Introduction
⌅At the Institute of Animal Science (ICA), the evaluation of natural zeolites for the feeding of avian species began in the 1980s. The aim of this research was to evaluate and further study substances that could potentially be used as diluents for the concentration of nutrients in feed for broilers and laying hens, and thus reduce feed costs (Acosta et al. 2005Acosta, A., Lon Wo, E. & Dieppa, O. 2005. Effect of the natural zeolite (Clinoptilolite) and of the different feeding schemes on the productive performance of broilers. Cuban Journal of Agricultural Science, 39 (3): 311-316, ISSN: 2079-3480.). The work carried out on monogastrics (Lon-Wo et al. 1987Lon-Wo, E., Pérez, F. & González, J.L. 1987. Inclusión de 5% de zeolita (clipnotilolita) en dietas para pollos de ceba en condiciones de producción. Revista Cubana de Ciencia Agrícola, 21: 169-173, ISSN: 2079-3480., Castro 2014Castro, M. 2014. Las zeolitas naturales. Caracterización químico-física. Principales yacimientos de Cuba. Boletín técnico porcino, 25: 3-6, ISSN: 2078-2675., and Llanes et al. 2022Llanes, J., Castro, M. & Herrera, M. 2022. Partial replacement of raw matters by natural zeolite in Clarias gariepinus feed. Cuban Journal of Agricultural Science, 56(3): 165-173, ISSN: 2079-3480.) considered the particle size provided by the mineral, commercially known as ZOAD, with ground particles less than 1 mm. The results achieved in laying hens suggested the use of this mineral between 1 and 10 % in diets (Berrios et al. 1983Berrios, E., Castro, M. & Cárdenas, M. 1983. Inclusión de zeolita en los piensos para gallinas ponedoras alimentadas ad libitum. Revista Cubana de Ciencia Agrícola, 17: 157-162, ISSN: 2079-3480., Lon-Wo and Cárdenas 1996Lon-Wo, E. & Cárdenas, M. 1996. Estrategia de uso de las zeolitas naturales en dietas para gallinas ponedoras. Revista Cubana de Ciencia Agrícola, 30: 313-316, ISSN: 2079-3480. and Lon-Wo et al. 2010Lon-Wo, E., Acosta, A. & Cárdenas, M. 2010. Effect of the natural zeolite (Clinoptilolite) on the laying hen diet. Its influence on ammonia release through the feces. Cuban Journal of Agricultural Science, 44(4): 389-392, ISSN: 2079-3480.), allowing improvements in productive behavior, health, and hygienic-sanitary conditions of agricultural facilities.
Recently, the Cuban Mining Company of the West has been micronizing natural zeolite with smaller particles (0.045 mm), to achieve higher quality and biosecurity for its use in different products. In animal production, the fact that it has a smaller particle size could modify the productive results (Pérez-Bonilla et al. 2011Pérez-Bonilla, A., Frikha, M., Mirzaie, S., García, J. & Mateos, G.G. 2011. Effects of the main cereal and type of fat of the diet on productive performance and egg quality of brown-egg laying hens. Poultry Science, 90 (12): 2801-2810, ISSN: 1525-3171. https://doi.org/10.3382/ps.2011-01503.). The reduction of the particle size can facilitate the contact between nutrients and endogenous enzymes, thus improving the digestibility of nutrients (Parsons et al. 2006Parsons, A.S., Buchanan, N.P., Blemings, K.P., Wilson, M.E. & Mortiz, J.S. 2006. Effect of corn particle size and pellet texture on broiler performance in the growing phase. Journal of Applied Poultry Research, 15(2): 245-255, ISSN: 1537-0437. https://doi.org/10.1093/japr/15.2.245.). However, fine particles often have a negative impact on the development of the gizzard and gastrointestinal tract, which could affect productive performance (González-Alvarado et al. 2007González-Alvarado, J.M., Jiménez-Moreno, E., Lázaro, R. & Mateos, G.G. 2007. Effects of type of cereal, heat processing of the cereal, and inclusion of fiber in the diet on productive performance and digestive traits of broilers. Poultry Science, 86: 1705-1715, ISSN: 1525-3171. https://doi.org/10.1093/ps/86.81705.). Hence, the importance of evaluating zeolite in its new form.
