Use of Cottonseed Meats in Molting Programs - The Journal of ...

2002 Poultry Science Association, Inc.

Use of Cottonseed Meats in Molting Programs1 A. J. Davis, M. M. Lordelo, and N. Dale2 Department of Poultry Science, University of Georgia, Athens, GA 30602

Primary Audience: Nutritionists, Egg Producers, Researchers and Extension Specialists SUMMARY A variety of methods have been investigated to induce laying hens to molt and thereby rejuvenate the reproductive system so that the rates of lay and quality of eggs produced improve. In the present research, we investigated whether addition of ground, delinted, whole cottonseed to a laying hen diet could promote molting. Hens voluntarily reduced intake of a feed containing 50% finely ground, delinted, whole cottonseed to such an extent that the birds molted. The molt induced by feeding a ground cottonseed diet was determined to be equivalent in effectiveness to one produced by a complete feed withdrawal. Key words: cottonseed meats, laying hen, molting 2002 J. Appl. Poult. Res. 11:175–178

DESCRIPTION OF PROBLEM Induced molting of laying hens is commonly practiced in the United States and in many other countries; the procedure is especially advantageous to egg producers when there is little demand for spent hens. Typical molting programs involve a reduction in the hours of light and removal of feed until body weight losses approximate 25% or more. Alternatives to complete feed withdrawal have occasionally been reported in the scientific literature. The use of high levels of dietary zinc has been shown to reduce feed intake to where molting was initiated [1, 2, 3, 4]. Similar effects have been obtained using low sodium diets [3, 5]. As part of an unrelated study concerning the effects of cottonseed meal on yolk discoloration, a balanced diet containing 30% cottonseed meats (CSMt) was offered as one experimental treat1 2

ment. CSMt are the completely delinted and dehulled fraction of cottonseeds, obtained prior to oil extraction. In this study, laying hens unexpectedly rejected the feed containing CSMt, with egg production completely ceasing after 5 d. A subsequent review of the literature indicated that Fitzsimmons et al. [6] reported laying hens fed diets containing 15 or 20% ground cottonseed rapidly reduced voluntary feed intake with a subsequent decline in body weight and egg production. As considerable interest exists in the exploration of new means of initiating molting in laying hens, several studies were conducted to determine whether the use of CSMt might prove to be a useful alternative to total feed withdrawal in induced molting programs.

MATERIALS AND METHODS As noted above, it had been observed that inclusion of 30% CSMt in layer feed led to a

This research was supported in part by grant CES9CY00 from the Georgia Cotton Commission, Perry, GA. To whom correspondence should be addressed: [email protected].

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JAPR: Research Report

176 TABLE 1. Composition of test diets (%)

CSMtA (%) Ingredient

0B

20B

40B

50C

Yellow corn Soybean meal (47.5% CP) Poultry by-product meal Limestone Defluorinated phosphate Salt Vitamin premix DL-Methionine Trace mineral premix L-Lysine Poultry fat CSMt

70.0 15.0 5.0 8.0 1.1 0.30 0.25 0.06 0.06 0.05 1.00 0

54.6 12.0 4.0 8.0 0.88 0.24 0.20 0.048 0.048 0.04 0.80 20.0

38.8 9.0 3.0 8.0 0.66 0.18 0.15 0.036 0.036 0.03 0.60 40.0

31.0 7.5 2.5 8.0 0.55 0.15 0.125 0.03 0.03 0.025 0.50 50.0

Calculated analysisD Metabolizable energy (kcal/kg) Crude protein (%) Calcium (%)

2,850 17.5 3.8

2,940 19.0 3.8

3,030 20.5 3.8

3,070 21.3 3.8

A

Cottonseed meat. Experiment #1. C Experiment #2. D Calculated analysis based on [9]. B

cessation of feed consumption and egg production. Two studies were designed to determine whether this apparent feed rejection could be confirmed under more controlled conditions and, if so, to determine the magnitude of the effect. Experiment 1 Completely delinted CSMt were obtained from a cottonseed oil extraction facility and ground [7] prior to incorporation into mixed feed (Table 1). Three layer diets were prepared containing 0, 20, or 40% CSMt. Thirty Single Comb White Leghorn hens, 68 wk of age, were placed in single-hen cages with individual feeders, 10 being assigned to each of the three dietary treatments. Feed intake was monitored on a daily basis for 4 d.

