| Abstrakt: |
The need to increase the commercialization and popularity of guinea fowl and better exploit their higher nutritional value compared to other poultry species has necessitated the search for feed additives that will enhance their egg laying potential. A 70 d study was carried out to investigate the laying response and egg quality attributes of guinea fowl fed diets containing vitamin E (vit. E) and selenium (Se) yeast with or without L-arginine (L-arg). A total of 240 helmeted guinea hens at the age of 20 weeks (average weight 2,11 ± 0,02 kg) were allotted to 8 dietary treatments. Each treatment was replicated three times, with 10 birds per replicate, in a completely randomized design. The dietary treatments were arranged in a 4 × 2 factorial system, with four combinations of additives, i.e. (1) no additive, (2) Se yeast (0,3 mg/kg), (3) vit. E (30 IU/kg), and (4) Se yeast + vit. E) and two variants of arginine supplementation: (1) no additive or (2) 1 g L-arg/kg of feed. Laying performance and egg quality were analysed by two-way ANOVA using a general linear model. Supplementation with L-arg improved (P < 0,05) the number of eggs collected per day (19,73 eggs) and daily production (65,76%) compared with the diet without L-arg supplementation (17.68 eggs, 58,90%, respectively). Birds fed a diet supplemented with vit. E + Se yeast had the highest number of eggs collected per day (19,40 eggs) compared to all other groups (P <0,05). Also, birds fed various additives had higher (P < 0,05) hen-day production (63,33%) compared with those fed the control diet. Birds fed the diet containing vit. E + Se yeast supplemented with L-arg had the highest (P < 0,05) total number of eggs collected per day (21,00 eggs) and hen-day production (70%). Supplementation with all tested additives had a significant effect (P < 0,05) on yolk weight (8,06- 12,53 g), yolk height (10,49-16,73 mm), yolk percentage (24,62-35,17%) and albumen weight (14,04-17,06 g). Supplementation with all tested additives led to an increase in the number of eggs produced per day. It was concluded that the inclusion of vit. E and Se yeast supplemented with Larg enhanced the laying performance and egg quality attributes of guinea fowl. Further studies should be conducted using other poultry species such as turkey, quail and broilers. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR] |
