Egg fatty acid composition, nutrient intake, feed conversion efficiency and egg production of layers fed organic and inorganic chromium supplements

H.K. Wong* and E.A. Engku Azahan*

Abstract

The effects of inorganic chromium chloride (CrCl3.6H2O) and organic Cr-yeast supplements on feed intake, egg production and fatty acid composition of eggs were studied over two periods (P1 = Bird age 25–30 weeks, P2 = Bird age 31–36 weeks). Lohmann brown layers (aged 24 weeks) were allocated the following five dietary treatments: T1 = Control diet, T2 = Control diet supplemented with 400 ppb Cr from CrCl3.6H2O, T3 = Control diet supplemented with 800 ppb Cr from CrCl3.6H2O, T4 = Control diet supplemented with 400 ppb Cr from Cr-Yeast, and T5 = Control diet supplemented with 800 ppb Cr from Cr-Yeast. No significant treatment differences (p >0.05) were observed for daily and total feed intake, egg production, total egg produced and feed conversion efficiency. Significant differences (p <0.05) between T4 and the control were only observed for mean egg weight and total egg weight in P2 but not in P1. There were no significant differences (p >0.05) between treatments in daily bird metabolizable energy (ME) intake, ME intake/kg egg, crude protein (CP) intake and CP intake/kg egg in P1 and P2. However, differences in daily bird ME and CP intake between P1 and P2 were significant (p <0.05) for all treatments. Significant differences (p <0.05) between periods were also observed for ME and CP intake/kg egg in T5 but not for the other four treatments. There were no significant differences (p >0.05) in mean fat content (g/egg) between treatments in P1. However, in P2, egg fat content in T4 was significantly lower (p <0.05) than the control. No significant differences (p >0.05) were observed for mean egg monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) and polyunsaturated fatty acid (PUFA) content (%) between treatments in P1 and P2. There were also no significant differences (p >0.05) in mean egg saturated fat content (%) between treatments in P1. However, for P2, egg saturated fat content was significantly lower (p <0.05) in T3, T4 and T5 compared to the control. Supplementation with organic or inorganic Cr was not effective in enhancing egg production, feed conversion or nutrient utilization. Organic Cr-Yeast supplementation can however enhance egg quality through reductions in total egg fat and saturated fat.

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