Desempenho, qualidade e composição de ácidos graxos do ovo de poedeiras comerciais alimentadas com rações formuladas com milho ou milheto contendo diferentes níveis de óleo vegetal

Abstract

This experiment was carried out to evaluate the use of pearl millet or corn based rations supplemented with soybean on the egg quality parameters of laying hens. 256 Isa Babcock hens, 37 weeks of age, were allotted in a randomized block design with two blocks and 4 replications of eight hens per experimental unit. In a 16-week feeding trial divided into 4 periods of 28 days, the eight experimental diets were: corn with 0%, 2.5%, 3.5% and 4.5% soybean oil, and pearl millet with 3.3%, 4.3% and 5.3% soybean oil. No significant differences (p<0.05) were detected for the performance among treatments. The soybean oil supplementation of diets in higher levels decreased eggshell quality. The inclusion of pearl millet and soybean oil in rations increased the deposition of linoleic, linolenic and docosahexanoic acid in yolk. Pearl millet was also efficient in enhancing the linoleic/DHA, linoleic/ (linolenic+DHA) and total yolk lipids/polyunsaturated fatty acids relations.