Effect of snack food by-product inclusion on production of laying hens.

The increased interest in becoming green for consumers and companies is driving groups to develop innovative ways to become more efficient and reduce their waste. Foods past their expiration dates are large sources of waste and are causing food-manufacturing companies to develop waste disposal strategies. Integrating by-products from these companies into animal diets, specifically that of laying hens, could be significantly more cost effective for both the human food manufacturers and the agricultural producers. The study's objective is to evaluate laying hen diets containing snack food by-product, consisting mostly of expired potato chips, and the effect on hen performance. In total, 192 White Leghorn laying hens (45 wk old) were selected from the Michigan State University Poultry Farm. Hens were housed in conventional cages (3 birds/cage) and received 1 of 4 diets for 5 wk: 1) industry control corn-soybean meal, 2) control with 3% by-product, 3) control with 6% by-product, and 4) control with 9% by-product. Diets were formulated to be isocaloric, isonitrogenous, and balanced for sodium. Feed intake was measured for 3 consecutive days each week, and no overall differences between treatments were observed. However, during the first week, feed intake was significantly higher in birds fed the 6% and 9% diets compared with those fed control (P < 0.05). Birds fed the 6% had a higher feed intake than that of the control again during the fourth week (P < 0.01). Egg production, egg weight, and specific gravity were measured weekly. Hen BW was measured on d 1, 14, 28, and 35. Egg production, egg weight, specific gravity, and BW were not significantly affected by the addition of snack food by-products to the diet. In conclusion, the addition of expired snack food by-product into poultry diets does not significantly affect laying hen egg production and has the potential to be used as an alternative feed stuff in the future.