Can breeder reproductive status, performance and egg quality be enhanced by supplementation and transition of n‐3 fatty acids?

Abstract

The aim of this experiment was to investigate the effect of n-3 fatty acid (FA) supplemented diets on breeder performance, productivity and egg quality. Breeders (n = 480) were fed the supplemented diet from 18 weeks onwards; the inclusion level of n-3 FA was increased from 1.5% to 3.0% from 34 weeks of age onwards until 48 weeks of age. Ross-308 broiler breeders (n = 480) were fed one of four different diets: a basal diet rich in n-6 FA (control diet) or one of three diets rich in n-3 FA. For the n-3 FA diets, eicosapentaenoic acid (EPA, 20:5 n-3) and docosahexaenoic acid (DHA, 22:6 n-3) were fed to the broiler breeders at different ratios formulated to obtain EPA/DHA ratios of 1/1, 1/2 or 2/1. Differences in performance, reproduction and egg quality parameters due to n-3 supplementation were noted more for the 1.5% followed by the 3.0% fed broilers than their 1.5% supplemented counterparts. Egg weight (p < 0.001) and egg mass (p = 0.003) were significantly lower and feed conversion (p = 0.008) significantly higher for the n-3 FA (at 3.0% inclusion level) fed broilers compared to the control group. For the EPA- and DHA-fed breeders, a higher proportional abdominal fat percentage (p = 0.025) and proportional albumen weight (%) (p = 0.041) were found respectively. Dietary treatments did not affect reproduction. It can be concluded that the results of the present experiment indicate no significant differences between treatments at 1.5% inclusion levels. However, increasing this level to 3.0% is not recommended due to the rather negative effects on the measured parameters. It should be further investigated whether these adverse effects were obtained due to (i) the higher supplementation level, (ii) combining a supplementation level of 1.5% with 3% or (iii) the duration of supplementation.

Enriching ISA brown and Shaver white breeder diets with sources of n−3 polyunsaturated fatty acids increased embryonic utilization of docosahexaenoic acid

“…Feeding hens n−3 FA–rich feedstuffs (such as flaxseed, marine sources) has become one of the most popular and sustainable means for supplying affordable n−3 FA–fortified eggs for human consumption ( Elkin et al., 2015 ). Several studies have shown that feeding broiler breeder with diets containing n−3 FA sources enriched yolk with n−3 FA ( Cherian, 2015 , Koppenol et al., 2015a , Koppenol et al., 2015b , Delezie et al., 2016 ). However, there is little information on the effects of feeding egg-type chick breeder diets with n−3 FA sources on the composition of fertile eggs and embryonic uptake of FA.…”

Shark liver and flaxseed oils as alternatives to soybean oil in the lipid quality of Japanese quail eggs

“…The incorporation of lipid sources in the diet of quails can be seen as a breakthrough in animal nutrition, receiving much attention from all segments of the poultry industry (Delezie et al ., 2016; Lee et al ., 2019). The feed provided to the quail can change the physical quality of the eggs such as size, percentage of components and shell strength, in addition to influencing the nutritional quality of the eggs (Bruneel et al ., 2013; Secci et al ., 2018).…”