Performance of Laying Hens Fed Diets Containing Varying Levels of Brewers Dried Grain as Energy Source

Abstract

A total of 100 twenty-two- week old Nera Black pullets were used in an eight- week long experiment to assess the effect of brewer’s dried grain (BDG) as energy source on performance of laying hens. Five experimental diets were formulated to represent T1, T2, T3, T4 and T5 which contained 0. 25, 50, 75 and 100% brewer’s dried grain levels respectively. The laying hens were grouped into 5 treatments and each treatment group was further replicated four times in a completely randomized design. Feed and drinking water were supplied adlibitum and adequate sanitation and medication measures were also applied. Live weights of the birds were taken at the start of the experiment while final live weights were taken at the end of the experiment. Feed intake, egg weight, feed conversion ratios, hen-day egg production and cost benefit analysis were assessed. Results showed that hen-day egg production of 58.60 and 35.00% for birds on 75 and 100% brewers dried grain diets differed significantly (p<0.05) from that of birds on 0 and 50% which were statistically the same (p>0.05) T1 had the highest (p<0.05) hen-day egg production. Feed intake was observed to increase with high inclusion level of BDG in the diets with T4 having the highest (p<0.05) feed intake than birds on other treatments followed, by T5 T1 had the least (p<0.05) feed intake, but with better feed efficiency than T4 and T5. Cost effectiveness result showed significant differences (p<0.05) among the treatments. Cost of production significantly (p<0.05) increased with brewer’s spent grain inclusion levels above 50% in laying hens diet. Cost effectiveness was obtained with T3 (50% BDG). Egg weight value from birds on diet T1 differed significantly from the egg weight obtained from birds on diet T5, egg weights from birds on diet T1 was the heaviest ((p<0.05) among the egg weights obtained from other treatments, followed by egg weights from T4 and then T3, but there was no definite trend on egg weight values among the treatments. Egg weight value obtained from birds on diet T1 did not differ significantly (p>0.05) from the value obtained from T4 and T3 (75 and 50%BDG) respectively.