Location: Food Science and Market Quality and Handling Research Unit
Project Number: 6070-43440-013-011-R
Project Type: Reimbursable Cooperative Agreement
Start Date: Jul 1, 2025
End Date: Jul 1, 2026
Objective:
We aim to complete the following objectives:
(1) To formulate 5 isocaloric (3080 kcal/kg), isonitrogenous (18% crude protein) experimental layer diets to meet and/or exceed the NRC requirements for layers with 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% inclusion of unblanched normal-oleic peanut granules supplemented in a conventional corn/soy diet.
(2) Determine the effect of these experimental diets on layer performance, egg quality and nutritional content.
Approach:
Experimental layer diets with the inclusion of 0%, 5%, 10%, 15% and 20% unblanched normal-oleic peanuts will be formulated to meet and/or exceed NRC requirements for layers using Concept 4 software. One ton of #1 whole aflatoxin-free non-roasted normal-oleic peanuts with the testa (skin) intact will be obtained and peanut granules will be prepared using a Roller Mill at the NC State University Feed Mill Education Unit (Raleigh, NC, USA). Feed quality (pepsin digestibility, protein solubility, trypsin inhibitor activity) will be determined by the University of Missouri, Agricultural Experiment Station Chemical Laboratories (Columbia, MO, USA). Two-hundred-layer hens will be randomly assigned to 5 treatments, fed a conventional layer diet for 7 days to acclimate and housed individually in layer cages with a LD 14:10 cycle. Each cage will be equipped with nipple drinkers and provided free access to feed and water for 6 to 8 weeks. Hens will be housed in a temperature-controlled facility, with curtains on both sides of the house for ventilation and environmental control. After 7-day acclimation, hens will be fed one of the 5 experimental diets with 40 hens per treatment and 5 replicates/treatment group. Layer body weights will be collected at the onset and termination of the feeding trial (6 to 8 weeks). Feed weights will be collected bi-weekly. Eggs will be collected daily and stored in a walk-in cooler and enumerated and weighed weekly. Egg quality parameters (Haugh unit, vitelline membrane strength, shell strength, yolk color) will be determined bi-weekly. Egg nutritional content will be determined by a commercial lab (ATC Scientific, Little Rock, AR) at week 2 and at week 6 or 8 of the feeding trial. All data will be statistically analyzed in SAS 9.4 (SAS Institute, 2013) for the analysis of variance at P < 0.05 significance level.