The effect of enzyme supplementation on egg production parameters and omega-3 fatty acid deposition in laying hens fed flaxseed and canola seed.

An experiment was conducted to investigate the effects of a multicarbohydrase enzyme on egg production parameters, nutrient digestibility, and egg fatty acid composition in Hy-Line CV-20 laying hens (39 to 63 wk of age) fed diets containing 150 g/kg of diet of canola seed, flaxseed, or Linpro (flaxseed:peas, 1:1 wt/wt). The diet effect on each parameter was also evaluated. Hens consuming the canola seed and Linpro diets had greater egg production, lower feed consumption, and therefore better feed conversion than those fed the flaxseed diets. Enzyme supplementation significantly increased (P < 0.01) egg production (from 78.0 to 80.9%) and improved (P < 0.001) feed conversion ratio (from 2.15 to 2.03) in hens fed flaxseed. Hens fed the canola seed and Linpro diets produced eggs with greater egg specific gravity than those from birds consuming flaxseed. Enzyme supplementation significantly increased egg specific gravity in hens fed flaxseed (from 1.0773 to 1.0800, P < 0.01) in phase I of the experiment. There was no effect of diet on fat digestibility, and similar fat digestibility values with enzyme supplementation were observed for canola seed (92.1 vs. 96.7%) and flaxseed (87.4 vs. 92.4%). Eggs produced by hens fed flaxseed had the greatest n-3 fatty acid content (562 mg/60 g of egg) when compared with those from hens consuming canola seed (207 mg/60 g of egg) or Linpro (427 mg/60 g of egg). Enzyme supplementation increased the egg n-3 content for the flaxseed diet (from 546 to 578 mg/60 g of egg; P = 0.01) and for the Linpro diet (from 415 to 438 mg/60 g of egg; P = 0.05). In addition, enzyme addition increased the egg docosahexaenoic acid content from 91.8 to 101.9 mg/60 g of egg (P < 0.01) and from 89.4 to 96.8 mg/60 g of egg (P = 0.01) for the flaxseed and Linpro diets, respectively. When compared with canola seed, long-term feeding of flaxseed to laying hens resulted in reduced egg production and eggshell quality. Enzyme supplementation had positive effects on feed utilization, eggshell quality, and n-3 fatty acid deposition in the egg.