Effect of XVET’s Cal D Phos® on the eggshell thickness in two different layers strains

Egg production has become a key protein source in modern society due to the rise of animal protein prices on the market. One of the most important parts of the egg is the eggshell which will give structure and strength to the egg as well as the capacity for it to exchange humidity and oxygen through it. In XVET we put Cal D Phos to the test to see the improvements recorded using this product on the field. After administrating Cal D Phos the eggshell increased in thickness over 0.11mm in average in comparison to thickness measurements before the use of Cal D Phos. This increase on the eggshell quality may help to avoid breakage of eggs or micro-fracturing of the eggshell at farm and transportation level.

Type of trial: Field Trial
Location of trial: Kyunsang  nam  province, Korea
Experimented animals: 15,000 laying hens from the strain Lohmann and 15,000 laying hens from strain Hyline, 100 and 81 weeks old respectively.
Trial aim: Assess the effect of XVET Cal D Phos on the eggshell by measuring thickness.

Introduction
Egg production has become a key protein source in modern society due to the rise of animal protein prices on the market. One of the most important parts of the egg is the eggshell. The eggshell will give structure and strength to the egg as well as the capacity for it to exchange humidity and oxygen through it. A bad eggshell quality will result on broken eggs, deformed eggs or bad hatchability; which translates to big economic losses for producers.

Material and methods:
During the trial some parameters were observed and recorded:

• Thickness of the eggshell before the usage of Cal D Phos
• Thickness of the eggshell after the usage of Cal D Phos

The animals used for testing were in two different houses with 15,000 birds each.

For the testing of the eggshell thickness, 30 eggs were randomly taken from each house as shown in Table 1.

Results:
The effect of Cal D Phos introduction into the diet of the animals was positive as shown in Figure 1.

Both houses presented an improvement on the thickness of the shell, House one with and improvement of 0.11 mm and house 3 with an average of 0.13 mm in comparison to the control measurement before the addition of Cal D Phos in the drinking water.

Conclusion:
It is concluded that after administrating Cal D Phos the eggshell thickness increased in both houses. The eggshell increased in thickness over 0.11mm in average. Also a difference between strains was observed with a higher thickness in Hyline flock. This increase on the eggshell quality may help to avoid breakage of eggs or micro-fracturing of the eggshell at farm and transportation level.

For more information, please contact technical@xvetgermany.com .