Citation of this paper

Effect of replacing soybean meal with linseed meal on production and quality of eggs from White Leghorn hens

Negasa Tamasgen, Mengistu Urge¹, Meseret Girma¹ and Ajebu Nurfeta²

Department of Animal Sciences, Wollega University, P O Box 395, Nekemte, Ethiopia
seenaashee@gmail.com
¹ School of Animal and Range Sciences, Haramaya University, P O Box 138, Dire-Dawa, Ethiopia
² School of Animal and Range Sciences, Hawassa University, P O Box 5, Hawassa, Ethiopia

Abstract

Feed intake, egg production and quality were studied with 180 White Leghorn hens fed diets in which soybean meal was replaced by linseed meal at levels of 0, 6.5, 13, 19.5 and 26% in the diet. Feed intake, body weight change, egg production and quality and egg fertility, did not differ among treatments. It is concluded that linseed meal can be used up to 26% in diets of laying hens without detrimental effect on egg production, or on quality and fertility of the eggs.

Key words: albumen, egg mass, embryo mortality, feed conversion, yolk

Introduction

Over 80% of human population in East Africa lives in rural areas and over 75% of these households keep indigenous chickens and 25% keep exotic and hybrids (Matawork2016).The total chicken population in Ethiopia is estimated to be 56.06million with indigenous chicken representing 88.2%, hybrid 6.45% and exotic breeds 5.36% (CSA2018).The production performance of these chickens is low due to different factors among which feed availability and quality is the major contributing factor. Thus, poultry nutritionists are challenged by the need to develop diets that meet nutrient requirement, economical, sustain their immune system in an efficient way and improve the quality of poultry products (Adams 2006; Shafey et al 2015). Feed cost is the major cost of production (55-75%) of egg and meat in commercial poultry production (Atteh 2003; Makinde 2012). Increased prices of conventional feedstuffs and the need for affordable and nutritious replacers is driving force to look closely for crop grains and their by-products as an inexpensive alternatives (Mushtaq et al 2009; Alagawany and Attia 2015; Alagawany et al 2017).

Soybean meal has long been used as a major plant-origin protein source in the animal feed industry. However, soybean meal is an imported product and producing it in the exporting countries has negative consequences for biodiversity as soybean cultivation replaces rain forest.

A potential alternative to soybean is linseed the production of which in Ethiopia is steadily increasing. Moreover, linseed and its by-products have attracted considerable attention since the 1990s because they contain health-benefitting poly-unsaturated fatty acids (PUFA), omega-3 fatty acids and conjugated linoleic acid (Meherunnisa et al 2017). In poultry, maternal nutrition plays an important role in the performance and the health of their progeny, because the nutrients required by the developing offspring are transferred from the hens via the egg (Hamal et al 2006;Chen et al 2015). Yolk fatty acid serves as a major source of energy and membrane lipids in the developing chick membrane during embryogenesis (Cherian and Sim 1991;Chen et al 2014).The essential amino acids found in linseed meal are also similar in concentration and composition to those in soybean (Bhatty and Cherdkiatgumchai 1990; Oomah and Mazza 1993; Shim et al 2014; Lardy et al 2016).

The intention of this research was to look for an alternative to soybean, which can be included in the diet of chicken as a source of protein and energy, and that will also improve the health of chicken products. Linseed meal was chosen as being a valuable source of energy, protein, minerals, and vitamins, especially vitamin E, which is a powerful antioxidant (Morris 2007; Ahmed et al 2017). The crop is among major oil crops cultivated in the country. Linseed meal which is the by-product, after oil extraction from the seed, has not been investigated and documented in chicken nutrition in Ethiopia. Therefore, the present study was envisaged with the objective of evaluating linseed meal as a soybean meal replacement on egg production, egg quality, fertility and hatchability.

Materials and methods

Description of the study area

The experiment was conducted at Haramaya University poultry farm, located at 42° 3’ east longitude, 9° 26’north latitude, at an altitude of 1980 meter above sea level. The mean annual rainfall of the area is 780 mm and the average minimum and maximum temperature are 8 and 24°C, respectively (Samuel 2008).

