Quality of foraging material and effect on hens feed intake, egg production and -quality

Summary

The study shows that different kinds of foraging material can influence both egg-production and quality in organic egg production.
The composition of nutrients in the silages and carrots used in the present study was very different in content of protein, Met, starch and fibre. The particular batch of alfalfa silage used had a high content of protein and Met, which could contribute with essential amino acids. Diets based entirely on 100% organic feed ingredients could limit the supply of especially Met. Unfortunately, the alfalfa silage was also high in fibre content.
The results imply the importance of using foraging material of a high quality and further studies on the quality of other types of silages or vegetables are relevant in order to obtain an optimal organic eggproduction with a high egg quality.