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The Effect of Different Levels of Dietary Magnesium on Eggshell Quality and Laying Hen’s Performance

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Abstract

This study aimed to investigate the effects of different levels of dietary magnesium (Mg) on eggshell quality and laying hen’s performance. Four dietary treatments including a commercial-type basal diet containing 3.19 g/kg Mg and three additional diets supplemented with 2, 4, or 6 g/kg magnesium oxide (MgO) to provide 4.03, 4.87, or 5.71 g/kg Mg were used in a completely randomized design. A total of 120 Bovans White layers at the age of 35 weeks were fed with dietary treatments for 8 weeks. Results indicated that increasing concentrations of Mg in the diets significantly increased hen-day egg production and feed intake (P < 0.05). Dietary Mg supplementation had no effect on egg weight, feed conversion ratio, and average daily weight gain. Eggshell weight, thickness, and strength were significantly increased by adding Mg to the diets (P < 0.05). Dietary treatments significantly increased yolk weight (P < 0.05) but decreased yolk color (P < 0.05). Albumen weight, Haugh unit, yolk shape, and egg shape index were similar among the dietary treatments. Eggshell Mg content (g/kg of dry matter) was significantly increased by the inclusion of Mg in the diets. In conclusion, the results of this study indicated that supplementation of Mg up to 5.71 g/kg diet improved eggshell quality and laying hen’s performance.

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Data Availability

The datasets used and/or analyzed during the current research are available from the corresponding author on request.

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Funding

This study was approved and supported by the Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran (grant no: 9306214).

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Animal Sciences, College of Agriculture, Isfahan University of Technology, Isfahan, Iran

    Mohammad Mahdi Belkameh & Mohammad Sedghi

  2. Department of Animal Science, Faculty of Agriculture, Lorestan University, Khorramabad, Iran

    Arash Azarfar

Authors
  1. Mohammad Mahdi Belkameh
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  2. Mohammad Sedghi
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  3. Arash Azarfar
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Contributions

Mohammad Mahdi Belkameh: conceptualization, data collection, writing, and software; Mohammad Sedghi: supervision, data curation, and methodology and editing; and Arash Azarfar: reviewing and editing.

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Correspondence to Mohammad Sedghi.

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The authors declare that they have no conflict of interest.

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This experiment was conducted according to the comprehensive guide of animal welfare adopted by the FASS [19]. All animal care and experimental procedures were approved by the animal policy and welfare committee of the Isfahan University of Technology.

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Belkameh, M.M., Sedghi, M. & Azarfar, A. The Effect of Different Levels of Dietary Magnesium on Eggshell Quality and Laying Hen’s Performance. Biol Trace Elem Res 199, 1566–1573 (2021). https://doi.org/10.1007/s12011-020-02259-9

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