Ovostrong (XVET Germany) enhancing the performance parameters on laying hens

Type of trial: Field Trial
Location of trial: Southern Philippines
Experimented animals: Commercial Layer Farm with 90.000 birds, from which 23934 were used for the trial.
Trial aim: Prove the efficacy and effect of XVETs Germany Ovostrong on laying performances.

Introduction:
The eggshell is a protective shield for the contents of the egg, giving not only a structure but also a membrane that allows the egg to exchange gas and humidity through it. Good eggshell quality is affected by various factors such as the strain of the animal, age, usage of medications, stress, and nutrition. One important factor that can be enhanced is nutrition; the addition of a good and balanced source of calcium and phosphorus will help to improve the eggshell quality. A bad eggshell quality will result in broken eggs, deformed eggs, or bad hatchability; which translates to big economic losses for producers.

Material and methods:
Two different houses with a total of 23934 birds were considered for this trial, testing Ovostrong against two different competitors.  House one and house two presented different flock ages, competitor products and dosages as described in the chart below.

The recorded parameters for posterior comparison were:

• Total egg production
• Total cracked eggs
• Total soft-shell eggs
• Total rejected eggs
• Income
• Mortality (%)

Results:

Results of House 1:
By administering Ovostrong, the egg quality improved (Figure. 1). In total, the percentage of cracked, soft-shelled, and rejected eggs was 1.52%; which is less than the competitor.

There was an additional income (almost two times) from the Ovostrong group in comparison with competitor A, even though the total egg production in the Ovostrong group did not increase (Figure. 2). The additional income in the Ovostrong group is due to the higher quality of the eggs, resulting in fewer losses during sorting. (Calculated on the exchange rate of 2019)

The mortality percentage in the Ovostrong group was 0.92%, which was less than in the competitor A group (1.05 %).

Results of House 2:
By administering Ovostrong, the egg quality improved (Figure. 3). In total, the percentage of cracked, soft-shelled, and rejected eggs was 0.09% less than the competitor in the Ovostrong group of House 2. Total egg production for the Ovostrong group was 241765, making it higher than the total egg production of the competitor B group (229238).

Conclusion:
The results of this study are showing that Ovostrong administration in layer farms will help to obtain higher performance levels by increasing egg quality and egg production rate; which will lead to a higher return on investment, especially in older laying hens.