Effect of different dietary energy and protein levels on production performance of Hy-line W36 layers in Egypt at first stage of production

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of different dietary energy and protein levels on perfonnance of Hy-Line W36 white layers. One hundred and eighty laying hens at 18weeks of age were fed on nine experimental diets containing 3 levels of crude protein (16, 18 and 20%) and 3 levels of metabolizable energy (2750,2850,and 2950kcal ME/kg feed) ina factorial arrangement design (3 protein levels X 3 energy levels). The results indicated that; feed consumption of layers decreased significantly due to increasing dietary energy levels, while dietary protein levels had no effect. Dietary energy or protein levels did not affect significantly egg production percentage. Increasing dietary energy and protein levels had a positive effect on average egg weight, while average egg mass (g./hen/day) was not affected significantly. Efficiency of feed utilization was improved as dietary energy level increased, while dietary protein level had no effect on efficiency of feed utilization. The results indicated that, under Egyptian conditions, the layers can tolerate a wide range of dietary energy and protein levels without any adverse effect either on egg production or egg mass. Dietary energy level is the main effect in determining the efficiency of feed utilization KeyWords: layer performance - energy levels - protein levels.