Pre-peak feed recommendations for laying hens

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For hens, the start of the lay period is key, as a relatively high numberof problems can occur that might have a negative impact on their subsequentlaying performance and persistency. The laying percentage increases rapidlyduring the start of the lay period. However, feed intake does not increase at aproportional rate.

The pre-peak phase is defined as the period of time between the arrival ofthe reared hens to the production house, generally between 15-18 weeks of age,and the age that laying hens reach peak egg production, typically between 24-26weeks of age. The beginning of lay is physically a very challenging time forthe young hens. As a result, negative nutrient balances can occur. Potentialproblems are exacerbated when the objectives of the rearing phase, such astarget body weight and high uniformity, are not achieved.

Pre-peak feeding strategy challenge

In order tofacilitate a good start to the hens’ development or to correct the effects ofsuboptimal rearing, nutrient intake should be maximised to prevent themobilisation of body nutrient reserves at the start of the lay period. This canbe done by providing a more concentrated feed – assuming that feed intakecapacity is the limiting factor. Alternatively, the energy content can bereduced in the pre-peak laying period in order to stimulate feed intake –assuming that feed intake capacity is not a limiting factor. While in practiceboth strategies are applied, it is not clear which strategy is the mosteffective.

Besides limitingperformance, the negative nutrient balances that occur at the start of the layperiod can affect liver and bone metabolism. Liver metabolism can be affecteddue to the mobilisation of body fat, and bone metabolism can be affected whenmore calcium has to be metabolised for eggshell formation. In order toalleviate or prevent negative effects, it may be useful to add enrichedpremixes to enhance liver, calcium and/or bone deposition.

As there isincreasing interest from genetics companies and producers in terms ofprolonging the laying period (from 72 to 90/100 weeks of age), supporting thepre-peak phase is becoming even more important. Photo: Trouw Nutrition

The transitionfrom rearing pullet to production is also a period in which the laying hensundergo many changes. These include having to adapt to; being transported, newequipment, new environments (microbial population), light stimulation, the startof production, and feed composition. Including dietary ingredients thatalleviate digestive disorders and improve gut health could therefore help thebirds adapt better to their new environments, and could consequently increasehen performance.

As there isincreasing interest from genetics companies and producers in terms ofprolonging the laying period (from 72 to 90/100 weeks of age), supporting thepre-peak phase is becoming even more important. Trouw Nutrition thereforeconducted a series of research to develop a feeding strategy to maximisenutrient intake and to optimise performance in laying hens during the pre-peakperiod (17-24 weeks).

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Research and development
The Pre-peak laying hens feed project consisted of 3 trials, in order to test different pre-peak feeding strategies, in order to increase feed/nutrient intake, thereby improving performance and body weight gain and to test two different premixes formulated for either enhancing metabolism or gut health.
The study followed a factorial design with 3 diets x 3 premixes during the pre-peak phase (15-24 weeks). The 3 diets consisted of a control diet, an enriched diet with higher levels of nutrients, and the re-named ‘Pre-peak diet’. The 3 premixes consisted of a standard commercial premix, Premix 1 (a premix with higher levels of minerals and vitamins E, B and C) and Premix 2  (the standard premix with Selko Presan – gut health additive).
Table 1 summarises the treatments and phases used during the trial.
Table 1 - Pre-peak trial design evaluating macro nutrient density andpremix composition.
        Week 15-24        Treatment        Week 25-28        Week 29-32
1        Control diet        Standard Premix        Control diet        Control diet
2        Control diet        Test Premix 1        Control diet        Control diet
3        Control diet        Test Premix 2        Control diet        Control diet
4        Enriched diet        Standard Premix        Control diet        Control diet
5        Enriched diet        Test Premix 1        Control diet        Control diet
6        Enriched diet        Test Premix 2        Control diet        Control diet
7        Pre-Peak diet        Standard Premix        Control diet        Control diet
8        Pre-Peak diet        Test Premix 1        Control diet        Control diet
9        Pre-Peak diet        Test Premix 2        Control diet        Control diet
The 1,408 ISA Brown laying hens in the trial were housed in 2 collective rooms. Each of the 9 treatments included 7 replicates of 22 hens. Layers were selected in the rearing house based on a target bodyweight of 100 grams less than breeding company recommendations (at 15 wks of age). In order to increase the challenge on the flock without affecting performance, light stimulation was provided to the laying hens upon arrival to the PRC (at 15 wks of age), and they were kept at an elevated temperature (26°C at bird level, and 24°C in the room).
According the results obtained in this trial (Table 2), both during and after the pre-peak period (19-24 weeks), increasing diet density, using enriched diet treatments, had no beneficial effect on egg size or production.

