Abstract

The effect of various levels of malted barley grain (MBG) on the laying performance and egg quality of white leghorn pullets was investigated. A total of 180 white leghorn pullets were randomly assigned to four dietary treatments consisting of 0%, 10%, 20% and 30% barley as a replacement for maize. There were 45 birds per treatment and three replicates of 15 birds and the experiment was laid in a completely randomized design. The evaluated traits were egg production, egg weight, egg mass, feed consumption, feed conversion ratio, shell thickness, yolk weight, shell weight, yolk index, yolk diameter, yolk height, albumen height, yolk color and Haugh unit. The result showed significant increase in feed consumption, yolk color, albumen weight and shell thickness (P<0.01) and body weight gain and sample egg weight (P<0.05), but it had no significant effects on other traits measured. Therefore, since MBG did not negatively affected laying performance and product quality, it can be replaced for maize grain as a source of energy up to 30%.