Dietary supplementation combining apo-carotenoid acid ester and canthaxanthin can counteract any decline in egg albumen quality

The utilisation of carotenoids in hen diets can be inversely related to the dietary fibre content. The influence of dietary crude fibre level (CFL) and carotenoid supplementation (CRS) on laying and egg quality was studied in commercial layer hens from 51 to 60 weeks of age. The CRS was included as a blend of 0.5 mg of apo-carotenoid acid ester and 2.5 mg of canthaxanthin per kg of diet.2. The experimental design was a 2 × 2 factorial with two CFL (5.2% vs. 6.5%) and CRS levels (a basal diet with or without CRS). A total of 240 Hisex Brown laying hens were randomly assigned to one of the four treatment groups, with six replicates of 10 hens each.3. Laying performance and serum concentrations of triglyceride, cholesterol, carotenoid, malondialdehyde, superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase were not significantly influenced by CFL and CRS.4. An increase in CFL reduced egg yolk index by 3.5% (p p p p p < 0.01) on the albumen index, whereby CRS improved albumen index by 12% in hens fed a diet containing 6.5% CFL, whereas only a 3% increase was observed when CRS when CFL was added at 2%.6. The link between dietary fibre, carotenoid utilisation and internal egg quality highlighted the importance of considering the beneficial effects of supplemental carotenoids on albumen quality when increasing CFL above 6%. This can help address current concerns about the increase in fibre content in hen diets.