens were then returned to the same AP layer diet they had been fed from 21 to 63 wk. For the 68 to 108 wk postmolt second-cycle period, hens fed the 0.16 to 0.20% AP diets (166 to 209 mg/d) had significantly lower egg production, egg mass, and feed efficiency than hens fed 0.45% AP. The results of our study indicated that first-cycle hens required approximately 0.18% AP or 198 mg AP/hen per day, and molted hens in their second cycle had a requirement that was greater than 0.20% AP or 209 mg AP/hen per day.