Treatments and design

Diets were formulated (2800-2900 Kcal ME/kg DM and 16-18% P %) in which soybean meal was replaced by linseed meal (LM) at levels of 0, 6.5, 13, 19.5 and 26% (Table 1).

Table 1. Proportion of ingredients used in formulating experimental diets (% DM basis)
	LMO	LM6.5	LM13	LM19.5	LM26

Maize	43.5	40.5	35.2	30.2	28.2
Wheat bran	11.3	12.6	15.4	17.9	18.9
Linseed meal	0	6.5	13	19.5	26
Soybean meal	26	19.5	13	6.5	0
Noug seed cake	11.3	12.7	15.4	17.9	18.9
Vitamin premix	1	1	1	1	1
Salt	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5	0.5
Limestone	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5	6.5

Experimental animals and management

A total of 180 twenty-four-weeks-old White Leghorn chickens were fed starter and grower diets until laying age, when they were randomly distributed to the five experimental diets replicated three times with10 hens and 2 cocks in ach pen for the 90 days of feeding trial. Health and diseases control measures were taken throughout the experimental period. The birds were kept on a floor covered with chopped hay as litter. Each pen was equipped with individual laying nests and artificial light was provided for 16 h per day. The birds were fed ad libitum twice a day at 8:00 AM and 4:00 PM. Refusal were collected the next morning and weighed after external contaminants were removed. The hens were weighed at the start and end of the experiment.

Egg production and egg mass

Eggs were collected twice a day at 0800 and 1600 andweighed. Rate of lay was expressed as the average percentage of eggs per hen-day and hen-housed egg production following the method of Hunton (1995) as follows:

Average egg weight per replicate was taken as the sum of weights of all eggs collected from each pen divided by the number of eggs collected. Egg mass was calculated by the following formula.

External egg quality characteristics

A total of 180 eggs, 30 eggs/week were taken starting from the mid-weeks of the experiment for six consecutive weeks and egg quality parameters were measured. Eggs were broken, the shell was separated and recorded; shell thickness was measured using micrometer. Shell membrane was removed and thickness taken from the top (pointed part), bottom (round part) and the middle part of the eggs and the average of the three sites was taken as eggshell thickness. Egg width and length were measured with caliper meter. Egg shape index was calculated as a percentage ratio of egg width to egg length (Anderson et al 2004).

Internal egg quality characteristics

The albumen of the broken egg was separated from the yolk. A tripod micrometer and sensitive balance were used to measure the albumin height and weight, respectively. Haugh unit was calculated according to Haugh (1937) as follows:

Where, HU = Haugh unit (g); G = Gravitational Constant (32.2), H = Albumin Height (mm); W = Weight of Egg

Yolk diameter, yolk height and yolk weight were measured by a ruler, tripod micrometer and sensitive balance, respectively. Yolk index was computed by the following formula.

Yolk color was taken from a mixed yolk sample placed on a piece of white paper by matching with Roche color fan measurement strips.

Fertility, hatchability, embryonic mortality and chick quality

Towards the end of the trial, eggs were collected and stored for 5 days at 10-14 ⁰C. A total of 180 medium weight eggs (12 eggs per replication) were selected among the eggs stored and incubated at temperature and relative humidity of 37.5°C and 85-90%, respectively. After 17 days the eggs were transferred to the hatchery. Egg fertility and embryo development were detected by candling on the 7^th, 14 ^th and 17^th days of incubation. Embryonic mortality, fertility and hatchability percentage were calculated according to Taha (2011) as follows.

Sixty hatched chicks, 12 chicks per treatment were selected and weighed individually; the length (cm) was measured from the point of the beak to the middle toe (Molenaar et al 2009).

Feed analysis

Feed samples were milled to pass through 1 mm sieve screen and analyzed for proximate constituents according to AOAC (2000). Calcium and phosphorus were determined by atomic absorption spectroscopy and spectrophotometer methods, respectively (AOAC1998). Metabolisable energy (ME) content of the diets was calculated from the equation proposed by Wiseman (1987): ME (Kcal/kg DM) = 3951 + 54.4EE - 88.7CF - 40.8ash.

