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. 2024 Feb 16;14(4):625.
doi: 10.3390/ani14040625.

Use of Cactus Pear Meal in the Feeding of Laying Hens in Semi-Intensive System

Iara S Sousa  1 , Roseane M Bezerra  2 , Edson C Silva Filho  3 , Leilson R Bezerra  4 , Ricardo L Edvan  1 , Stelio B P Lima  2 , Elainy Cristina Lopes  5 , Francisca Luana A Carvalho  1 , Francinete A S Moura  2 , Gabriela I Souza  1 , Leilane R B Dourado  1
Affiliations

Use of Cactus Pear Meal in the Feeding of Laying Hens in Semi-Intensive System

Iara S Sousa et al. Animals (Basel). .

Abstract

Little information is available in the literature on the use of cactus pear meal (CPM) in poultry diets; therefore, it is important to evaluate diets that provide excellent performance and lower production costs. Our objective was to study the use of Miúda CPM in the diets of laying hens. In the first study, two diets for male and female chicks were used-1: 80% reference diet + 20% Miúda cactus pear meal (CPM) and 2: 80% reference diet + 20% Gigante cactus pear meal (CPM). The variety Miúda provided a better use of metabolizable energy, as well as a greater digestibility coefficient of dry matter, protein, and mineral matter. In the second study, a control diet was compared to three diets with different levels of Miúda CPM for laying hens in the proportions of 3%, 6%, and 9%. No significant differences were found in productive performance. However, there were significant differences in the some parameters egg quality, texture and color profile of the cooked yolk, egg composition, fatty acids and cholesterol in the yolk. It is possible to use 9% Miúda CPM in the diet of laying hens in a semi-intensive system that does not compromise performance and egg quality, and using 3% Miúda CPM provides a higher economic return.

Keywords: alternative feed; egg quality; laying; productive performance.

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Conflict of interest statement

The authors declare no conflicts of interest.

Figures

Figure 1
Figure 1
Overview of the experimental area used in the laying hen experiment, showing the layout of the boxes and paddock (a); detailed view of an individual box and paddock within the experimental area of the laying hen experiment (b).
Figure 2
Figure 2
Gross energy and metabolizable energy of the meal of cactus pear varieties Miúda and Gigante for male and female broiler chicks of the Isa Label strain from 24 to 32 days of age (Experiment I). a: black and white colluns (treatments) with same letter indicate statistically no significant differences (p ≥ 0.05).
Figure 3
Figure 3
Digestibility coefficient of dry matter, crude protein and mineral matter of cactus pear meal of varieties Miúda and Gigante for male and female broiler chicks of the Isa Label strain from 24 to 32 days of age (Experiment I). a,b: Black and white colluns (treatments) with different letters indicate statistically significant differences (p ≤ 0.05).
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