IMPACTO DO USO DE OLERÍCOLAS NA QUALIDADE DO OVO DE GALINHAS POEDEIRAS

Abstract

The high cost of feed has led producers, especially family farmers, to seek alternatives to reduce production costs. The objective of this study was to evaluate the use of vegetable crops as an economical food alternative for laying hens in semi-intensive systems, focusing on their impact on egg quality. The experiment was conducted in a randomized design with 4 replications, each replication consisted of 50 laying hens. The layers were arranged in five wings, each wing corresponding to a treatment. The treatments were: T1) Control (diet); T2) Pumpkin + feed; T3) Beets + feed; T4) Broccoli + feed; T5) Cabbage + feed. Weekly and for a period of four weeks, the eggs were evaluated for egg weight, yolk weight, albumen weight, shell weight, yolk color, egg density, egg length and egg width. These analyses were evaluated to identify the effects between treatments and behavior over the four weeks. The data were submitted to analysis of variance and the means were compared by Tukey's test at 5 % probability. Supplementary feeding with vegetables did not influence the characteristics egg weight (PMO), yolk weight (PMG), albumen weight (PMA), shell weight (PMC), egg length and width. Feeding with pumpkin and cabbage promoted more intense yolk coloration and pumpkin favored the increase in density in relation to the control. For the weekly evaluations, an increase in PMO, PMG, PMC, density, egg length and width was verified. The research suggests that the use of vegetable crops can be an economic strategy for small producers, taking advantage of plant residues and improving animal welfare, without compromising egg quality.