Browsing by Author "Williams, Chericke Ann"

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    The effect of Nutrifen® and Nutrifen Plus® in the diet of Hy-Line layers on production, egg quality and egg shelf life
    (Stellenbosch : Stellenbosch University, 2019-04) Williams, Chericke Ann; Pieterse, Elsje; Stellenbosch University. Faculty of Agrisciences. Dept. of Animal Sciences.
    ENGLISH ABSTRACT: The use of natural feed additives for animal production has become an increasing topic of interest due to the ban of antibiotics in some countries and the shift towards more sustainable and ethical production practices. Fenugreek is a promising natural additive because it has been tested in numerous animal diets (mostly ruminants) and shows improved growth and milk production in animals, together with a decrease in the amount of greenhouse gas emissions. Nutrifen® and Nutrifen Plus® are products derived from the fenugreek plant seeds and used as a natural feed additive. Although fenugreek’s effects on layer hen production is understudied, some signs of improvement in egg production and egg quality have been reported. This study was conducted to evaluate the effect of Nutrifen® and Nutrifen Plus® on the production, quality and shelf life of Hy-Line layer hen eggs. The effects of five different diets (treatments) were explored: control, Nutrifen® 0.1% (N1), Nutrifen® 0.2% (N2), Nutrifen® Plus® 0.1% (N+1) and Nutrifen Plus® 0.2% (N+2). All the treatments consisted of the control with an addition (a percentage as indicated) of Nutrifen® or Nutrifen Plus®. The first part of the experiment determined the total intake, number of eggs produced, egg weight, energy intake, lysine intake, protein intake, body weight and feed conversion ratio (FCR) of the layers. The correlation between intake, energy intake, lysine intake and protein intake with respects to egg production was also calculated. The diets were fed to the layer hens for one month and the results recorded showed no significant differences between the Nutrifen® and Nutrifen Plus® treatments compared to the control for all the parameters evaluated. However, only small tendencies to differ were observed between N1, N+1 and N2 regarding the total intake, lysine intake and energy intake. In the second part of the experiment, egg quality parameters were tested after one month in storage and again after three months in storage. The egg quality parameters consisted of whole egg, egg shell, egg yolk and egg white quality. The shelf life was tested through the storage of the eggs in a laboratory room at 15 to 18°C for three months (90 days) after collection day, after which a quality evaluation test was performed. Egg quality analysis was performed on half (15) of the eggs on day 30 after collection while the other half of the eggs were stored for 90 days and analysed using the same egg quality analysis. No significant differences (P >0.05) between treatments were observed for all the respective egg quality parameters in the first analysis (one month), except for yolk colour L*. Nutrifen® 0.2% showed a significant (P ≤0.05) increase in the colour L* value of the egg yolk compared to the other treatments, which results in eggs with a whiter appearance. No significant differences were observed among the other treatments regarding the egg yolk lightness (colour L*) values. No positive or negative differences between treatments at month three were observed for most of the egg quality parameters measured except for the colour L* and colour b* values of the yolk. Treatment Nutrifen® 0.2% resulted in whiter egg yolks compared to the control and all other treatments due to a higher colour L* value measured (P ≤0.05). In addition, treatment Nutrifen® 0.1% had a more yellow colour compared to the control and treatments Nutrifen® 0.2% and Nutrifen Plus® 0.2% due to a higher colour b* value measured (P ≤0.05). Significant differences (P ≤0.05) were also observed before and after storage. A decline in the egg weight, albumen weight, yolk height and albumen height were evident between treatments from month one to month three in storage. An increase in the yolk weight was also observed during storage of eggs after three months. In addition, storage also affected the egg yolk colour, with an increase in the colour L* value (whiteness) of the egg for all treatments after being stored for three months. An increased ability of treatment Nutrifen® 0.1% to maintain its yellow colour (higher colour b* value) was observed compared to the control and treatments Nutrifen® 0.2% and Nutrifen Plus® 0.2%. The overall evidence suggests that more research is needed to further investigate the effect of Nutrifen® and Nutrifen Plus® on production and egg quality parameters. The results obtained from this study show the potential of Nutrifen® and Nutrifen Plus® products to improve production in terms of reducing the effects of long-term storage on egg weight and yolk colour. The yolk colour was largely affected by the treatment diets. Therefore, a more in-depth investigation into the effect of the treatment diets on yolk colour is necessary, as yolk colour is important for consumers.