Inclusion of canthaxanthin and 25-hydroxycholecalciferol in the diet of broiler breeders on performance and incubation parameters/Inclusao de cantaxantina e 25-hidroxicolecalciferol na dieta de matrizes de corte sobre desempenho e parametros de incubacao

The objective of this experiment was to evaluate the effects of a diet containing canthaxanthin and 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25-OH-D3) on the production and reproductive performances of Cobb 500 broiler breeders aged 53 to 61 weeks. The study included 36,000 Cobb 500 female and 3,600 male broiler breeders aging 51 weeks. The birds were housed in three poultry houses divided into four plots, totaling 12 experimental units each containing 3,000 females and 300 males. The birds received the following treatments: control diet (without the studied additives) or the control diet with the addition of 60mg [kg.sup.-1] feed of 25-(OH)-D3 and canthaxanthin feed (6mg of canthaxanthin and 2,760,000IU of 25-(OH)-D3 per kg of feed) per the supplier's recommendations. The experimental design used was a randomized complete block design with two treatments and six replicates. The results were subjected to analysis of variance followed by the F-test. The treatments had no effect on egg production, usability of eggs and number of incubatable eggs per bird housed. The inclusion of canthaxanthin and 25-(OH)-D3 in the diet reduced embryonic mortality while increasing egg yolk pigmentation, hatching percentage, and number of viable chicks produced per bird. Therefore, the use of 60mg [kg.sup.-1] of 25-(OH)-D3 plus canthaxanthin is recommended in the diet of Cobb 500 broiler breeders aging 53 to 61 weeks to improve important reproductive traits that have great economic impacts on poultry farms. Key words: carotenoids, vitamin D, broiler breeders, hatching, egg production. O objetivo deste experimento foi avaliar dietas contendo Cantaxantina e 25-hidroxicolecalciferol (25-OH-D3) sobre o desempenho produtivo e reprodutivo de matrizes de corte da linhagem Cobb 500, de 53 ate 61 semanas de idade. Foram utilizadas 36.000 femeas e 3.600 machos com 51 semanas de idade, reprodutores de corte Cobb 500. As aves foram alojadas em tres aviarios divididos em 4 parcelas, totalizando 12 unidades experimentais, cada uma contendo 3.000 femeas e 300 machos. As aves foram submetidas aos seguintes tratamentos: dieta controle (sem os aditivos em estudo) ou dieta com adicao de 60mg [kg.sup.-1] de racao de 25-(OH)-D3 e Cantaxantina (6mg de cantaxantina e 2.760.000UI de 25-(OH)-D3 por kg de racao), conforme recomendacoes do fornecedor. O delineamento experimental utilizado foi em blocos casualizados, com dois tratamentos e seis repeticoes. Os resultados foram submetidos a analise de variancia e poster