Feeding Wheat Distillers Dried Grains with Solubles (DDGS) to Laying Hens and its Effect on Performance and Egg Quality

The purpose of this experiment was to determine the effect of wheat DDGS as a feed ingredient on the performance of laying hens and their egg quality. ISA Brown laying hens were administered a feed mixture containing 15% (E1) or 20% (E2) wheat DDGS for 12 weeks. The hens from the control group (C) received a standard diet based on soybean meal as the main protein source only. Laying performance (laying %), average egg weight (g), average daily feed intake (g/hen), and feed conversion ratio (kg/kg eggs) were recorded over the study period. Egg quality traits (egg weight, thick albumen quality, yolk colour, yolk percentage, shell percentage and shell thickness) were evaluated twice: before the start and at the end of the experiment. There was no effect of dietary DDGS on laying performance or on feed intake. The average egg weight was significantly lower in both experimental groups and the feed conversion ratio was lower compared to the control group. Dietary wheat DDGS did not affect the main egg quality parameters except for thick albumen quality. Eggs from hens fed the diet with DDGS had higher values of Haugh unit than those from the control hens. These results suggest that wheat DDGS can be used in amounts of up to 20% as a component of feed mixtures for flocks of laying hens.