Experiment 2 As will be discussed in the results section, hens receiving 20% CSMt consumed significantly less feed than controls, and those receiving 40% CSMt consumed significantly less than those receiving 20%. To determine whether incorporation of CSMt in feeds might lead to a sufficient feed rejection to induce molting, 50% CSMt was incorporated into a balanced laying hen ration (Table 1). Six groups of 16 hens (Hyline W-36, 83 wk of age) were selected based on similar rates of production. Three such groups were deprived of feed according to standard molting procedures, whereas the remaining three groups were provided feed containing 50% CSMt on an ad libitum basis. Water was also provided ad libitum. As the study was conducted in a facility with

TABLE 2. Feed consumption (g) of hens receiving cottonseed meats (CSMt; Experiment 2) [8] Day Treatment

1

2

3

4

Total

Control 20% CSMt 40% CSMt

109 ± 3 18 ± 5 7 ± 4

106 ± 3 10 ± 4 6 ± 2

104 ± 10 15 ± 4 4 ± 2

94 ± 5 11 ± 3 3 ± 2

413a ± 16 54b ± 13 21c ± 4

Values for total feed consumption with different superscripts are significantly different (P < 0.01) from one another.

a–c


DAVIS ET AL.: COTTONSEED IN MOLTING TABLE 3. Weights and weight loss of hens (Experiment 2, Days 1 to 10) [8] Treatment Weighing Initial weight (g) After 6 d (g) After 8 d (g) After 10 d (g) 10-d weight loss (%)

Fasted a

2,103 1,698b 1,653b 1,617b −23.1%

50% CSMt 2,113a 1,728b 1,675b 1,665b −21.2%

a,b

Values for body weight with different superscripts within a treatment are significantly different (P < 0.05) from the initial body weight, while values with the same superscript between treatments for a given time indicates no detected significant differences (P > 0.05).

other experiments in progress, lighting could not be restricted and was maintained at 17 h/d. Eight of the 16 hens in each group were weighed at the initiation of the study and periodically thereafter until an average of at least 20% body weight had been lost per treatment. Egg production was monitored for all hens for 50 d from the onset of the experiment. Although no attempt was made to quantify feather loss, general observations were made as to the amount of feathers falling into the litter beneath the cages of the respective groups.

RESULTS AND DISCUSSION Experiment 1 Average feed consumption for birds fed 0, 20, and 40% CSMt over a period of 4 d is presented in Table 2. Hens receiving the control feed consumed 413 g in 4 d, or 103.3 g/d. Average feed consumption was reduced 87% (to 13.5 g/d) in hens receiving 20% CSMt. A third group, receiving 40% CSMt, consumed only 5% of that of controls (or 5.3 g/d). Each of these reductions was highly significant (P < 0.01). These results clearly confirmed the rejection by laying hens of feeds containing an appreciable amount of CSMt.

177 TABLE 4. Decrease in egg production (Experiment 2) Average egg production (%) Day of treatment 0 1 2 3 4 5

Fasted

CSMtA

64 50 17 15 2 0

56 29 21 4 2 0

A

Cottonseed meat.

