Treated fava bean (Vicia faba var. minor) as substitute for soybean meal in diet of early phase laying hens: egg-laying performance and egg quality.

The objective of this study was to determine the effect of dietary dehulled-micronized fava bean (Vicia faba var. minor) seed on egg production, egg weight, feed conversion ratio, eggshell quality, and egg yolk color. In this trial, 18-wk-old laying hens in the early phase of production (ISA Brown) were randomly assigned to 2 groups and fed durum wheat middlings-based diets containing soybean or micronized-dehulled fava bean meal as the main protein source. Eggs were collected and weighed daily. Laying performance, egg quality, and feed conversion ratio were evaluated for 10 wk. The only significant effect detected was for feed intake (P<0.05), which was lower in hens fed the diet containing fava bean than for hens fed soybean meal, without however any negative effects on feed efficiency. None of the egg quality parameters studied were influenced by dietary treatment, except for yolk color score that was reduced in hens fed the fava bean diet (P<0.05). We conclude that dehulled-micronized fava beans in the diet did not have a negative influence on productive performance or egg quality of young brown hens.