Dietary energy and balanced protein
Asian Agribiz streamed the final session of the Layer Feed Quality Conference 2022 on May 25. Led by Doug Korver, Professor of Poultry Nutrition at University of Alberta in Canada, it addressed how to set up layers for a profitable mid to late‐lay. Below are some highlights.
Factors to consider in feeding layers
When feeding layers, two factors to consider are dietary energy and balanced protein. Peter Chrystal, Nutritionist at Complete Feed Solutions, said dietary energy and protein represent 60% and 30% of feed cost, respectively. Dietary energy has a major impact on feed intake, while balanced protein tends to have a greater effect on egg size and egg numbers. “There may be some interaction between energy and balanced protein,” he noted, adding that profit will eventually be dictated by “the cost and availability of ingredients and the value of egg output, which is the revenue from the eggs sold.”
How eggs are sold can determine dietary protein, energy levels
The way eggs are sold plays a big role in optimum dietary protein levels, said Dr Chrystal. Citing data from a South African study, he noted that in a nongraded egg market, the lowest lysine content diet is the most cost-effective. On the other hand, in a graded egg market, then it is better to go with higher lysine content. With energy levels, in a nongraded egg market, it might be cost-effective to go with lower dietary energy. But in a graded egg market, it pays to go with a higher dietary energy diet.
