Research On Animal Production

Wheat distillers dried grains with solubles (WDDGS) is a by-product that can be an alternative feed ingredient for poultry. However, WDDGS contains non-starch polysaccharides which limit its dietary inclusion. The objective of the current experiment was to evaluate the effect of WDDGS with or without Endofeed W^® as a commercial enzyme on laying hens. A 5×2 factorial arrangement in a completely randomized design with 4 replicates consisting of 5 levels of WDDGS (0, 5, 10, 15 and 20%) and 2 levels of Endofeed W^® (0 and 0.05%) were evaluated. Ten mash diets were fed to 320 commercial Hy-Line W-36 hens from 51 weeks of age for 12 weeks. Each experimental unit consisted of two cages with four birds each. Feed intake, body weight, egg production and egg quality characteristics were monitored during the trial. Hens fed diets including WDDGS produced eggs lower on the Roche Yolk Color Fan scale. Endofeed W^® significantly improved overall feed efficiency and daily egg mass. There was no significant effect of WDDGS, Endofeed W^® or their interaction on hen-day egg production, egg weight, egg specific gravity, shell weight percentage, shell thickness and percentage of soft-shelled and cracked or broken eggs. Also, the activity of serum AST, ALT, LDH and BUN were not affected by dietary treatments.