The effects of feeding whole-in-shell peanut-containing diet on layer performance and the quality and chemistry of eggs produced

Authors: HARDING, KARI - North Carolina State University; Vu, Thien; WYSOCKY, REBECCA - North Carolina State University; MALHEIROS, RAMON - North Carolina State University; ANDERSON, KENNETH - North Carolina State University; Toomer, Ondulla

Submitted to: Agriculture
Publication Type: Peer Reviewed Journal
Publication Acceptance Date: 11/17/2021
Publication Date: 11/22/2021
Citation: Harding, K.L., Vu, T.C., Wysocky, R., Malheiros, R., Anderson, K., Toomer, O.T. 2021. The effects of feeding whole-in-shell peanut-containing diet on layer performance and the quality and chemistry of eggs produced. Agriculture. 11(11):1176. https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11111176.
DOI: https://doi.org/10.3390/agriculture11111176

Interpretive Summary: For decades, the U.S. Southeast has been the leading poultry and peanut producing states. However, the need for poultry feed components such as corn and soybean meal far exceed the local ability for production of these oilseeds. This project aims to examine and substantiate the use of whole-in-shell high-oleic peanuts (WPN) and/or unblanched (skin intact) high-oleic peanuts as an alternative energy- and protein-rich poultry feed ingredient. This study aims to utilize locally abundant commodities such as peanuts, to enhance and support agriculture sustainability to produce local poultry products and eggs. To meet these objectives, 384 white shaver hens were fed 1 of 4 dietary treatments, consisting of a control-1 diet, a 4% WPN, and a 8% unblanched high-oleic peanut diet, and a control-2 made with soy protein for 6 weeks. There were no significant differences in hen body weights, feed intake or total number of eggs produced between the treatment groups. Most eggs produced from each treatment were USDA grade A, large eggs. Yolk color was significantly greater in eggs produced from the control-1 and control-2 treatments relative to the other treatments (P<0.05). Eggs produced from hens fed the high-oleic peanut diet had significantly reduced stearic and linoleic fatty acid levels relative to the other treatments (P<0.05). Eggs produced from hens fed the WPN diet had significantly greater ß-carotene content relative to eggs from the other treatment groups (P<0.05). In summary, this study suggests that WPN and/or unblanched high-oleic peanuts may be a suitable alternative layer feed ingredient and a dietary means to enrich the eggs produced while not adversely affecting hen production performance.

Technical Abstract: The abundance of peanut and poultry production within the state of North Carolina and the US Southeast, led us to conduct a layer feeding trial to determine the utilization of whole-in-shell high-oleic peanuts (WPN) and/or unblanched high-oleic peanuts (HOPN) as an alternative feed ingredient for poultry. To meet this objective, we randomly assigned 576 shaver hens to 4 dietary treatments (4 rep/trt). The dietary treatments consisted of a conventional control diet (C1), a diet containing 4% WPN, an 8% HOPN diet, and a control diet containing soy protein isolate (C2). Feed and water were provided for 6 weeks ad libitum. Pen body weights (BW) were recorded at week 0 and week 6 (wk6), and feed weights were recorded bi-weekly. Shell eggs were collected daily and enumerated. Bi-weekly 120 eggs/treatment were collected for quality assessment and egg weight (EW), while 16 eggs/treatment were collected for chemical analysis. There were no significant differences in BW or EW at week 6. Hens fed the C2 produced more total dozen eggs relative to C1 hens over the feeding trial (p < 0.05). Hens fed the C1 diet consumed less total feed relative to the other treatments with the best feed conversion ratio (p < 0.05). Most eggs produced from each treatment were USDA grade A, large eggs. There were no differences in egg quality, with the exception of yolk color, with significantly higher yolk color scores in eggs produced from the C1 and C2 treatments relative to the other treatments (p < 0.05). Eggs produced from the HOPN treatment had significantly reduced stearic and linoleic fatty acid levels relative to the other treatments (p < 0.05). Eggs produced from hens fed the WPN diet had significantly greater ß-carotene content relative to eggs from the other treatment groups (p < 0.05). In summary, this study suggests that WPN and/or HOPN may be a suitable alternative layer feed ingredient and a dietary means to enrich the eggs produced while not adversely affecting hen performance.