LEUCAENA LEUCOCEPHALA SEEDMEAL IN THE DIETS OF LAYING HENS AND ITS EFFECT ON EGG YOLK PIGMENTATION

The performance of layers on various dietary levels of Leucaena leucocephala seedmeal (LSM) was investigated. One hundred and fifty Dutch Golden Line pullets in their third month of lay, were randomly allotted to five treatments, in which LSM was incorporated at levels of O, 2, 4, 6 and 8%. The study lasted thirteen weeks: ten weeks on experimental and three weeks on basal diets. Egg yolk color, average daily feed intake, percent egg production, egg weight, feed conversion ratio and liveweight gain were performance indices. Egg yolk color was significantly (P < 0.05) enhanced by LSM (at all levels) over control. Layers on 2% and 4% LSM produced significantly (P < 0.05) more eggs than hens on 0, 6 and 8% LSM; the highest production was recorded by hens on 4% LSM. This trend was maintained even after treatment withdrawal. Eggs from pullets on 4% and 6% LSM were significantly (P < 0.05) heavier than eggs from the rest of the treatments. Although the difference between 4% and 6% was not significant the heaviest eggs were collected from birds on 4% LSM. Data collected in this study tend to recommend incorporation of LSM in layers' diets at levels not more than 4%.