Cumin seed meal as an alternative to wheat bran in commercial laying hen diets

• Published in: Journal of the science of food and agriculture 2006-10, Vol.86 (13), p.2134-2139
• Main Authors: Mansoori, B, Modirsanei, M, Kiaei, M.M
• Format: Article
• Language: English
• Subjects: Biological and medical sciences; Cereal and baking product industries; commercial farms; cumin; cumin seed meal; Cuminum cyminum; egg quality; Eggs; experimental diets; Feeding. Feeding behavior; Feeds; Food industries; Food science; forage evaluation; Fundamental and applied biological sciences. Psychology; hen feeding; hen performance; layer diet; laying hens; meals (products); Nutrition; Poultry; seeds; Vertebrates: anatomy and physiology, studies on body, several organs or systems; wheat bran
• ISSN: 0022-5142; 1097-0010
• DOI: 10.1002/jsfa.2587

To evaluate the nutritional significance of cumin seed meal (CSM) as a commercial poultry feedstuff on laying hen performance and quality of laid eggs, an experiment was conducted using 144 (48-week-old) laying hens receiving diets containing 0, 25 and 50 g CSM kg⁻¹ with or without polyethylene glycol (PEG 6000) and xylanase enzyme (Grindazym GP 15000) for 9 weeks. Body weight on the first and last days of the experiment and daily egg production and egg weight and weekly feed intake during the first, fifth and ninth weeks of the experiment were recorded. Shell weight, shell thickness, Haugh unit and yolk colour were measured during the last week of the experiment. The results showed that inclusion of CSM in laying hen diets had no negative influence on the parameters measured compared with the control diet (P > 0.05), but enhanced egg yolk colour (P < 0.05). PEG increased the daily feed intake of birds receiving CSM diets (P < 0.01) and tended to enhance daily egg production and egg weight, although not significantly. Grindazym decreased shell weight and thickness of laid eggs (P < 0.05) and tended to increase hen body weight, but had no influence on other parameters measured. The results demonstrated that CSM can be substituted for wheat bran in layer diets at 25 or 50 g kg⁻¹ dietary inclusion level without any adverse effect on hen performance or egg quality, and might enhance egg yolk colour. In view of the low price of CSM, it could be concluded that inclusion of CSM in the diet might be beneficial to the commercial laying hen industry and reduce the overall cost of egg production.