Effect of feeding different levels of vitamin d3 on fertility and hatchability of two lacal strains of chickens
Abstract: A total number of 1920 eggs were incubated from two strains of chickens at the 28th , 40th and 52th weeks of age .Hens were artificially inseminated twice a week throughout the experimental period. Eggs were randomly assigned to four treatments according to vitamin D3 supplementation (0, 300, 600 or 1200 IU/kg of ration) for EI-Mamourah as well as Sinai strains in each interval. Each treatment was assembled to three replicates 80 eggs each. The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of adding graded cholecalciferol levels (vitamin D3) to the layers diets on reproductive performance in both Mamourah (M) and Sinai (S) strains at different production periods.
The obtained results can be summarized 8S follows:
1- M eggs had significantly heavier egg weight loss percentage (11.51 %) during the whole period of incubation (0-18 days) than those of Sones (11.09 %).
2-Results indicated that increasing the cholecalciferol content in diet cursed increasing rate of egg weight loss during the whole period of incubation.
3-Results obtained showed that a reduction in egg weight loss percentage by advancing in age interval.
4- Egg fertility and hatchability in M strain was higher than those of Sones 5- Hens of both strains that fed the highest and the lowest levels of cholecalciferol had the highest and the lowest hatchability and the lowest and highest embryonic mortality, respectively.
6- It was noticed that hatchability (%) of all set or fertile eggs decreased in eggs laid early in a cycle (80.95 and 84.70 %), thereafter, it significantly increased reached its maximum value in eggs laid middle laying cycle (85.37 and 88.90 %) then hatchability (%) of all set eggs significantly decreased in eggs laid late laying cycle (82.03 %), whereas, hatchability (%) of fertile eggs slightly decreased in eggs laid in the same interval (88.28 %).
7 - The results indicated that level of vitamin D3 supplementation in the matemal diet was effective in improving absolute and relative (%) body weights of the progeny.
8- The significantly higher of economic efficiency (%) throughout the experiment was observed in chicks hatched from M eggs than those S ones by about (22.8 %).
This improvement of economic efficiency may be due to increase of hatchability of M eggs as well as price of one M chick as compared to S ones. In addition to the previous mentioned discussion, the economic efficiency (%) responded positively to the increasing of levels of vitamin D3 in matemal diets from 300 up to 1200 IU/kg feed and surpassed than those of the control group by about 17.6,36.6, and 39.1 %, respectively Keywords: strain, cholecalciferol, incubation, egg weight loss, reproductive performance.
Publication year 2007
Pages 6177-6193
Availability location معهد بحوث الانتاج الحيوانى- شارع نادى الصيد- الدقى - الجيزة
Availability number
Organization Name
City المنصورة
serial title Journal Agricultural Science Mansoura University
ISSN 1110-0346
Author(s) from ARC
External authors (outside ARC)
    معوض محمد خليفة جامعة المنصورة
    ترك محمد ابراهيم درة جامعة المنصورة
    مرفت عطية على جامعة المنصورة
Agris Categories Animal physiology - Reproduction
AGROVOC
TERMS		 Egg hatchability. Fertility. Layer chickens. Reproductive performance. Vitamin d.
Publication Type Journal
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