The Nutritive Value of Date Waste Meal as a Feedstuff for Lohmann Brown Pullets and Layers

The study was carried out to investigate the effects of date waste meal (DWM) inclusion in pullet's diet at 0, 4, 8, 12, 16 and 20% and its effect on subsequence performance during laying period. Two hundred and sixteen (16 weeks old) Lohmann Brown pullets were randomly assigned to six experimental groups (3 replicates of 12 pullets/replicate). Pullets were fed a diet containing 16% protein then switched to a 190 protein laying diet until 40 weeks of age. Results showed that pullets given 20% DWM had earlier sexual maturity by 8 days (P <= 0.05) and higher survival rate (95.6%) than the control group. Egg weight was similar among all experimental groups from 20 to 40 wks of age. However, higher egg production and better feed conversion ratio were obtained (P <= 0.05) at 4% DWM inclusion. Some nutrients digestibility coefficients were significantly improved by feeding 20% DWM. Also, E. coli and fungi counts were reduced (P <= 0.05) by about 30.2% and 31.1% as hens received 16 or 20% DWM, respectively as compared to the control group. Total plasma lipids, fresh and stored yolk total lipid concentrations were decreased (P <= 0.05) with increasing dietary DWM in diets. A significant increase in egg shell thickness (P <= 0.05), yolk index and yolk color was noted as dietary DWM increased to 20%. Haugh units, ovary and oviduct weights percent were not adversely affected by DWM inclusion levels. In conclusion, DWM could be considered as alternative ingredient for pullet and layer feed. However, more research is needed to determine the optimal DWM inclusion rate.