Effects of the composition of the pre-peak diet fed from 18 to 29 wk of age on egg production, egg quality, and the development of the gastrointestinal tract of brown-egg laying hens from 18 to 61 wk

SUMMARY: The effects of the nutritional characteristics of the diet fed from 18 to 29 wk of age on egg production and the development of the gastrointestinal tract (GIT) were studied in brown egg-laying hens from 18 to 61 wk of age. The experimental design was completely randomized with 4 pre-peak diets that contained 2.68 Mcal AMEn/kg, organized as a 2 × 2 factorial, with the standardized ileal digestible lysine content (DLys, 0.78 vs. 0.86%) and level of crude fiber (CF, 3.40 vs. 4.80%) of the diets as main effects. From 30 to 61 wk of age all hens were fed a common commercial diet with 2.78 Mcal AMEn/kg, 0.71% DLys, and 3.40% CF. Each treatment was replicated 16 times. The composition of the pre-peak diet did not affect hen production, egg quality, or any of the GIT traits studied at any age, except ceca length that was longer at 29 wk of age in hens fed the high CF diet (12.5 vs. 11.5 cm/kg BW; P < 0.05). In summary, an increase in DLys from 0.78 to 0.86% or of CF from 3.40 to 4.80% of the diet fed from 18 to 29 wk of age, did not affect hen production, egg quality, or GIT traits of the hens from 18 to 61 wk of age. The data indicate that pre-peak diets with 2.68 Mcal AMEn/kg, 0.78% DLys, and 3.40 to 4.80% CF are adequate to sustain egg production throughout the whole egg cycle, once the hens were fed a common commercial diet.