weighing the remaining feed from this treatment after 10 d, it was noted that total consumption was approximately 35 g for the 10-d period per hen (data not shown). However, this low intake (3.5 g/d) did not appear to delay cessation of egg production. Whether the 3.5 g was actually consumed, or simply spilled by hens playing with feed, was not clear. In both treatments, production declined to 2% on the fourth day of experimental treatment (Table 4), with no eggs being laid thereafter. The time for the return to lay and the rate of the increase in egg production was the same for the fasted and CSMt laying hens. At 4 wk from the initiation of the molt program, both treatment groups reached 50% egg production, and peak egg production was the same for both groups as well (Figure 1). During the experiment, mortality was limited to one bird in the CSMt treatment and two birds in the fasted treatment. Although no attempt was made to quantify the weight of feathers lost by each group, it was visually apparent that there was a large amount

Experiment 2 After 10 d on respective treatments, approximately 20% of body weight was lost by the hens in the fasted and the CSMt treatments (Table 3). It should be noted that fasted birds weighed less, but not significantly so, than CSMt hens at the termination of the 10-d treatment. This slight difference may reflect a very low level of consumption by birds on the CSMt treatment. After

FIGURE 1. Average egg production after the resumption of egg laying in hens that had been induced to molt by fasting or by being offered a diet containing cottonseed meats (CSMt; Experiment 2).


JAPR: Research Report

178 of feathers under all cages. Significant loss of body feathers and secondary and primary wing feathers was noted for both treatments by 11 and 20 d, respectively, from the onset of the experiment. In Experiment 1, previous informal observations were confirmed that hens tend to reject feed containing finely ground CSMt. Further, the de-

gree of rejection when 50% CSMt was included in the diet was almost total, leading to cessation of egg production in the same amount of time as hens subjected to a complete fast. Thus, it is concluded that the degree of feed rejection by laying hens offered feed with ground CSMt is such that poultry producers can successfully use this ingredient in a force-molting program.

CONCLUSIONS AND APPLICATIONS 1. Laying hens reject feed containing ground cottonseed meats. 2. For optimum feed rejection, the cottonseed meats must be finely ground to prevent selective consumption of part of a mash diet. 3. Laying hens fed a diet containing 50% cottonseed meats had a decreased egg production rate and body weight loss rate equivalent to hens subjected to complete feed withdrawal. 4. Inclusion of finely ground cottonseed meats in feed is an effective means of inducing molt in laying hens.

REFERENCES AND NOTES 1. Shippee, R. L., P. E. Stake, V. Koehn, J. L. Lambert, and R. W. Simmons III. 1979. High dietary zinc or magnesium as a forced-resting agent. Poult. Sci. 58:949–954. 2. Stevenson, M. H., and N. Jackson. 1984. Comparison of dietary hydrated copper sulphate, dietary zinc oxide, and a direct method for inducing a molt in laying hens. Br. Poult. Sci. 25:505–517. 3. Cunningham, D. L., and C. C. McCormick. 1985. A multicycle comparison of dietary zinc and feed removal molting procedures: Production and income performance. Poult. Sci. 64:253–260.

performance of two commercial strains of laying hens. Poult. Sci. 63:2399–2403. 6. Fitzsimmons, R. C., M. Newcombe, and I. E. Moul. 1989. The long-term effects of feeding ground and whole cottonseed to laying hens. Can. J. Anim. Sci. 69:425–429. 7. Zero percent retention on Tyler Sieve #8 (2.38 mm), 1% on #10 (2.00 mm), 45% on #16 (1.18 mm), 21% on #20 (0.85 mm), with 33% passing into collection pan.

4. Berry, W. D., and J. Brake. 1985. Comparison of parameters associated with molt induced by fasting, zinc, and low dietary sodium in caged layers. Poult. Sci. 64:2027–2036.

8. Statistics: Analysis of variance was performed using the general linear model procedure of Minitab (Release 8. 2, State College, PA). Tukey’s multiple-comparison procedure was used to detect differences between the treatments.

5. Said, N. W., T. W. Sullivan, H. R. Bird, and M. L. Sunde. 1984. A comparison of the effect of two force molting methods on

9. Feedstuffs Ingredient Analysis Table, 2001. Miller Publishing Co., Minnetonka, MN.
