Impact of trace mineral supplementation and translucency score on eggshell quality, hatchability, fertility, and chick quality

ABSTRACT: The broiler breeder industry is facing a problem with fertility, hatchability, and the number of broiler breeder eggs produced per hen. The supplementation of trace minerals such as zinc, manganese, and copper in broiler breeder diets has been previously linked to an increase in eggshell q...

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Main Authors: Cassidy A. Morris, Duarte Neves, Michael Carroll, Jonathan Moon, Leticia Orellana, Raquel Burin, Colwayne Morris, Austin Jasek, Kenneth S. Macklin
Format: Article
Language:English
Published: Elsevier 2025-01-01
Series:Poultry Science
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Online Access:http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579124009799
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author Cassidy A. Morris
Duarte Neves
Michael Carroll
Jonathan Moon
Leticia Orellana
Raquel Burin
Colwayne Morris
Austin Jasek
Kenneth S. Macklin
author_facet Cassidy A. Morris
Duarte Neves
Michael Carroll
Jonathan Moon
Leticia Orellana
Raquel Burin
Colwayne Morris
Austin Jasek
Kenneth S. Macklin
author_sort Cassidy A. Morris
collection DOAJ
description ABSTRACT: The broiler breeder industry is facing a problem with fertility, hatchability, and the number of broiler breeder eggs produced per hen. The supplementation of trace minerals such as zinc, manganese, and copper in broiler breeder diets has been previously linked to an increase in eggshell quality, which may lead to increased fertility, hatchability, and chick quality. The objective of this study was to explore the effect of amino-acid complexed mineral supplementation on eggshell quality, fertility, hatchability, chick quality, and shell translucency. Translucency score was tested to determine if it would impact other eggshell quality parameters. To evaluate this, zinc, manganese, and copper were added into the water of commercial broiler breeder houses at the levels of 40, 40, and 7 ppm, respectively, for 10 wk. This was conducted on 4 farms with one house receiving mineral supplementation (T) and another house on the same farm receiving no supplementation (C). A total of 5,120 eggs were collected after 10 wk and analyzed for translucency score (TS1-3; low-high), eggshell lightness (L* score), thickness, and breaking strength. Up to 60 infertile eggs per farm underwent microbial analysis to determine bacteria and E. coli prevalence on d 18 of incubation. All data was analyzed using PROC-GLM or chi-square with P ≤ 0.05; means were separated by Tukey's when appropriate. The results showed that mineral supplementation increased the L* score from 74.9 (C) to 75.1 (T) (P = 0.0245), shell thickness from 0.451 mm to 0.455 mm (P = 0.0402), TS1 eggs by 1.05%, TS2 eggs by 5.86%, and decreased TS3 eggs by 6.91% (P < 0.0001). Shell thickness differed (P < 0.0001) between all levels of translucency. Significance was also found for L* score (P < 0.0001) between TS3 eggs (74.2) when compared to TS1 (74.8) and TS2 (75.2) eggs. Improvements in fertility (83.0% C vs. 86.1% T) and hatchability (74.3% C vs. 76.8% T) were not statistically significant. It can be concluded that amino-acid complexed mineral supplementation improves eggshell quality, particularly shell translucency score, leading to potential improvements in commercial breeder operations.
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spelling doaj-art-667aa311fb554850b08a16d6bdaae0402025-01-22T05:40:08ZengElsevierPoultry Science0032-57912025-01-011041104400Impact of trace mineral supplementation and translucency score on eggshell quality, hatchability, fertility, and chick qualityCassidy A. Morris0Duarte Neves1Michael Carroll2Jonathan Moon3Leticia Orellana4Raquel Burin5Colwayne Morris6Austin Jasek7Kenneth S. Macklin8Department of Poultry Science, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS 39759, USAZinpro Corporation, Eden Prairie, MN 55344, USADepartment of Poultry Science, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS 39759, USADepartment of Poultry Science, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS 39759, USADepartment of Poultry Science, Auburn University, Auburn, AL 36849, USAZinpro Corporation, Eden Prairie, MN 55344, USAZinpro Corporation, Eden Prairie, MN 55344, USAZinpro Corporation, Eden Prairie, MN 55344, USADepartment of Poultry Science, Mississippi State University, Starkville, MS 39759, USA; Corresponding author:ABSTRACT: The broiler breeder industry is facing a problem with fertility, hatchability, and the number of broiler breeder eggs produced per hen. The supplementation of trace minerals such as zinc, manganese, and copper in broiler breeder diets has been previously linked to an increase in eggshell quality, which may lead to increased fertility, hatchability, and chick quality. The objective of this study was to explore the effect of amino-acid complexed mineral supplementation on eggshell quality, fertility, hatchability, chick quality, and shell translucency. Translucency score was tested to determine if it would impact other eggshell quality parameters. To evaluate this, zinc, manganese, and copper were added into the water of commercial broiler breeder houses at the levels of 40, 40, and 7 ppm, respectively, for 10 wk. This was conducted on 4 farms with one house receiving mineral supplementation (T) and another house on the same farm receiving no supplementation (C). A total of 5,120 eggs were collected after 10 wk and analyzed for translucency score (TS1-3; low-high), eggshell lightness (L* score), thickness, and breaking strength. Up to 60 infertile eggs per farm underwent microbial analysis to determine bacteria and E. coli prevalence on d 18 of incubation. All data was analyzed using PROC-GLM or chi-square with P ≤ 0.05; means were separated by Tukey's when appropriate. The results showed that mineral supplementation increased the L* score from 74.9 (C) to 75.1 (T) (P = 0.0245), shell thickness from 0.451 mm to 0.455 mm (P = 0.0402), TS1 eggs by 1.05%, TS2 eggs by 5.86%, and decreased TS3 eggs by 6.91% (P < 0.0001). Shell thickness differed (P < 0.0001) between all levels of translucency. Significance was also found for L* score (P < 0.0001) between TS3 eggs (74.2) when compared to TS1 (74.8) and TS2 (75.2) eggs. Improvements in fertility (83.0% C vs. 86.1% T) and hatchability (74.3% C vs. 76.8% T) were not statistically significant. It can be concluded that amino-acid complexed mineral supplementation improves eggshell quality, particularly shell translucency score, leading to potential improvements in commercial breeder operations.http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579124009799broiler breedertranslucency scoreeggshell qualitytrace mineral supplementationfertility
spellingShingle Cassidy A. Morris
Duarte Neves
Michael Carroll
Jonathan Moon
Leticia Orellana
Raquel Burin
Colwayne Morris
Austin Jasek
Kenneth S. Macklin
Impact of trace mineral supplementation and translucency score on eggshell quality, hatchability, fertility, and chick quality
Poultry Science
broiler breeder
translucency score
eggshell quality
trace mineral supplementation
fertility
title Impact of trace mineral supplementation and translucency score on eggshell quality, hatchability, fertility, and chick quality
title_full Impact of trace mineral supplementation and translucency score on eggshell quality, hatchability, fertility, and chick quality
title_fullStr Impact of trace mineral supplementation and translucency score on eggshell quality, hatchability, fertility, and chick quality
title_full_unstemmed Impact of trace mineral supplementation and translucency score on eggshell quality, hatchability, fertility, and chick quality
title_short Impact of trace mineral supplementation and translucency score on eggshell quality, hatchability, fertility, and chick quality
title_sort impact of trace mineral supplementation and translucency score on eggshell quality hatchability fertility and chick quality
topic broiler breeder
translucency score
eggshell quality
trace mineral supplementation
fertility
url http://www.sciencedirect.com/science/article/pii/S0032579124009799
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