Carotenoids in Eggs and Plasma of Red‐Legged Partridges: Effects of Diet and Reproductive Output

Abstract

Carotenoids are important dietary constituents in birds. They serve as pigments and play numerous physiological roles in both the laying hen and developing embryo. However, factors determining the absorption of carotenoids and their allocation to different functions are numerous and complex, and causal relationships are generally poorly known. Our objective was to determine the degree to which carotenoid levels in egg yolks and the plasma of hens were influenced by differences in diet and reproductive output in captive red-legged partridges. Carotenoid concentrations were measured by high performance liquid chromatography in two feeds (high and low carotenoid content) and in yolks and plasma of hens near the start and end of laying. Early in the laying season, plasma and yolk carotenoids varied with diet and were correlated with one another. Late in the season, a dietary effect was evident only for yolks, and there was no relationship between plasma and egg levels of individual hens. However, plasma carotenoids at the end of laying were strongly correlated with the number of eggs that had been laid. Dietary availability, although important, could explain some variation in carotenoid levels in plasma and egg yolks only in the context of reproductive history.

Effects of maternal carotenoid availability in relation to sex, parasite infection and health status of nestling kestrels (Falco tinnunculus)

“…Also, as expected, experimentally increased dietary intake of carotenoids before laying always increased the concentration in egg yolk, not only in captive birds (e.g. Bortolotti et al, 2003;Surai and Sparks, 2001;, but also in several species of natural bird populations (Berthouly et al, 2007;Biard et al, 2005;Blount et al, 2002a;Blount et al, 2002b;Ewen et al, 2006;McGraw et al, 2005;Remes et al, 2007;Royle et al, 2003), suggesting that carotenoid availability might be generally limited for breeding females.…”

“…Biard et al, 2005;Bortolotti et al, 2003;Karadas et al, 2005;Koutsos et al, 2003;Remes et al, 2007;Schaeffer et al, 1998;Surai et al, 2003;. In addition, maternal circulating carotenoids showed a significant correlation with the mean clutch concentration of carotenoids in poultry (Schaeffer et al, 1998) and gulls (Blount et al, 2002b).…”

Effects of Replacing Corn with Rice or Brown Rice on Laying Performance, Egg Quality, and Apparent Fecal Digestibility of Nutrient in Hy-Line Brown Laying Hens

“…Egg yolk color is a major concern to consumers and greatly affects their purchasing behavior (DeGroote, 1970;Fletcher, 1999). Although xanthophylls containing diet does not provide higher nutrition levels, enhancements are observed in pigmentation of egg yolk (Bortolotti et al, 2003;Na et al, 2004;Wang et al, 2007). Maize is one of the most important ingredients of laying hens fed contains lutein, zeaxanthin, which are the main xanthophylls in egg yolks (NRC, 1994).…”

Age and Breeding Effort as Sources of Individual Variability in Oxidative Stress Markers in a Bird Species

“…Experimental increases in carotenoid availability in food led to higher yolk-carotenoid levels and better hatchability in some bird and fish species ( Grether et al 2008). In red-legged partridges, a negative correlation between circulating carotenoids before laying and clutch size has been reported (Bortolotti et al 2003). Unfortunately, these authors did not analyze hatching success.…”