Hybrid Feed – New method in layer hen feed at begin of manufacturing

The precise genetic enhancements in layer hens are offering the market with a layer hen producing saleable dimension eggs faster than earlier than and lengthening the manufacturing life. These two parameters are associated to the beginning of the manufacturing. An excellent feed consumption at the beginning of manufacturing assures egg dimension in the beginning of manufacturing and eggshell high quality on the finish.

A. Akpulat and X. Arbe Ugalde – H&N Worldwide, Cuxhaven, Germany

Initially of manufacturing, a second bone growth occurs that can load the bones of the layer hens with calcium, that’s important within the calcification of the egg throughout manufacturing. The hybrid feed is a suggestion of find out how to method the layer hen feed at the beginning of manufacturing simply after the developer rearing feed part is completed. This hybrid feed is a mixture of ideas of rearing developer feed and manufacturing feed; it would stimulate feed consumption growth and can have sufficient vitamins to assist the physique and bone growth occurring when the primary egg is produced and it may be utilized in any layer hen, brown or white. This feed is supposed to be safer and cheaper answer than different conventional approaches of feeding layer hens and it helps the genetic potential of the birds.

Introduction
The continual genetic enhancements are growing the primary industrial egg dimension produced and lengthening the manufacturing lifetime of the layer hens worldwide. These enhancements are associated to what occurs at rearing and at the beginning of the manufacturing. Early research confirmed that whereas roughly 60 to 75% of the calcium destined for the shell comes immediately from intestinal absorption, as much as 36% may very well be traced to bones. This bone supply is important since shell calcification happens in the course of the darkish interval, when the hen shouldn’t be consuming. Correct skeletal growth is integral throughout pullet development, which has a primary interval of development in the course of the first 6 weeks of rearing and a second interval of development with lengthy bones reaching their most size and cortical bone reaching optimum thickness by week 22 of age. Upon activation of the reproductive axis and in preparation for the laying cycle, growing estradiol 17-beta (E2) concentrations shift the exercise of osteoblasts towards the formation of medullary bone, with cortical bone accumulation terminated earlier than lay. This medullary bone is deposited on the inside, endosteal floor of the cortex within the marrow cavities of lengthy bones, with the most important reserve within the femur, adopted by the tibia. This second part of calcium deposition could be very dependent of the feed consumption at the beginning of manufacturing. Nutritionists have completely different approaches when the beginning of manufacturing occurs in layer hens and immediately there’s a new choice prompt by H&N Worldwide referred to as Hybrid Feed that goals to assist the beginning of manufacturing higher than present and conventional approaches.

Idea of Hybrid Feed
The feed consumption growth in the beginning of manufacturing will enable the fowl to have the proper nutrient consumption. This feed goals to maintain growing the feed consumption because it occurs on the finish of rearing of the pullet and provide sufficient vitamins to assist the bone growth and the manufacturing of the primary egg. The numbers really useful within the Hybrid Feed must be tailored to the completely different uncooked materials data sources and to the accessible uncooked supplies out there. Right here under an outline of the principals and proposals when growing a Hybrid Feed:

• Low power weight-reduction plan: the feed consumption of the layer hens is regulated by energy consumption. Throughout the developer part of the pullet the feed ought to focus in growing the feed consumption capability of the fowl, the metabolizable power content material of the Hybrid Feed must be just like the developer feed, round 2650-2750 kcal/kg, relying on the supply/s of knowledge used to judge the power of the uncooked supplies. This method stimulates the feed consumption at the beginning of the manufacturing, and it’ll not harm the beginning of the manufacturing as a result of the manufacturing wants are nonetheless low, and the feed consumption and composition of the Hybrid Feed will present the mandatory vitamins.
• Fibre content material of the weight-reduction plan: low density diets will likely be accomplished by fibre. There are alternative ways we will classify the kind of fibre; it was proven that with the generally used uncooked supplies in layer hen weight-reduction plan, the rise of the crude fibre has a optimistic impact in intestine growth and subsequently the feed consumption capability of the birds.
• Amino acids degree: the amino acids degree is just like the layer part 1 suggestion. There will likely be sufficient amino acids for physique weigh development and egg manufacturing. The amino acids necessities aren’t most till week 22-23 of age because the flock is in full manufacturing (Desk 1). Nevertheless, as a result of low feed consumption it’s essential to have a excessive focus of the amino acids to make sure that there will likely be an sufficient provide.
• Calcium degree: the typical hen requires 2.2 g of calcium for every eggshell formation. Initially of manufacturing, we can have a development of the bones and we can have some early productive hens. As per the bone growth with 2-2.5% of calcium degree could be sufficient, nevertheless the early producing fowl want extra. Subsequently, the advice is to formulate to three.8% Ca in browns and 4% in whites layer hens. What’s vital is the supply of calcium, to keep away from potential feed refusal the coarse calcium carbonate must be the 60-70% of the overall calcium carbonate within the weight-reduction plan. The particle dimension of the coarse calcium carbonate must be 2-4 mm.
• Phosphorus degree: the phosphorus degree in poultry is expounded to the feed consumption and the expansion of the birds, important on this stage and in layer hens it’s associated to the calcium deposition within the bones. Subsequently, the extent of obtainable phosphorus must be as excessive as within the layer part 1 suggestion, 0.44 % in browns and 0.46 % in whites.
• Excessive degree of salt: the salt is a uncooked materials associated to the feed consumption in birds. It has been proven that salt stimulates the water consumption and feed consumption. Subsequently, it’s endorsed to incorporate salt on the degree of 0.28%. It shouldn’t get replaced with a degree of sodium within the weight-reduction plan. The usage of sodium bicarbonate as uncooked materials within the layer diets might full the wants of sodium requirement within the weight-reduction plan but it surely doesn’t have the identical feed consumption stimulation impact because the salt. Subsequently, it is going to be vital to make sure that we have now the extent of salt within the weight-reduction plan, and we don’t exceed the utmost of 0.34% of chloride as nutrient.

