Withdrawal of zinc oxide‐containing diets from mature, female domestic fowl: Effects on laying performance and the weights of selected tissues

Abstract

1. Two hundred and sixteen laying hens of two strains were given diets containing ZnO to provide 0, 0.5, 0.75, 1.00, 1.25, 1.50, 2.00, 3.00 or 4.00 g added Zn/kg. These diets were given ad libitum for 5 consecutive 28‐d periods. All hens subsequently received the control diet with no added ZnO for 5 weeks.

2. Four hens from each treatment were killed 0, 1 and 5 weeks after substitution of the ZnO‐supplemented diets by the control diet.

3. The adverse effects of the ZnO‐containing diets on body weight, food intake, egg production, pancreas, gizzard, oviduct and ovary weights/kg body weight were reversed by removal of the ZnO from the diets.

4. Five weeks after withdrawal egg production of the group which had received the diet with the highest concentration of added ZnO was only 50% of that of the control birds.

5. The beneficial effect of the added ZnO on internal egg quality was not maintained after withdrawal of the ZnO‐containing diets.