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Comparative evaluation of different moulting methods on productive performance, egg quality, and antibody response of leghorn hens

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Abstract

The aim of the study was to compare three moulting procedures and their effect on productive performance, egg quality, and antibody response of leghorn hens. For this, a total of 324 laying hens were distributed into three treatment groups having 12 replicates of 9 birds each according to completely randomized design. Treatments consisted of three moulting procedures based on feed and light restriction. The targeted weight at the end of moulting was 1450–1470 g. As soon as the moulting procedure is complete, the comparative analysis of post-moult productive performance (feed intake, egg production, egg weight, egg mass, feed per dozen eggs, feed per kg egg mass, livability), egg quality characteristics (egg weight, egg length and width, shape index, surface area, volume, albumen height, weight, Haugh unit score, yolk width, height, index, egg shell pore number, shell weight, thickness, breaking strength), and antibody response against Newcastle disease and avian influenza (H-9) were evaluated. Birds subjected to moulting procedure 3 (8 days fasting and gradual decrease in light) showed improvement in productive performance, egg geometry and quality traits, and antibody response against Newcastle disease virus. Birds experienced moulting procedure 1 (11 days fasting) had improved feed intake, egg production, and livability. However, birds moulted with procedure 2 (6 days fasting) revealed intermediate result in all the studied parameters. In conclusion, moulting through feed and light restriction with 8 days fasting and gradual reduction in light has potential to improve performance of leghorn hens.

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The authors declare that all the data and materials used in this study comply with field standards and available on demand.

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Authors and Affiliations

  1. Department of Poultry Production, Faculty of Animal Production and Technology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan

    Amir Saeed, Shahid Mehmood, Muhammad Shahid Zahoor, Muhammad Usman & Sohail Ahmad

  2. Department of Animal Nutrition, Faculty of Animal Production and Technology, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan

    Ehsaan Ullah Khan & Kinza Saleem

  3. Department of Wildlife and Ecology, Faculty of Fisheries and Wildlife, University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan

    Syed Ghulam Mohayud Din Hashmi

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  1. Amir Saeed
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  2. Shahid Mehmood
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Contributions

AS conducted this research as part of his M.Phil. thesis under the supervision of SA, SM, and EUK. AS and MSZ contributed to data collection. AS wrote the first draft; MU and KS contributed to the interpretation of results and writing of the final manuscript. All authors read and approved the final manuscript.

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Correspondence to Sohail Ahmad.

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All the procedures performed in this study were in accordance with the ethical standards of the University of Veterinary and Animal Sciences, Lahore, Pakistan, and approval was granted by the Animal Ethical Review Committee (No. DR/60; 2023).

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Saeed, A., Mehmood, S., Zahoor, M.S. et al. Comparative evaluation of different moulting methods on productive performance, egg quality, and antibody response of leghorn hens. Trop Anim Health Prod 55, 304 (2023). https://doi.org/10.1007/s11250-023-03710-4

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