The relationship between corn particle size and thermoregulation of laying hens in an equatorial semi-arid environment.

Heat stress is one of the main factors affecting egg production. One way to improve egg production is physical processing of the feed ingredients, allowing for better utilization of nutrients. In this study, the relationship between the corn particle size, measured as the geometric mean diameter (GMD), and thermoregulation was evaluated by determining the effect of the GMD on performance, egg quality, and physiological responses. Feed intake, eggshell quality (weight and thickness), rectal temperature (T R), respiratory rate (R R), and surface temperature (T S) were recorded in sixty 20-week-old naked neck laying hens that were fed corn of different particle sizes. Ambient temperature (T A) was also recorded during the trial. The GMD of corn particles was determined using a screens granulometer, resulting in sizes of 605, 1,030, and 2,280 μm. The analysis of variance (ANOVA) of a completely randomized design showed a significant effect (P < 0.05) of GMD on feed intake, shell weight, and shell thickness. The ANOVA performed by the least squares method showed a highly significant effect (P < 0.01) of GMD on T R and R R. T A, categorized into three classes (24.0-26, 26.1-28.9, and 29.0-31.0 °C), had a significant effect (P < 0.01) on T R and T S. The interaction between the GMD of corn particles and the T A classes was not statistically significant. Coarser corn particles cause an increase in the rectal temperature of naked neck hens, and these birds increase their respiratory rate to dissipate excess metabolic heat. This increase in the respiratory rate causes a decrease in the eggshell quality.