The calcium and phosphorus requirements of laying hens

Synopsis

Two experiments were carried out with a modern hybrid laying strain to establish the calcium requirement for maximum egg production. The first experiment, with three calcium concentrations of 1.7, 2.8 and 3.9 per cent indicated that with 0.55 Per cent dietary phosphorus the requirement for calcium was between 1.7 per cent and 2.8 per cent. Dietary phosphorus supplements added to the mixed cereal diets containing 0.55 per cent phosphorus were without effect on production or the conclusions reached. In a subsequent experiment with four dietary calcium concentrations between 2.3 and 3.3 per cent there was no significant improvement in egg production above 2.6 per cent calcium.

In both experiments the lower production at the lower levels of calcium concentration was associated with reduced food intake. Measurements made in the first experiment showed an increasing shell thickness round the equator of the egg with increasing dietary calcium. In this experiment also a small practical test concerned with cracking of the egg shell in boiling water, indicated that incidence of cracks did not alter as the laying cycle progressed and that resistance to cracking was greatest at the highest dietary calcium concentration.