Performance and eggs quality in laying hens fed diets with soybean and canola oils

The objective of this study was to evaluate the influence of soybean and canola oil added in crescent levels on production performance indexes and internal and external egg quality of brown commercial layers of the strain Bovans Goldline during five periods of 28 days. Two hundred and eighty hens with 18 weeks old were distributed in a completely randomized design, with seven diets in a 2 x 3 + 1 factorial arrangement (oil type and oil level, and an additional control), with 5 replicates of 8 hens per experimental unit. The soybean and canola oil levels did not affect the feed consumption; egg, albumen, yolk and shell weights; albumen, yolk and shell percentages, neither the specific gravity. There was an interaction between type and oils levels on egg production and mass conversion and per egg dozen. Better results for those characteristics were obtained as soybean oil increased. However, the egg mass conversion was negatively influenced by increase of canola oil. The addition of soybean oil promoted better performance as compared to canola oil.