Effect of supplementing hydroxy trace minerals (Cu, Zn, and Mn) on egg quality and performance of laying hens under tropical conditions

Objective: A pivotal study was designed to investigate the effect of Hydroxy (HYC) Cu, Zn, and Mn on egg quality and laying performance of chickens under tropical conditions. Methods: A total of 1,260 Babcock White laying hens (20-wk-old) were randomly assigned to one of 4 treatments with 15 replicates of 21 hens each in a Randomized Complete Block Design. The birds were reared for 16 weeks and were fed the corn-soybean meal diets supplemented with one of the following mineral treatments: T1, inorganic (INO, 15 ppm CuSO4, 80ppm MnSO4 and 80 ppm ZnO); T2, Hydroxy-nutritional level (HYC-Nut, 15 ppm Cu, 80 ppm Mn, 80 ppm Zn from Hydroxy); T3, Hydroxy-Low (HYC-Low, 15 ppm Cu, 60 ppm Mn, 60 ppm Zn from Hydroxy); T4, Hydroxy plus inorganic (HYC+INO, 7.5 ppm HYC Cu+7.5 ppm CuSO4, 40 ppm HYC ZnO+40 ppm ZnSO4, 40 ppm HYC Mn+40 ppm MnSO4). The egg production was recorded daily, while the feed consumption, feed conversion ratio (FCR) and egg mass were determined at the end of each laying period. The egg quality parameters were assayed in eggs collected over 48 h in each laying period. Results: Overall, no significant effect of treatments was observed on percent egg production, egg weight and FCR (p>0.05). Feed intake was significantly lower in birds fed Hydroxy plus inorganic (p