Statistical analysis

The data were analyzed using the general linear model procedure of statistical analysis systems software (SAS 2009). Differences between treatment means were separated using Duncan’s multiple range tests. The following model was used. Yij = μ + Ti + e_ij, Where: Y_ij = represents the j^th observation in the i^th treatment level, μ = over all mean, Ti = treatment effect and e_ij = random error.

Results

Chemical composition of feed ingredients

The CP content of linseed meal (31%) was lower than in soybean meal (39.8%) while ME and EE contents were higher in linseed meal (Table 2).

Table 2. Chemical composition of feed ingredients and experimental diets
	% DM, except DM which is on air-dry basis							ME (Kcal/Kg)
	DM	CP	CF	EE	Ash	Ca	P	ME (Kcal/Kg)

Maize	91.4	9.3	3.8	3.9	3.2	0.14	0.3	3696
Wheat bran	91.8	15.7	6.8	3.3	4.6	0.13	0.3	3339
Soybean meal	91.9	39.8	12.4	1.4	6.1	0.32	0.7	2678
Linseed meal	90.8	31	7.3	8.9	8.3	0.26	0.56	3449
Noug seed cake	92.3	29.8	15.2	7.2	12.5	0.31	0.6	2484
Treatment s
LM0	90.37	18	7.5	5.2	13.7	2.37	0.32	2968
LM6.5	90.93	17.5	7.6	4.9	14.8.	1.97	0.31	2939
LM13	91.22	17.9	7.6	4.5	13.1	2.1	0.31	2987
LM19.5	90.49	16.5	7.4	5.1	14.5	2.20	0.34	2980
LM26	91.31	16	6.8	4.2	14.7	2.04	0.37	2976

Feed intake and laying performances

The laying performance was similar among treatment. Feed conversion differed among treatments but there was no consistent trend (Table 3).

Table 3. Effect of replacing soybean meal with linseed meal on feed intake and laying performance of white leghorn layers
	LMO	LM6.5	LM13	LM19.5	LM26	SEM	p

Feed intake(g/hen)	112	112	107	108	113	1.07	0.399
Initial body weight (g)	1239	1164	1178	1256	1067	27.4	0.202
Final body weight (g)	1357	1287	1320	1382	1207	26.6	0.268
Weight gain (g/d)	1.31	1.37	1.58	1.41	1.55	0.06	0.668
Egg weight (g)	50.0	50.0	51.5	51.5	49.8	0.29	0.133
Egg mass (g/hen/day)	21.5	20.9	24.3	22.6	19.3	0.69	0.194
Hen -day egg prod. (%)	43.3	41.8	47.2	44.1	38.7	1.33	0.339
Hen housed egg prod. (%)	43.3	41.8	47.2	44.1	38.7	1.33	0.399
Feed conversion#	5.31^abc	5.39^ab	4.44^c	4.80^bc	5.89^a	0.168	0.026
^abc Means in a row without common superscripts differ at p<0.05) # Feed intake/egg mass

External egg quality parameters

There were no differences in egg quality traits among treatments (Table 4).

Table 4. The effect of soybean meal replacement with linseed meal on external egg quality parameters
	LMO	LM6.5	LM13	LM19.5	LM26	SEM	p

Sample egg weight (g)	50.7	50.6	50.5	50.5	50.2	0.288	0.986
Shell weight (g)	4.97	4.90	5.03	4.83	4.97	0.082	0.968
Shell thickness (mm)	0.33	0.31	0.32	0.35	0.32	0.006	0.061
Egg length (cm)	5.59	5.59	5.49	5.33	5.42	0.051	0.492
Egg diameter (cm)	4.07	3.96	3.94	4.04	3.90	0.026	0.187
Egg shape index (%)	72.91	70.84	71.92	75.92	71.96	0.683	0.150

Internal egg quality parameters

Albumen weight, height and length, yolk and albumen diameter, yolk color, yolk and albumen index were not different among treatments (Table 5). The yolk weight deceased slightly as linseed meal replaced soybean meal (Figure 1), while the yolk height increased slightly at higher level of linseed meal.

