ENHANCING EGG PRODUCTION IN GOLD NESLINK LAYERS WITH BIO-FORTIFIED CASSAVA ROOT MEAL AND ORGANIC SUPPLEMENTS
By Emeka T Eze
Research Article
ENHANCING EGG PRODUCTION IN GOLD NESLINK LAYERS WITH BIO-FORTIFIED CASSAVA ROOT MEAL AND ORGANIC SUPPLEMENTS
ISSN: 3067-2619
DOI Prefix: 10.5281/zenodo.
Abstract
A 52-week study investigated the impact of incorporating an egg-enhancing supplement (Farmers Solution Provider: Multiple Dropping-FSPMD) as a bio-fortifier in a cassava-based diet on the performance of Gold Neslink egg-type chickens. The cassava root meal (CRM) replaced maize at graded levels (0, 25, 50, 75, and 100%), while FSPMD was added at 130g/100Kg feed for layers. Ten experimental diets were formulated, with five fortified with FSPMD and five without. Three hundred 12-week-old pullets were randomly assigned to ten dietary treatments (T1-T10), with thirty birds per treatment and three replicates in a 5 x 2 factorial arrangement in a Completely Randomized Design. The results from the laying stage (PHASE 2) showed significant differences (P < 0.05) in performance indices, including hen-day production, average egg weight, average daily feed intake, feed cost per dozen eggs, eggshell thickness, Haugh unit score, and incidence of cracked eggs. The bio-fortified treatment groups (T6-T10) outperformed the non-treated groups (T1-T5), with higher values for most production parameters. The inclusion of FSPMD in the diet did not affect mortality rates during the experiment.