Effects of calcium source, particle size and time on in-vitro calcium solubility of some indigenous Nigerian mineral ingredients for poultry diets

Modification of a limestone solubility method and potential to correlate with in vivo limestone calcium digestibility

Work was done to modify a limestone solubility assay to improve predictions of in vivo apparent ileal digestibility of Ca (AID Ca) in broilers and impacts on AID P. Limestones (LIME) were obtained from 3 commercial sources. LIME-1 (0.633 mm mean diameter, GMD); LIME-2 (ground sub-sample of LIME-1, GMD = 0.063 mm); LIME-3 (GMD = 0.326 mm), and LIME-4 (GMD = 0.831 mm). Solubility was determined at 5, 15, and 30 min of incubation using either a 0.2 N HCl (S1) or a pH 3 HCl (pH = 0.26) solution buffered with 3 M glycine (S2) to mimic gizzard and proventriculus pH. An AID trial was conducted with 320 Ross 708 male broilers. Treatments (Trt) were no added LIME, or added LIME-1, 2, 3, and 4 to achieve 0.67% Ca, to a basal diet (no added inorganic P, 0.07% Ca) with or without 1,000 U phytase/kg (36 h, 23 to 24 D of age, n = 8, 4 birds/n). Distal ileal digesta was collected from all birds and pooled by pen. Irrespective of interaction, LIME solubilized quicker and more completely with S1 vs. S2 at all time points (P < 0.05). LIME-2 solubilized the quickest, while LIME-3 had the lowest solubility through all incubation times (P < 0.05). The AID Ca was 66.30, 47.46, 19.93, and 66.33% for LIME-1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively (0 U/kg, P < 0.05). Phytase inclusion increased AID Ca by 15% on average (P < 0.05). The AID P dig was highest in no LIME added diet (74.91%) and adding LIME reduced (P < 0.05) AID P to 23.14, 12.78, 65.47, and 37.40%, for LIME-1, 2, 3, and 4, respectively in the absence of phytase. Regression showed that GMD, 15- and 30-min solubility were critical for AID Ca (R2 between 0.978 and 0.988). In conclusion, the solubility dynamics including speed and extend of solubilization, rather than a single timepoint, yield better predictions for in vivo Ca digestibility of LIME.

Effects of different limestone particle sizes in the diet of broiler breeders post molting on their performance, egg quality, incubation results, and pre-starter performance of their progeny

An experiment was conducted to test the hypothesis that a coarse limestone diet improves productivity, reproductive performance and the calcium utilization of molted broiler breeders. In total, 640 broiler breeder females, 73-week-old and sixty-four 27-week-old cockerels, Cobb 500, were evaluated during 10 weeks, according to a randomized block design composed of 4 treatments with 8 replicates each. Treatments consisted of diets with the inclusion of 100% fine limestone-fine PS (0.2 mm GMD-geometric mean diameter); PS1: 30% fine limestone+70% limestone with 1.0 mm GMD; PS2: 30% fine limestone+70% limestone with 2.0 mm GMD; and PS3: 30% fine limestone+70% limestone with 3.0 mm GMD. Calcium retention in the gizzard of the breeders, bone characteristics, and breeder performance, egg characteristics, eggshell quality, incubation performance, chick quality and yield, chick pre-starter live performance, and chick bone characteristics were determined. There was no significant difference (P>0.05) in the rate of lay, percentage of non-settable eggs, egg weight, egg shape index, egg specific gravity, eggshell weight, thickness, and percentage hatchability and egg weight loss of broiler breeders fed with diets with different limestone particle sizes. The chick quality and yield, chick pre-starter live performance, and chick bone characteristics were not affected (P>0.05) by any of the limestone particle sizes. It was concluded that live and reproductive performance parameters of broiler breeders post molting is not affected by limestone particle size in the feed.

Physicochemical and sensory properties of milk supplemented with dispersible nanopowdered oyster shell during storage

The current study was carried out to investigate the dispersibility of powdered oyster shell (POS), nanopowdered oyster shell (NPOS), and Zn-activated nanopowdered oyster shell (Zn-NPOS) in milk and to determine effects of adding oyster shell on the physicochemical and sensory properties of milk during storage at 4°C for 16 d. To ensure dispersibility, 10% (wt/vol) oyster shell was added to distilled water and stirred at 800 rpm for 2 h, and then the emulsifier 0.5% polyglycerol monostearate (PGMS) was added and stirred continually for 24 h. The particle sizes of POS, NPOS, and Zn-NPOS were 180μm, 389 nm, and 257 nm, respectively. The pH values of all milk samples ranged from 6.62 to 6.88 during storage, and the zeta-potential of milks with NPOS and Zn-NPOS added were more stable than that of milk with POS in low concentrations (0.5 and 1.0%, vol/vol) during storage. The L and a color values of the milks were not significantly influenced by treatment; however, the b value (yellow-blue color) significantly increased during storage after adding POS, NPOS, or Zn-NPOS. Sensory analysis revealed that sedimentation score significantly increased with POS-supplemented milk, but the NPOS- and Zn-NPOS-supplemented milks did not show sedimentation until after 8 d of storage. Based on the data obtained, we conclude that dispersible nanosized oyster shell at concentrations of 0.5 and 1.0% (vol/vol) could be supplemented to milk without significant adverse effects on physicochemical and sensory properties.

Impacts of Limestone Multi-particle Size on Production Performance, Egg Shell Quality, and Egg Quality in Laying Hens

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of single or multi-particle size limestone on the egg shell quality, egg production, egg quality and feed intake in laying hens. A total of 280 laying hens (ISA brown) were used in this 10-wk trial. Laying hens were randomly assigned to 4 treatments with 14 replications per treatment and 5 adjacent cages as a replication (hens were caged individually). The experimental treatments were: i) L, basal diet+10% large particle limestone; ii) LS1, basal diet+8% large particle limestone+2% small particle limestone; iii) LS2, basal diet+6% large particle limestone+4% small particle limestone; iv) S, basal diet+10% small particle limestone. The egg production was unaffected by dietary treatments. The egg weight in S treatment was lighter than other treatments (p<0.05). The egg specific gravity in S treatment was lower than other treatments (p<0.05). The eggshell strength and eggshell thickness in S treatment were decreased when compared with other dietary treatments (p<0.05). The laying hens in LS1 and LS2 treatment had a higher average feed intake than the other two treatments (p<0.05). Collectively, the dietary multi-particle size limestone supplementation could be as efficient as large particle size limestone.