Twenty-five hydroxycholecalciferol as a cholecalciferol substitute in broiler breeder hen diets and its effect on the performance and general health of the progeny

Abstract

An experiment was conducted with broiler breeder hens to determine the relative biological value of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol (25-OHD3) compared with cholecalciferol (vitamin D3) for hen-day egg production, hatchability, embryo mortality (early, 1 to 10 d of incubation, late, 11 to 21 d), and body ash of the progeny. The study was conducted with 73-to-90-wk-old molted Ross broiler breeder hens in an environment excluding ultraviolet light. A basal vitamin D3 deficient diet supplemented with 4 levels of vitamin D3 (0, 3,125, 12,500, and 50,000 ng/kg of diet) and 2 levels of 25-OHD3 (3,125 and 12,500 ng/kg of diet) was fed. The relative biological values of 25-OHD3 in comparison to vitamin D3, using slope ratio techniques, were 138, 133, 128, and 111% for hen-day egg production, hatchability, late embryo mortality, and body ash of the progeny,, respectively (average = 128%). When comparing 25-OHD3 against D3 at the 3,125 ng/kg level, the relative biological values were 209, 167, 400, and 108% for the same criteria, respectively (average = 221%). However, at the 12,500 ng/kg level no statistical differences between 25-OHD3 and D3 were observed (average = 108%). Four trials were conducted to determine the effect of the maternal diet on the performance and leg abnormalities of the hens' progeny. In experiment 1, no vitamin D was added to the corn-soybean meal basal diet fed to the chicks, and in experiments 2, 3, and 4 the basal diet was supplemented with 27.5 microg of D3/kg of diet. In the progeny study, the average relative biological value of 25-OHD3 at the 3,125 and 12,500 ng/kg levels were 115 and 101%, respectively. The potency of 25-OHD3 in relation to vitamin D3 depended on the level tested. When comparing vitamin D sources, 25-OHD3 had greater potency than D3 only at very low levels of supplementation.

Effects of 25-hydroxycholecalciferol and soy isoflavones supplementation on bone mineralisation of quail

“…(Edwards, 1990;Rennie and Whitehead, 1996;Elliot and Edwards, 1997;Fritts and Waldroup 2003;Waldenstedt, 2006). Similarly, Atencio et al (2005) reported that increasing the 25-OH-D 3 AND ISOFLAVONES FOR QUAIL 713 level of 25-OH-D 3 in the chicks' diet significantly improved tibia ash and plasma Ca and reduced tibia dyschondroplasia and Ca rickets incidence. Fritts and Waldroup (2003) also found a higher potency for 25-OH-D 3 than vitamin D 3 in supporting tibia ash and in reducing the incidence and severity of tibia dyschondroplasia in broilers.…”

“…Similar to our results, Ledwaba and Roberson (2003) reported that as the level of 25-OH-D 3 increased in the diet body weight and tibia ash increased in chickens. Atencio et al (2005) also reported that increasing the level of 25-OH-D 3 in the chicks' diet significantly improved body weight gain and tibia ash. In addition, Soares et al (1995) reported 25-OH-D 3 may improve body weight and feed efficiency of broilers.…”

Effects of Maternal and Progeny Dietary Vitamin Regimens on the Performance of Ducklings

“…Increased tibia ash content of 1-day-old chicks was observed when maternal vitamin D 3 was increased from 0 to 4,000 IU/kg (Atencio et al, 2005b). Accordingly, the increased vitamin D 3 level in our maternal high-vitamin premix (4,000 IU/kg vitamin D 3 ) may have contributed to the improved tibia quality in 1-day-old progeny ducklings.…”

“…For example, in a study by Leeson and Caston (2003), the egg contents of all vitamins (except vitamin K) were increased when layers were fed a diet with 3-10 times more supplemental vitamins. Notably, vitamin enrichment of eggs not only can be used to produce functional products (Stadelman, 1999), but also benefits the antioxidant system and bone metabolism of the developing embryo (Surai, 2000;Atencio et al, 2006), thereby influencing the growth, development, and health status of the offspring (Atencio et al, 2005b;Lin et al, 2005).…”

Dynamic role of cholecalciferol in commercial chicken performance

“…Stressful conditions, such as high bird density, heat stress, mycotoxicosis, enteritis, malabsorption syndromes, and certain immune disorders may impair absorption or liver hydroxylation of cholecalciferol, which is one rationale for the use of vitamin D metabolites in poultry feed. Atencio et al (2005b) showed that 25-(OH)D 3 had very high biological potency at low dietary concentrations of 1,25-(OH) 2 D 3 and that the relative biological value of 1,25-(OH) 2 D 3 was higher for embryos than for hens. The biological activity of 25-(OH)D 3 is estimated to be 2-2.5-fold that of 1,25-(OH) 2 D 3 Ledwaba and Roberson, 2003).…”