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Table 2 - Performance results.
19 - 24 weeks  Production phase: 19 to 24 weeks
        Egg Prod., %        Egg Weight, g        Egg Mass, g        FCR, g/g
Control        74.21        51.70b        39.51b        3.343
Enriched diet        75.19        51.87b        39.99ab        3.295
Pre-Peak diet        77.80        52.87a        42.02a        3.194
Control: Premix 1        76.96abc        51.68        40.81abc        3.000abc
Control: Premix 2        73.89bc        52.21        39.50bc        3.324abc
Control: Standard        71.79c        51.19        38.22c        3.705ab
Enriched diet: Premix 1        72.55bc        51.46        38.35c        3.860a
Enriched diet: Premix 2        74.44bc        51.41        39.46bc        3.433abc
Enriched diet: Standard        78.59ab        52.76        42.14ab        2.593c
Pre-Peak diet: Premix 1        77.34abc        52.88        41.70abc        3.576ab
Pre-Peak diet: Premix 2        81.63a        52.75        44.02 a        2.833bc
Pre-Peak diet: Standard        74.41bc        52.98        40.34abc        3.171abc

19 - 32 weeks  Production phase: 19 to 32 weeks
        Egg Prod., %        Egg Weight, g        Egg Mass, g        FCR, g/g
Control        86.45b        56.46        49.66b        2.577
Enriched diet        86.56b        56.26        49.53b        2.525
Pre-Peak diet        89.19a        56.78        51.41a        2.494
Control: Premix 1        87.16bc        56.26        49.78bcd        2.440abc
Control: Premix 2        86.89bcd        56.75        50.14bc        2.557abc
Control: Standard        85.31cd        56.37        49.07cd        2.733ab
Enriched diet: Premix 1        84.40d        56.08        48.20d        2.791a
Enriched diet: Premix 2        86.77bcd        56.26        49.77bcd        2.575abc
Enriched diet: Standard        88.49bc        56.44        50.63bc        2.210c
Pre-Peak diet: Premix 1        89.17ab        56.55        51.22ab        2.667abc
Pre-Peak diet: Premix 2        91.74a        56.37        52.42a        2.331bc
Pre-Peak diet: Standard        86.67bcd        57.43        50.59bc        2.485abc

When hens were fed with the Pre-peak diet, feed intake increased and, as a result, the intake of crude protein, calcium and phosphorous increased (Table 3). At the onset of production, the hens fed the Pre-peak diet had higher overall egg weight. These same hens also had an overall higher egg production rate and egg mass.
Table 3 - Feed and nutrient intake. 19-24 weeks Treatments
Diet        Feed Intake, g/d        CP Intake, g/d        Ca Intake, g/d        Dig. P Intake, g/d
Control        97.94b        16.65b        3.624b        0.3036b
Enriched diet        92.87c        16.72b        3.608b        0.3023b
Pre-peak diet        103.6a        18.64a        3.987a        0.3371a

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Pre-peak laying hen diets

From the period when the laying hens are introduced inthe production facilities until peak production (18-24 weeks), according theTrouw Nutrition R&D outcomes it can be concluded that feeding hens thePre-peak diet during the pre-peak period (18-24 weeks old) will ensure highernutrient intake and as a consequence, obtaining +2 eggs/hen, in the period from19-32 weeks old, reduced feed costs, around and early onset of lay. The diet stimulates a2-week early onset of lay. Feeding hens with Pre-peak diets with Presan willprovide the optimal performance in this period.

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Recommendations Pre-peak laying hen diets
Developed by Trouw Nutrition, the Pre-peak concept can improve the performance of hens and the profitability of your business and is now available in the NutriOpt precision feeding system. The NutriOpt Pre-peak recommendations use an exclusive matrix to customise Pre-peak diets according to the requirements of laying hens during the pre-peak period (18-24 weeks old). This results in a higher supply of nutrients and a better onset of lay, improving the performance of hens, while reducing feed costs.
Author: Trouw Nutrition