Performance of pullets fed diets containing Water Hyacinth (Eichhornia crassipes) meal supplemented with Maxigrain enzyme

Abstract

A total of 216 laying hens of Isa Brown strain were fed layers’ diets containing varying levels of water hyacinth meal (WHM) replacing 0, 50 and 100 % wheat offal (WO) and supplemented with and without Maxigrain® enzyme in a 2 x 3 factorial arrangement. Diet 1 contained 0 % WHM, with no Maxigrain® enzyme added; Diet 2 and Diet 3 contained 10 and 20 % WHM, with no Maxigrain® enzyme added (replacing 50 and 100 % wheat offal respectively); Diet 4 contained 0 % WHM with Maxigrain® enzyme added; while Diet 5 and Diet 6 contained 10 and 20 % WHM (replacing 50 and 100 % wheat offal respectively) but with Maxigrain® enzyme added. The birds were randomly allotted to the six dietary treatments with three replicates per treatment; and each replicate consisted of 12 birds. They were housed in standard double-tiered Californian battery cages and managed intensively, with feed and water provided ad libitum. Data were collected on feed intake, egg production, nutrient digestibility and external and internal egg quality characteristics. Results show that age at first lay was significantly (p<0.05) higher for the 10 and 20 % dietary inclusion level of WHM (164 and 165 days respectively) than for the 0 % dietary inclusion level of WHM (156 days). Feed intake of the birds fed on the 10 and 20 % dietary inclusion level of WHM was significantly (p>0.05) higher than those fed on the 0 % dietary inclusion level of WHM. There were no significant (p>0.05) differences between birds fed on the different dietary inclusion levels of WHM in terms of total number of eggs laid/bird, hen day production (HDP), feed intake/dozen egg laid (FIPDEL), feed intake/kg egg laid (FIPKEL), number of cracked or broken eggs (%) and gross margin (GM)/bird. Digestibility of crude fibre (CF) and ether extract (EE), as well as total digestible nutrient (TDN) were significantly (p<0.05) better in birds fed the enzyme-supplemented diets than in birds fed diets without enzyme supplementation. Of all the external egg quality characteristics determined, only egg shell thickness (EST) and egg shell weight (ESW) had significantly (p<0.05) higher values in birds fed the 10 and 20 % dietary inclusion level of WHM than in birds fed the 0 % dietary inclusion level of WHM. Of all the internal egg quality characteristics determined, only egg yolk colour score (EYCS) and albumen weight were significantly (p<0.05) higher for birds fed diets supplemented with exogenous enzymes than for those fed diets without exogenous enzyme supplementation; while EYCS values obtained for birds fed the 10 and 20 % dietary inclusion level of WHM were significantly (p<0.05) higher than those obtained for birds fed the 0 % dietary inclusion level of WHM. It can be concluded that WHM could replace WO 100 % in layer diets with no detrimental effect on feed intake, egg production as well as on the external and internal egg quality characteristics; though better digestibility were obtained with exogenous enzymes addition.