Effect of Diet on Egg Composition

Abstract

Two groups of poultry diets, one containing a basal mixture moderately rich and the other a basal mixture deficient in vitamin B and vitamin G which had been found to affect egg production and hatchability, were studied for the effects of the diet of the hen on the vitamin B and vitamin G content of the eggs. Egg yolks produced on diets adequate in the vitamin B complex contained relatively more vitamin B than vitamin G, while the whole egg was relatively less potent in vitamin B than in vitamin G. Variations in the vitamin B content of the eggs were produced by the diets fed the hens. Eggs produced on a basal diet of hominy, meat meal, minerals, and cod-liver oil contained from one-third to one-half as much vitamin B as those produced on the same basal diet with rice bran or rice polish incorporated into the mixture or on normal diets containing ground whole cereal grains and mill feeds, with or without protein supplements. The variations in the vitamin G content were less pronounced. A 2 cc. dose of egg produced weekly gains in rats of 3.8 to 7.9 grams. Although none of the diets was unusually rich in vitamin G, the lack of difference in the eggs was noteworthy in view of the wide difference between the Group A and B diets. In certain cases the vitamin B content was equal to or in excess of the vitamin G content. The vitamin A content of the eggs was maintained at a high level by the addition of cod-liver oil to both groups of diets, although the basal diet of Group B produced eggs which were low in vitamin B and strikingly deficient in the yellow pigments usually associated with vitamin A. In the diets studied, the variation or lack of variation in those vitamins determined apparently bore little relation to the hatchability of the eggs.