All this parameter will make the weight-reduction plan, however it is usually concerning the use on the farm.

Use of Hybrid Feed
There are challenges on the farm when getting correct knowledge at the beginning of manufacturing. The lengthy switch interval from rearing to manufacturing home and the stress of the arrival make it troublesome to calculate the feed consumption at the beginning of manufacturing. As well as, the low manufacturing of the flock delays the egg assortment of the flock, subsequently we don’t have an correct knowledge of the every day manufacturing.

The usage of Hybrid feed meant to be easy and straightforward to use, subsequently that is the really useful program:

1. Home the pullets in manufacturing with Rearing Improvement feed, so long as there wasn’t a earlier mild stimulation of the flock at rearing.
2. Hybrid feed must be accessible to the hens as quickly as the sunshine stimulation is given to the pullets.
3. Hybrid feed will likely be offered till 70% of manufacturing is achieved. It will occur across the week 21-22 of age and it is going to be simple to have an correct knowledge of the % of manufacturing because the egg assortment is repeatedly completed on the farm at this age. The feed consumption by then will likely be round 95-100 grams/hen and even greater if the pullet had feed growth.
4. The following feed must be a 60-58 egg mass goal feed because the egg manufacturing will attain the height.

Benefits of Hybrid Feed
There are different approaches in the course of the onset interval like utilizing a pre-lay feed and/or a super-starter feed. Each approaches have shortcomings that Hybrid Feed doesn’t and has all the benefits of a pre-lay or super-starter feed.

The pre-lay feed is supposed to be a transition feed between pullet and manufacturing, nevertheless the applying on the farm degree could be very troublesome and harmful. The pre-lay feed use is really useful to do by two methods, and each are troublesome to use:

• Use of pre-lay till 2-5% of manufacturing: this suggestion doesn’t contemplate that many farms don’t gather the eggs every day when the flock is beginning in manufacturing. The egg assortment is set by the workload on the farm and the way the egg assortment belts appear to be; subsequently, a variety of errors can occur. The pre-lay weight-reduction plan may be prolonged too lengthy and early producer hens can grow to be decalcified, cease the manufacturing and within the peak of manufacturing we can have peaks of manufacturing 2- 5% decrease than the usual.
• Use of pre-lay 0.5-1 kilogram per fowl: this suggestion forgets that there’s variation of the feed consumption on the pullets on account of impact of climate modifications and feed growth challenges throughout rearing. This suggestion can have similar outcome because the earlier one and even we will have issues of eggshell high quality late in manufacturing.

One other method is utilizing an excellent starter of lay after the developer feed or after the usage of the pre-lay. This tremendous starter of lay is extremely concentrated feed in vitamins and really costly; it’s designed for supplying all of the vitamins wanted at this important second. Nevertheless, it creates new challenges: the excessive power of this feed restricts the feed consumption growth of the layers, subsequently, many instances the birds don’t have sufficient nutrient consumption on the peak of the manufacturing; it would result in manufacturing drop on the peak of the manufacturing when altering to a layer 1 weight-reduction plan due to lack of feed consumption; or it would push the farmer to make use of an costly feed till 40 weeks of age as a result of the layer hen doesn’t eat sufficient vitamins.

The hybrid is a confirmed different that skips the disadvantages of the opposite suggestions and has all the benefits (Desk 2). The use could be very pleasant for the farmers and it offers a less expensive answer for the beginning and peak of the manufacturing.

Expertise of Hybrid Feed
The usage of Hybrid Feed began in 2019 and it retains growing the acceptance as it’s examined by the egg producers. This feed was examined in Australian circumstances in caged brown birds and cage free brown birds; at the moment, we might see feed consumption growth, efficiency of the birds was on requirements (Determine 1) with good eggshell high quality. There are extra optimistic experiences when utilizing Hybrid feed in brown layer markets like Colombia or Ecuador and in white markets like in USA and Canada. 

In all these experiences utilizing the Hybrid feed we have now seen an enchancment of the feed consumption growth and a quicker egg dimension growth with out affecting the efficiency of the birds.

Conclusions
The usage of the Hybrid Feed is a brand new method to the beginning of manufacturing the place completely different challenges occur. This new method can change the earlier practices which can be troublesome to use at farm degree or are too pricey. The usage of the Hybrid Feed must be a part of the feed consumption growth program the place first step begins on the develop part of the pullet. At this stage there must be a feed consumption capability growth and later at begin the manufacturing Hybrid Feed would be the good match for having a bone growth, sexual maturity development and first egg manufacturing. The Hybrid Feed brings options to a important a part of the egg manufacturing, the beginning of manufacturing, irrespective of the breed.

References can be found on request
From the Proceedings of the Australian Poultry Science Symposium 2023