In poultry farming, there is a tendency to keep laying hens for more than 100 weeks, given the cost of layer replacements and the technological flow that allows eggs to be kept on the market (Martínez et al. 2021Martínez, Y., Bonilla, J.L., Sevilla, M.A., Botello, A., Matamorros, I. & Valdivié, M. 2021. Effect of palm kernel (Elaeis guineensis) meal on laying, egg quality and economic feasibility of old laying hens. Cuban Journal of Agricultural Science, 55(2): 1-12, ISSN: 2079-3480. https://www.cjascience.com/index.php/CJAS/issue/view/60.). It is known that, at this stage, the egg tends to reach a larger size (Hervo et al. 2022Hervo, F., Narcy, A., Nys, Y. & Létourneau-Montminy, M.P. 2022. Effect of limestone particle size on performance, eggshell quality, bone strength, and in vitro/in vivo solubility in laying hens: a meta-analysis approach. Poultry Science, 101:101686, ISSN: 1525-3171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2021.101686.) and with it, the quality of the shell decreases (Wistedt et al. 2019Wistedt, A., Ridderstråle, Y., Wall, H. & Holm, L. 2019. Age-related changes in the shell gland and duodenum in relation to shell quality and bone strength in commercial laying hen hybrids. Acta Veterinaria Scandinavica, 61(1): 14, ISSN: 1751-0147. https://doi.org/10.1186/s13028-019-0449-1). Previous studies reported improvements in eggshell quality when feeding laying hens with natural zeolite (Roland et al. 1985Roland, D.A., Laurent, S.M. & Orloff, H.D. 1985. Shell quality as influenced by zeolite with high ion-exchange capability. Poultry Science, 64(6): 1177-1187, ISSN: 1525-3171. https://doi.org/10.3382/ps.0641177. and Keshavarz and McCormick 1991Keshavarz, K. & McCormick, C.C. 1991. Effect of sodium aluminosilicate, oyster shell, and their combinations on acid-base-balance and eggshell quality. Poultry Science, 70(2): 313-325, ISSN: 1525-3171. https://doi.org/10.3382/ps.0700313.). However, contradictory results are known in this regard, thus the present work aims to determine the effect of micronized zeolite as an additive for the production and egg quality in laying hens at 89 weeks old.
Materials and methods
⌅The study was carried out in the poultry unit of the Institute of Animal Science. 240 White Leghorn L33 hens were used, distributed in four treatments, according to a completely randomized design, with 10 replications and six hens each, for 10 weeks.
The birds were housed in metal cages of 40 x 40 cm, with two nipples/cage for the ad libitum water supply and a linear feeder to supply the feed in a restricted manner, at a rate of 110 g/bird/day. The treatments consisted of adding zeolite to the control diet (corn-soybean) (table 1) in the following proportions: T1) control diet without addition of micronized zeolite, T2) control diet + 1 % addition of micronized zeolite, T3) control diet + 1.5 % addition of micronized zeolite and T4) control diet + 2 % addition of micronized zeolite. Micronized zeolite, with the commercial name ZEOBLANK, is processed in the Empresa Minera de Occidente with an average particle size of 6.68 µm, from the San Ignacio deposit, Mayabeque province, Cuba.
Ingredients, % | Control |
---|---|
Cornmeal | 62.30 |
Soymeal (45 % PB) | 25.00 |
Vegetable oil | 0.89 |
Monocalcium phosphate | 1.16 |
Calcium carbonate | 9.80 |
Common salt | 0.30 |
DL methionine | 0.12 |
Choline | 0.10 |
Vitamin and mineral premix1 | 0.30 |
Calculated contributions, % | |
Crude protein | 15.99 |
Metabolizable energy, MJ/kg of DM-1 | 11.50 |
Crude fiber | 2.40 |
Total calcium | 4.00 |
Available phosphorus | 0.35 |
Methionine + digestible cystine | 0.62 |
Digestible lysine | 0.80 |
1Mineral premix per kg of feed: selenium (0.1 mg), iron (40 mg), copper (12 mg), zinc (120 mg), magnesium (100 mg), iodine (2.5 mg), and cobalt (0.75 mg), and Vitamin premix per kg of feed: vitamin A (10,000 IU), vitamin D3 (2,000 IU), vitamin E (10 mg), vitamin K3 (2 mg), vitamin B1 (thiamine, 1 mg), vitamin B2 (riboflavin, 5 mg), vitamin B6 (pyridoxine, 2 mg), vitamin B12 (15.4 mg), nicotinic acid (125 mg), calcium pantothenate (10 mg), folic acid (0.25 mg) and biotin (0.02 mg)
The evaluation of the effect of micronized zeolite on growth performance of laying hens was determined by the following indicators: final body weight, feed and mass conversion, number of eggs per bird and laying intensity. For egg quality, in the morning, 15 eggs per treatment were randomly selected at week 96 old. Using two automatic devices, Egg Force Reader and EggAnalyzer® (ORKA brand), the eggshell breaking strength, yolk color, egg weight, albumen height and Hauhg units were determined.
