Effect of Tomato Waste Meal on Lay Performance, Egg Quality, Lipid Profile and Carotene Content of Eggs in Laying Hens

Abstract

An eight week study was conducted to investigate the effect of inclusion of tomato waste meal in layer diets on laying performance, egg quality and lipid profile as a means to reduce feed cost and pollution. Four laying diets containing tomato waste meal (TWM) at four levels of 0, 3, 6 or 9% were assigned randomly to 4 groups of 40 birds divided among four replicates of 10 birds in each dietary treatment in a completely randomized experimental design. Collected on egg production, egg quality, yolk lipid profile and its carotenoid content which were analyzed byanalysis of variance using the general linear model procedure of SAS. Statistical results showed no differences in hen-day production at either 0, 3 or 6% inclusion level (68.30%, 67.80% and 68.10% respectively) but at the 9% (63.45% hen-day production) of inclusion level a significant (P<0.05) decrease was observed. Feed conversion ratio was significantly higher at the 9% inclusion level. Egg weight, Haugh unit and yolk index were not affected by dietary treatments. Yolk colour increased significantly with increasing levels of TWM in the diets. Yolk lipids (including cholesterol) were at the lowest amounts at 6% and 9% inclusion level. Yolk carotenoid content (including lycopene) of the birds that were fed diets containing TWM was significantly increased with increasing dietary content of TWM. It was concluded that up to 6% TWM can be included in layer diets without any adverse effect on egg quality and compromising egg production rate. This inclusion level also showed to be beneficial via enhancing yolk colour score and lycopene concentration and reducing egg yolk cholesterol content.