Effect of mash dietary fiber on performance and cannibalism in laying hens

Abstract

An experiment was conducted to observe the effect of dietary fiber given in mash form on performance and cannibalism mortality in laying hens. Three different diets: A wheat-based diet, a guar gum diet (a wheat-based diet + 20 g/kg guar gum) and a lucerne meal diet (a wheat-based diet + 40 g/kg lucerne meal) in mash form were offered for 12 weeks. The results showed that birds fed guar gum diet had the lowest intake (p<0.01), egg weight (p<0.05), body weight (p<0.05) and the lowest egg production (p<0.01) compared to those fed other diets. Diets did not have a significant effect (p>0.05) on feed to egg ratio and cannibalism mortality, but numerically the birds fed the guar gum diet had the highest mortality (11.3%) and the lucerne diet had the lowest (6.9%). The lack of profound differences was probably due to the diets were given in mash form. In conclusion, diets containing high soluble NSP reduced the performance and increased the mortality due to cannibalism in laying hens. The use of mash form may have a potential in reducing the negative effect of soluble NSP on cannibalism.