For statistical processing of the data, variance analysis was performed according to a completely randomized design for the indicators egg weight, feed conversion, mass conversion, breaking strength and albumen height. The comparison between the means was performed using the Duncan (1955)Duncan, D.B. 1955. Multiple range and multiple F test. Biometrics, 11: 1-42, ISSN: 0006-341X. https://doi.org/10.2307/3001478. test. The theoretical assumptions of the analysis of variance, normality of errors by the Shapiro and Wilk test (1965)Shapiro, S.S. & Wilk, M.B. 1965. An Analysis of Variance Test for Normality (Complete Samples). Biometrika, 52(3/4): 591–611, ISSN: 0006-3444, https://doi.org/10.2307/2333709. and homogeneity of variance by Levene (1960)Levene, H. 1960. Robust tests for the equality of variance. Contributions to Probability and Statistics. Stanford University Press. pp. 278-292, ISBN: 978-0-8047-0596-7. were tested for the variables laying intensity, eggs per bird per week, yolk color, and Hauhg units. These variables did not meet these assumptions, thus a nonparametric simple classification analysis of variance by Kruskal and Wallis (1952)Kruskal, W.H & Wallis, W.A. 1952. Use of ranks in one-criterion variance analysis. Journal of the American Statistical Association, 47(260): 583-621, ISSN: 1537-274X. https://doi.org/10.1080/01621459.1952.10483441. was performed, and the Conover test (1999)Conover, W. 1999. Practical Nonparametric Statistcs. John Wiley & Sons, Inc., New York, 3rd Edition, ISBN: 978-0-471-16068-7. was applied for p<0.05. The statistical packages Infostat (Di Rienzo et al. 2012Di Rienzo, J.A., Casanoves, F., Balzarini, M.G., González, L., Tablada, M. & Robledo. C.W. 2012. InfoStat versión 2012. Grupo InfoStat, FCA, Universidad Nacional de Córdoba, Argentina. Available at: http://www.infostat.com.ar.) and StatSoft (2003)StatSoft, Inc. 2003. STATISTICA (data analysis software system), version 7. www.statsoft.com. were applied.
Results and Discussion
⌅The addition of micronized zeolite in the diet did not modify the body weight of the hens, the feed conversion and the albumen height (table 2). The mass conversion was better with 2 % and is closely related to the increase in egg weight at this level, thus the hen used less feed to produce a kilogram of egg. Similar results were reported by Elsherbeni et al. (2024)Elsherbeni, A.I., Youssef, I.M., Hamouda, R.E., Kamal, M., El-Gendi, G.M., El-Garhi, O.H., Alfassam, H.E., Rudayni, H.A., Allam, A.A., Moustafa, M., Alshaharn, M.O. & El-Kholy, M.S. 2024. Performance and economic efficiency of laying hens in response to adding zeolite to feed and litter. Poultry Science, 103 (7): 103799, ISSN: 1525-3171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2024.103799., when adding 20 g/kg of zeolite in the diet for Silver Montazah hens.
