The Effect of Dietary Alfalfa of Varying Saponin Content on Yolk Cholesterol Level and Layer Performance

An experiment was carried out for five 28-day periods to determine the effects of feeding rations containing 10% of three alfalfa meals involving varying levels of saponin on the levels of yolk cholesterol and the performance of Single Comb White Leghorn pullets. A corn-soy ration and similar rations with 10% dehydrated alfalfa meal and low (.03%) and high (.62%) saponin suncured alfalfa meal were fed. No significant differences were found in the level of yolk cholesterol, mean hen-day egg production, Haugh units, specific gravity, and incidence of blood spots among the dietary treatments. Pullets fed the low and high saponin suncured alfalfa diets gained significantly (P≤.05) more weight during the experiment than pullets fed the corn-soy diet with dehydrated alfalfa. Mean feed conversions and egg weights were significantly higher and heavier (P≤.05), respectively, for pullets fed the alfalfa diets than pullets fed the corn-soy diet. Daily feed consumption was significantly more (P≤.05) for pullets fed the high saponin alfalfa diet than the corn-soy diet. These differences may be attributed to the lower energy in the alfalfa diets or the inadequate daily methionine intake per layer on the corn-soy diet.