Table 5. The effect of replacing soybean meal with linseed meal on internal egg quality parameters
Parameters	LMO	LM6.5	LM13	LM19.5	LM26	SEM	p

Albumen weight (g)	29.0	29.5	28.2	27.5	27.7	0.389	0.463
Albumen length (cm)	7.96	7.90	7.69	7.49	7.48	0.083	0.203
Albumen height (mm)	7.57	7.88	7.32	6.47	7.51	0.169	0.06
Yolk weight (g)	15.3^a	14.0^bc	14.3^ab	14.3^ab	13.1^c	0.226	0.011
Yolk height (mm)	15.6^ab	15.1^b	15.9^a	15.9^a	15.8^a	0.094	0.024
Yolk diameter (cm)	3.39	3.33	3.33	3.43	3.41	0.024	0.633
Albumen diameter(cm)	5.55	5.46	5.57	5.06	5.40	0.069	0.106
Yolk color (RSP)	3.90	3.73	3.53	3.40	4.07	0.111	0.351
Yolk index (%)	46.1	45.5	47.7	46.2	46.5	0.425	0.615
Haugh unit (%)	88.6	90.4	87.4	82.9	89.2	0.960	0.096
Albumen index (%)	11.2	11.8	11.0	10.3	11.7	0.244	0.372
^abc Means in a row without common superscripts differ at p<0.05)

Figure 1. Replacing soybean meal with linseed meal reduced slightly the weight of egg yolk

Fertility, hatchability and chick quality

Replacing soybean meal with graded levels of linseed meal did not affect fertility, hatchability, embryonic mortality and chick weight (Table 6).

Table 6. The effect of soybean meal replacement with linseed meal on fertility, hatchability, embryonic mortality and chick quality of white leg horn hens
	LMO	LM6.5	LM13	LM19.5		LM26	SEM	p

Fertility (%)	94.4	97.2	94.4	97.2	100		1.585	0.838
Hatchability fertile eggs (%)	73.3	71.2	76.1	77.5		75.0	2.167	0.941
Hatchability total (%)	69.4	69.4	72.2	75.0		75.0	2.528	0.941
Chick Length (cm)	15.2^a	15.2^a	14.6^b	15.0^a		15.3^a	0.079	0.015
Chick Weight (g)	32.1	37.1	36.7	36.3		35.0	0.877	0.413
Early embryo mortality (%)	8.33	0.0	0.0	0.0		8.33	1.208	0.274
Mid-embryo mortality (%)	3.33	0.0	0.0	2.78		2.78	0.955	0.732
^abc Means in a row without common superscripts differ at p<0.05)

Discussion

The experiment reported in this paper had the specific objective of replacing soybean meal with linseed meal in the diets of laying hens. We found no comparable studies in the literature for this specific comparison. However, most reports on feeding linseed meal to laying hens support our findings that egg production and egg quality are not compromised by including linseed meal in the diet (Novak and Scheideler 2001; Gurbuz et al2012; Halle and Schone 2013;Yassein et al 2015; Ahmad et al 2017).

There were two reports of decreased yolk weight from feeding linseed to laying hens (Bean and Leeson 2003; Antruejo et al 2011) which agreed with our findings although the reasons for this are unknown.

The lack of any effect of linseed meal on egg fertility and hatchability in the current experiment is consistent with the work of Chen et al (2014) who found no significant difference in hatchability, fertility and health of geese fed different levels of linseed meal.

Conclusions

The soybean meal content of diets for White Leghorn laying hens (26%) can be replaced completely by a combination of linseed meal (26% of the diet), and an increase in noug seed meal from 11 to 19%, without affecting egg production or egg fertility.
The slightly negative feature from feeding linseed meal was a 15% decrease in the weight of egg yolk at the highest level of linseed meal in the diet.

Acknowledgements

Authors genuinely thank Ethiopian Ministry of Education, Wollega University and HaramayaUniversity Research Affairs Office for the fund allocated to implement the research project. Special gratitude is to Haramaya University poultry farm and Animal nutrition laboratory workers for their kind support with crucial research inputs and for the help in the farm and laboratory.

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Received 24 April 2020; Accepted 25 April 2020; Published 1 June 2020

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