Productive indicators | Micronized Zeolite, % | SE ± | p-value | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | 1 | 1.5 | 2 | |||
Initial body weight, g/bird | 1714 | 1719 | 1731 | 1711 | 13.04 | 0.7288 |
Final body weight, g/bird | 1777 | 1785 | 1792 | 1789 | 11.57 | 0.7963 |
Feed conversion, kg/kg | 1.35 | 1.36 | 1.33 | 1.26 | 0.03 | 0.0874 |
Mass conversion, kg/kg | 1.86a | 1.89a | 1.84a | 1.70b | 0.04 | 0.0223 |
Egg weight, g | 66.89a | 67.15a | 68.56ab | 68.95b | 0.57 | 0.0343 |
Breaking strength, N* | 34.26a | 37.99b | 38.78b | 37.92b | 0.86 | 0.0022 |
Albumen height, mm | 5.36 | 5.47 | 5.69 | 5.61 | 0.19 | 0.6165 |
a,bDifferent letters in the row differ for p≤0.05 *Newton
Previous studies have shown that Cuban zeolite is capable of increasing the efficiency of nutrient utilization (Berrios et al. 1983Berrios, E., Castro, M. & Cárdenas, M. 1983. Inclusión de zeolita en los piensos para gallinas ponedoras alimentadas ad libitum. Revista Cubana de Ciencia Agrícola, 17: 157-162, ISSN: 2079-3480., Lon Wo et al. 1987Lon-Wo, E., Pérez, F. & González, J.L. 1987. Inclusión de 5% de zeolita (clipnotilolita) en dietas para pollos de ceba en condiciones de producción. Revista Cubana de Ciencia Agrícola, 21: 169-173, ISSN: 2079-3480. and Acosta et al. 2005Acosta, A., Lon Wo, E. & Dieppa, O. 2005. Effect of the natural zeolite (Clinoptilolite) and of the different feeding schemes on the productive performance of broilers. Cuban Journal of Agricultural Science, 39 (3): 311-316, ISSN: 2079-3480.). According to Macháček et al. (2010)Macháček, M.V., Večerek, Mas. N., Suchý, P., Straková, E., Šerman, V. & Herzig, I. 2010. Effect of the feed additive Clinoptilolite (ZeoFeed) on nutrient metabolism and production performance of laying hens. Acta Veterinaria Brasilica, 79: 29-34, ISSN: 1981-5484. https://doi.org/10.2754/avb201079S9S029., this improvement can be attributed to zeolite due to its positive effect on the intestinal microflora and the digestion mechanism (Prasai et al. 2016Prasai, T.P., Walsh, K.B., Bhattarai, S.P., Midmore, D.J., Van T.T.H., Moore, R.J & Stanley, D. 2016. Biochar, bentonite, zeolite supplemented feeding of layer chickens alters intestinal microbioa and reduces Campylobacter load. PLoS One, 11(4): e0154061, ISSN: 1932-6203. https://doi.org/10.1371/journal.pone.0154061.). This is supported by the properties of this mineral, which participates in biochemical processes that include high cation exchange capacity, absorption, catalysis and rehydration-dehydration processes. The works of Emam et al. (2019)Emam, K.R.S., Toraih, H.M., Hassan, A.M., El-Far, A.A., Morsy, A.S. & Ahmed, N.A. 2019. Effect of zeolite dietary supplementation on physiological responses and production of laying hens drinking saline well water in South Sinai. World´s Veterinary Journal, 9 (2): 109-122, ISSN: 2322-4568. www.wvj.science-line.com. and Elsherbeni et al. (2024)Elsherbeni, A.I., Youssef, I.M., Hamouda, R.E., Kamal, M., El-Gendi, G.M., El-Garhi, O.H., Alfassam, H.E., Rudayni, H.A., Allam, A.A., Moustafa, M., Alshaharn, M.O. & El-Kholy, M.S. 2024. Performance and economic efficiency of laying hens in response to adding zeolite to feed and litter. Poultry Science, 103 (7): 103799, ISSN: 1525-3171. https://doi.org/10.1016/j.psj.2024.103799. also reported improved egg weight and mass conversion with the inclusion of zeolite in the diet.
