Maternal supplementation of different trace mineral sources on broiler breeder production and progeny growth and gut health.

Trace mineral minerals Zn, Cu, and Mn play important roles in breeder production and progeny performance. The objective of this study was to determine maternal supplementation of trace mineral minerals on breeder production and progeny growth and development. A total of 540 broiler breeders, Cobb 500 (Slow feathering; 0-66 weeks old) were assigned to one of three treatment groups with the same basal diet and three different supplemental trace minerals: ITM-inorganic trace minerals in sulfates: 100, 16, and 100 ppm of Zn, Cu, and Mn respectively; MMHAC -mineral methionine hydroxy analog chelate: 50, 8, and 50 ppm of bis-chelated MINTREX®Zn, Cu and Mn (Novus International, Inc.), and TMAAC - trace minerals amino acid complex: 50, 8, and 50 ppm of Zn, Cu, and Mn. At 28 weeks of age, eggs from breeder treatments were hatched for progeny trial, 10 pens with 6 males and 6 female birds per pen were fed a common diet with ITM for 45 days. Breeder production, egg quality, progeny growth performance, mRNA expression of gut health associated genes in breeder and progeny chicks were measured. Data were analyzed by one-way ANOVA; means were separated by Fisher's protected LSD test. A p-Value ≤ 0.05 was considered statistically different and 0.1 was considered numerical trend. Breeders on ITM treatment had higher (p < 0.05) body weight (BW), weight gain and lower (p < 0.05) feed conversion ratio (FCR) from 0 to 10 weeks, when compared to birds fed MMHAC. MMHAC significantly improved egg mass by 3 g (p < 0.05) and FCR by 34 points (0.05 < p < 0.1) throughout the reproductive period (26-66 weeks) in comparison to ITM. MMHAC improved (p < 0.01) egg yolk color versus (vs.) ITM and TMAAC in all periods, except 28 weeks, increased (p < 0.01) eggshell thickness and resistance vs. TMAAC at 58 weeks, and reduced (p < 0.05) jejunal NF-κB gene expression vs. TMAAC at 24 weeks. There was a significant reduction in tibial dry matter weight, Seedor index and resistance for the breeders that received MMHAC and/or TMAAC when compared to ITM at 18 weeks. Lower seedor index but numerically wider tibial circumference was seen in hens fed MMHAC at 24 weeks, and wider tibial circumference but lower tibial resistance in hens fed TMAAC at 66 weeks. Maternal supplementation of MMHAC in breeder hens increased (p < 0.0001) BW vs. ITM and TMAAC at hatching, reduced (p < 0.05) feed intake vs. ITM at d14 and d28, and improved (p < 0.01) FCR and performance index vs. TMAAC at d28, reduced (p < 0.01) NF-κB gene expression and increased (p < 0.05) A20 gene expression vs. TMAAC on d0 and vs. ITM on d14, reduced (p < 0.05) TLR2 gene expression vs. ITM on d0 and vs. TMAAC on d14, increased (p < 0.05) MUC2 gene expression vs. both ITM and TMAAC on d45 in progeny jejunum. Overall, these results suggest that supplementation with lower levels of MHA-chelated trace minerals improved breeder production and egg quality and reduced breeder jejunal inflammation while maintaining tibial development in comparison to those receiving higher inorganic mineral supplementation, and it also carried over the benefits to progeny with better growth performance, less jejunal inflammation and better innate immune response and gut barrier function in comparison to ITM and/or TMAAC.

Trace Mineral Sources and Rosemary Oil in the Diet of Brown Laying Hens: Egg Quality and Lipid Stability

Two experiments were carried out to evaluate the effects of rosemary oil (RO) and trace mineral sources (MS) on the internal quality and lipid stability of brown layer eggs. The treatments consisted of diets supplemented with two trace mineral sources (inorganic or organic) and three levels (0, 100, or 200 mg kg-1) of rosemary oil (RO), and three egg storage times. Eggs were stored at a controlled temperature (CT; 25.0ºC) in Experiment I and under refrigeration (RT; 5.0ºC) in Experiment II. The following parameters were analyzed on days 0 (fresh), 15 and 30 of storage: malonaldehyde level (MDA), egg weight (EW), Haugh unit (HU), yolk index (YI), albumen and yolk pH, raw yolk color (RYC), and egg weight loss. Data were analyzed according to completely randomized design in a 2x3x3 factorial arrangement (MS x RO x storage time). In Experiment I, there was an interaction between treatments for EW, HU and ALBp. Dietary OTM inclusion improved the results for all analyzed variables. The addition of 200 mg kg-1 RO reduced MDA and increased HU, YI and RYC. In experiment II, 200 mg kg-1 of RO in the diet improved HU. The internal quality of eggs stored both at CT and under RT is adversely affected by increasing storage periods, but this effect can be minimized by the dietary supplementation of OTM and 200 mg kg-1 rosemary oil. The lipid stability of eggs stored at CT improves with the supplementation of OTM and 200 mg kg-1 rosemary oil, but not of eggs stored under refrigeration.(AU)

Trace Mineral Sources and Rosemary Oil in the Diet of Brown Laying Hens: Egg Quality and Lipid Stability

Two experiments were carried out to evaluate the effects of rosemary oil (RO) and trace mineral sources (MS) on the internal quality and lipid stability of brown layer eggs. The treatments consisted of diets supplemented with two trace mineral sources (inorganic or organic) and three levels (0, 100, or 200 mg kg-1) of rosemary oil (RO), and three egg storage times. Eggs were stored at a controlled temperature (CT; 25.0ºC) in Experiment I and under refrigeration (RT; 5.0ºC) in Experiment II. The following parameters were analyzed on days 0 (fresh), 15 and 30 of storage: malonaldehyde level (MDA), egg weight (EW), Haugh unit (HU), yolk index (YI), albumen and yolk pH, raw yolk color (RYC), and egg weight loss. Data were analyzed according to completely randomized design in a 2x3x3 factorial arrangement (MS x RO x storage time). In Experiment I, there was an interaction between treatments for EW, HU and ALBp. Dietary OTM inclusion improved the results for all analyzed variables. The addition of 200 mg kg-1 RO reduced MDA and increased HU, YI and RYC. In experiment II, 200 mg kg-1 of RO in the diet improved HU. The internal quality of eggs stored both at CT and under RT is adversely affected by increasing storage periods, but this effect can be minimized by the dietary supplementation of OTM and 200 mg kg-1 rosemary oil. The lipid stability of eggs stored at CT improves with the supplementation of OTM and 200 mg kg-1 rosemary oil, but not of eggs stored under refrigeration.