Effect of white and yellow cassava root meal diets supplemented with different additives on performance of layers and the quality of eggs laid

A 30-week experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of 2 varieties of cassava root meal (CRM) with various additives on performance characteristics of laying birds and the quality of eggs laid. Two hundred and forty 21-week-old (Isa Brown (R) '' strain) laying birds were allotted to 8 dietary treatments in a 2 x 4 factorial arrangement of white (TME 419) and yellow (ITA/IBD/1368) CRM supplemented with no additive, amino acids (methionine and lysine), enzyme, and amino acids + enzyme (AA + Enz). The experiment was partitioned in 3 phases: 0-10 weeks, 11-20 weeks, and 21-30 weeks in lay. Variety effect showed improved (p < 0.05) egg production in layers fed with yellow cassava than those fed the white variety. Supplementing yellow cassava root meal (YCRM) and white cassava root meal (WCRM) with AA + Enz from 0 to 10weeks in lay and 11 to 30weeks in lay, respectively, resulted in superior egg production performance at a reduced cost. Feeding the layers with diets containing the two varieties of cassava, with or without additives at the three phases of lay, did not compromise the quality of eggs produced and YCRM did not improve the egg yolk colour. It was concluded that egg production was improved by diets containing YCRM at the 3 phases of lay, and WCRM supplemented with AA + Enz improved egg production only from 11 weeks in lay. The 2 varieties of cassava root meal and the various additives used did not affect the quality of the eggs laid by the layers.