Cranberry pomace fed to laying hens Egg production and quality in post peak hens fed varying levels of American cranberry (Vaccinium macrocarpon) pomace

This study evaluated effects of dietary inclusion of American cranberry pomace (CBP) on feed intake (FI), egg production (EP), and egg quality (EQ) of Lohmann LSL-Lite hens from 45 to 56 weeks of age. Hens (n = 160) were assigned to diets containing 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 2.5, or 5.0% CBP in a completely randomized design. EP was recorded daily, FI weekly, and egg weight (EW) biweekly to calculate hen-day egg production (HDEP), egg mass (EM), and feed conversion ratio (FCR). Egg shell thickness (EST), shell breaking strength (SBS), yolk color (YC), and albumin height (AH) were analyzed on eggs at weeks 4, 8, and 10. Diet and Period interactions were significant for EW (P < 0.0001), EM (P = 0.0302), SBS (P=0.037), and YC (P = 0.026). Pomace had linear EW (P = 0.0003) and EM (P = 0.0020) and quadratic effects on EW (P = 0.0042) and EM (P = 0.0078). The HDEP was highest for 1 and 2.5% CBP-fed birds with lowest FCR compared to 0% CBP birds. In conclusion, the data indicated that moderate CBP inclusion (1 to 2.5 %) enhanced egg production without impairing egg quality.