Effects of increasing concentrations of corn distillers dried grains with solubles on the egg production and internal quality of eggs.

A study was conducted to determine the effect of feeding high concentrations of corn distillers dried grains with solubles (DDGS) on egg production and the internal quality of eggs from laying hens. Four diets were formulated to contain 0, 17, 35, or 50% corn DDGS. A total of two hundred forty 54-wk-old Single-Comb White Leghorn laying hens were randomly allotted to 2 birds per cage with 3 consecutive cages representing an experimental unit (EU). Each EU was assigned to 1 of 4 dietary treatments according to a completely randomized design. Hens were fed for a 24-wk experimental period after transition feeding to gradually increase corn DDGS inclusion over a 4-wk period. Two sets of experimental diets were formulated, and each diet was fed for 12 wk. Egg production, feed consumption, egg component, yolk color, Haugh unit during storage times, and shell breaking strength were measured. Egg production, egg weight, egg mass, feed intake, and feed efficiency were adversely affected by the highest level of DDGS in the diet (50%) during the first 12-wk period. Once diets were reformulated to include an increased concentration of both lysine and methionine, differences among the dietary treatments were reduced, as the performance of the 50% DDGS diets was greatly improved. Over the last 6 wk of study, no differences in egg production, egg weight, and feed intake among DDGS treatments were found. The DDGS diets positively affected the internal quality of eggs during storage. Improved yolk color and Haugh unit were observed as the dietary DDGS levels increased, but the increase for Haugh unit was significant only when the DDGS level was 50%. Shell weight percentage was increased in the 50% DDGS diet, but no differences in yolk and albumen percentage were observed. It was concluded that up to 50% of DDGS could be included in the layer's diet without affecting egg weight, feed intake, egg mass, feed efficiency, and egg production as long as digestible amino acids were sufficient in DDGS-added diets.