The breaking strength of the egg (table 2), regardless of the level of zeolite used, increased by 1.13 times compared to the control. In this regard, Roland et al. (1985)Roland, D.A., Laurent, S.M. & Orloff, H.D. 1985. Shell quality as influenced by zeolite with high ion-exchange capability. Poultry Science, 64(6): 1177-1187, ISSN: 1525-3171. https://doi.org/10.3382/ps.0641177. stated that the beneficial effect of zeolite on eggshell quality corresponds to the high affinity with calcium and ion exchange capacity. Similarly, Watkins and Southern (1991)Watkins, K.L. & Southern, L.L. 1991. Effect of dietary sodium zeolite A and graded levels of calcium on growth, plasma and tibia characteristics of chicks. Poultry Science, 70 (11): 2295-2303, ISSN: 1525-3171. https://doi.org/10.3382/ps.0702295. support that it may be associated with the content of elements such as silicon (Si), aluminum (Al), and sodium (Na) in the zeolite, which intervene in calcium metabolism. In a recent work, Yglesia et al. (2022)Yglesia, A.L., Orihuela, R.D., Velázquez, M.G., Díaz, M.F.S., Rodríguez, B.S., García, R.L., Galindo, J.L. & Rodríguez, R.H. 2022. Perspectivas de utilización de la zeolita micronizada como aditivo en la alimentación animal. En: Memorias Convención Producción Animal y Agrodesarrollo 2022. Madeleidy Martínez Pérez, Jesús M. Iglesias Gómez & Nayda Armengol López (eds.). ISBN: 978-959-7171-86-7. indicated that the micronized zeolite used in this study is of the calcium-sodium type, with a Si02/Al203 molar ratio ranging between 6.0 and 8.0 %, a characteristic aspect of these silica-rich minerals with a cation exchange capacity of 126.31 meq/100 g. These characteristics could favor calcium absorption in hens, an aspect that should be further investigated in subsequent studies due to its importance in egg quality and production.
The laying intensity, eggs per bird per week, yolk color, and Haugh units (table 3) were not modified with the addition of micronized zeolite. However, with 2 % of this mineral, a numerical increase was found in the laying intensity and the number of eggs per bird per week (5.9 % compared to the control). Similarly, Amad (2021)Amad, A. 2021. The Effect of Natural Zeolite as Feed Additive on Performance and Egg Quality in Old Laying Hens. Journal of Poultry Research, 18(1): 13-18, ISSN: 2147-9003. https://doi.org/10.34233/jpr.919356. did not find modifications in these indicators when using natural zeolite at levels of 0.5 and 1 %. According to Vieira et al. (2023)Vieira, R.B., Ludke, M.C.M.M., Ludke, J.V., Lopes, C.C., Oliveira, E.F., Santos, A.C.A. & Rabello, C.B.V. 2023. Effect of dietary zeolite supplementation on production, egg quality, ammonia volatilization, organ morphometry and blood parameters in brown laying hens. Brazilian Journal of Poultry Science, 25(04): 1-9, ISSN: 1806-9061. https://doi.org/10.1590/1806-9061-2023-1797, the contradictions in the results obtained when using zeolite in the diet of laying hens are related to some factors such as the type and origin of the mineral, breed, age, technological level in the breeding systems, among others. According to Kermanshahi et al. (2011)Kermanshahi, H., Haji Agha, J.E., Hashemipour, H. & Pilevar, M. 2011. Efficacy of natural zeolite and pigments on yolk color and performance of laying hens. African Journal of Biotechnology, 10(6): 3237-3242, ISSN: 1684-5315. https://doi.org/10.5897/AJB10.1713., the expected effect of zeolite in animal experiments may vary, due to the source, concentration, particle size, aluminum and silicon content in the zeolite, as well as the calcium and phosphorus content in the diet.
Productive indicators | Micronized Zeolite, % | p-value | |||
---|---|---|---|---|---|
0 | 1 | 1.5 | 2 | ||
Laying intensity, % | 19.20 (82.10) SD =8.39 | 15.45 (80.90) SD =4.14 | 19.10 (82.74) SD =4.49 | 28,25 (87.26) SD =4.36 | 0.0881 |
Eggs/bird/week, u | 19,20 (5.75) SD =0.59 | 15.45 (5.66) SD =0.29 | 19.10 (5.79) SD =0.31 | 28.25 (6.11) SD =0.31 | 0.0881 |
Yolk color | 36.50 (3.53) SD =0.52 | 24.50 (3.13) SD =0.35 | 34.50 (3.47) SD =0.52 | 26.50 (3.20) SD =0.41 | 0.0533 |
Haugh units | 26.67 (73.92) SD =8.50 | 28.20 (73.93) SD =5.19 | 33.00 (75.13) SD =4.21 | 34.13 (75.37) SD =4.41 | 0.5850 |
() Means of original data without transformation SD: desviación estándar
Conclusions
⌅It is concluded that the micronized zeolite did not affect animal performance, thus it is suggested to use 2 % micronized zeolite as an additive in the diet of 89-week-old laying hens, allowing for higher egg weight and better mass conversion. It is necessary to delve deeper into aspects related to the internal and external egg quality, as well as blood biochemistry and nutrient digestibility, thus that the results can be confirmed and the possible mechanisms of action established.