RESEARCH ARTICLE
DIETARY PHYTASE SUPPLEMENTATION ON EGG QUALITY TRAITS IN WHITE LEGHORN STRAIN CROSS CHICKEN Sukumar. D1 and Jalaludeen. A2 College of veterinary and Animal Sciences Mannuthy
ABSTRACT One hundred and fifty White Leghorn strain cross pullets (Athulya) were subjected to evaluate the effect of Phytase enzyme on certain egg quality parameters. The birds were grouped in to five treatments, viz., control (T1), fed with standard layer ration, T2, fed with low available Phosphorus layer ration. T3, T4 and T5 groups were formed with supplementation of 200, 300 and 400 units of enzyme per kg feed, respectively in T2 diet. Significant improvement (p<0.01) was noticed in egg weight, egg shell thickness, egg shell weight and egg specific gravity. Based on the egg quality traits studied it was found that, supplementation of 200 units of phytase per kg of low available phosphorus layer diet, the available phosphorus level in the feed could be reduced to 0.3 percent.
1. Assistant Professor, Dept. Of Poultry Science, COVAS, Mannuthy 2. Director of Academics and Research, KVASU
Materials and methods: One hundred and fifty, 18 weeks old White Leghorn strain cross, â&#x20AC;?ATHULYAâ&#x20AC;? pullets formed the subjects of this experiment. The birds were grouped in five treatments each with three replicates of ten birds each and reared up to forty weeks of age. Two types of ration viz. standard layer ration as per BIS (1992) and layer ration with low available phosphorus were used in this study.Low available Phosphorus layer ration was formulated keeping the level of available phosphorus at 0.3 percent without including DCP. The levels of all other nutrients were similar to that of standard layer ration. The enzyme used in this study was NATUPHOS -5000 a Phosphatase enzyme of fungal origin (Aspergillus sp)
Issue 1 April 2012
As Poultry population in the Country is increasing rapidly, Poultry feed requirement is also increasing in a huge quantity. Cereals and plant materials which constitute major part of Poultry feeds contain phosphorus in the form of Phytic acid. Only 30 percent of plant phosphorus can be utilized by poultry and the remaining part excreted and causes environmental pollution by eutrophication .In addition, the phytic acid may combine with inorganic elements such as calcium, magnesium, sodium, potassium, etc. in the diet and make it unavailable for the birds. In order to make it biologically available, it is necessary to hydrolyse the phytin by a phosphatase enzyme, phytase. Absence of phytase in the digestive tract of poultry necessitates the use of extraneous source of enzyme and thereby avoids the addition of other phosphorus source in poultry ration. Dicalcium Phosphate (DCP) is a costly feed ingredient usually added in poultry feed as a phosphorus source. So
incorporation of phytase can eliminate addition of DCP. Also phosphorus have major role in improving the shell quality which there by avoids easy breakage of eggs and increase keeping quality. Hence a study on supplementation of phytase enzyme on egg quality traits in White Leghorn strain cross Chicken was carried out.
JIVA Vol. 10
INTRODUCTION
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