Egg Production Research

Egg Production Research, Forced Molt and Heat Stress
Research has shown that feeding AvailaMins improves layer performance. A U.S. study conducted on birds in late lay and through forced molting demonstrated the positive effect of adding 30 ppm of zinc and manganese amino acid complexes (Z/M Complex) on top of the treatment diet which contained a basal level of inorganic zinc and manganese. Improvements were seen in body weight (P < 0.05) of the hens and a trend to increased hen-day egg production during molt. The birds were evaluated from 61 to 80 weeks of age (Table 4).

Table 4. Effects of Zinc and Manganese Amino Acid Complexes on the Performance of Laying Hens

The layers in this study were housed under different temperatures (Table 5). This trial demonstrates a performance response to Z/M complex in medium (23.9 to 29.4°C) and warm (23.9 to 37.2°C) temperatures. Layers fed Z/M complex had higher (P < 0.10) hen-day egg production and increased (P < 0.05) feed intake over the control birds under both temperatures.

Egg Production Research - Thailand
Research conducted at Khon Kaen University in Thailand evaluating zinc and manganese complexes reconfirmed earlier results. A full production cycle trial (18 to 65 weeks of age) was conducted using Availa-Zn and Availa-Mn. One hundred sixty-eight DeKalb Brown layers were randomly assigned to four treatments. A control diet was formulated containing 60 ppm zinc and 60 ppm manganese each in the form of oxides. Availa-Zn and Availa-Mn treatment levels were added on top of the control (20-20, 30-30 and 40-40 ppm Zn and Mn respectively). The addition of Availa-Zn and Availa-Mn improved hen-day egg production over the control diet (Table 6; Figure 7 and 8).

Table 6. Effects of AvailaMins on Egg Production

Figure 7. Effect of Zinc and Manganese Complexes on Egg Production

Figure 8. Effect of Zinc and Manganese Complexes on Egg Production

Commercial Research Trial
Recent research conducted with a large layer operation in the Western U.S. further evaluated the effects of Availa-Zn on layer production. One hundred thirty-five thousand pullets (Isa White) were used to determine the effect of complexed Zn on layer production and egg quality. Feeding 40 ppm Zn from Availa-Zn commenced with the day-old chick and continued through the entire lay cycle. Data reported here are from the onset of lay at 21 wk to molting at 65 wk. Improvements in both the number of eggs per hen housed and feed consumed to produce a dozen eggs were observed (Figure 9 and 10).

An additional nine salable eggs/hen were produced, for a return on investment of 8:1 (Assumptions: $0.48/doz non-packaged eggs and a feed cost of $0.165/kg). This trial demonstrated a highly profitable outcome from supplementation of AvailaMins.

Figure 9. Effect of Availa-Zn on Egg Production Ratio	Figure 10. Effect of Availa-Zn on Feed /Egg Ratio

Egg Production Conclusions and Feeding Directions

Addition of AvailaMins to layer diets improved egg production and feed conversion when compared to many types of inorganic trace minerals. These results indicate that Availa^®ZMC should be added to commercial layer diets to improve egg production, egg quality and layer performance. Availa-ZMC should be fed continuously from day-old chick through the end of lay cycle to ensure optimal responses. Feed at a rate of 1 kg/ton of complete ration to provide 40 ppm Zn from Availa-Zn, 40 ppm Mn from Availa-Mn and 7.5 ppm Cu from Availa-Cu.