Leading Research: in Feeding & Nutrition
Precision formulation of diets for laying hens can lead to significant cost savings to farmers through improved feed efficiency and better quality eggs. Investment in R&D will enable the development of practical nutritional management strategies which can be applied at a production system level to improve flock feed efficiency and egg quality.
The security of feed grains at economically viable prices is also important to egg business and will be pursued through cross-sector research collaboration. The outcomes of this investment will be to improve egg quality and reduce costs to egg businesses.
Key Resources
Current Research
Managing pullets for extended layer life, improved productivity and shell quality
The aim of this project is to understand how different lighting regimes and diets during rearing, either used singularly or together, can improve flock uniformity, egg production and persistency of production, egg size and egg quality, from 16 to 90+ weeks.
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Implementation of maximum profit layer diets
This short project builds on a recently completed project 'The economics of layer diet amino acid levels throughout lay'.
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Pullet to late layer nutrition
The outcome of this project will provide insight into how to optimise egg shell quality at peak lay through nutritional management from 18 weeks. Hens of lighter and average weight will be trial-fed on diets of either higher or lower nutritional density to 90 weeks.
Completed Research
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Total and Digestible Tryptophan Contents of Feedstuffs for Poultry
This report reviews the amino acid tryptophan which is an essential amino acid in the diet of Australian poultry.Reliable values of total and digestible tryptophan in feedstuffs are needed because tryptophan is often the third most limiting amino acid in poultry diets.
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Nutritional value of pearl millet as poultry feed
Due to the prediction that Australia will have to import significant quantities of feed grains which will inevitably lead to higher prices, it is essential that research be undertaken to find alternative feed sources for livestock, especially poultry, to reduce the increased cost of feeds and maintain an internationally competitive...
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The Relationship Between Calcium Nutrition, Appetite, Growth, Production and Skeletal Development in Early Egg
This research report examines the relationship between body weight, feed intake, calcium nutrition, egg production and skeletal calcium content in three experiments using imported brown egg layers.
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A Comparative Study of the Nutritive Values of Triticale and Wheat for Laying Hens
This study examines whether wheat can be substituted by triticale, a generally cheaper cereal grain, without prejudice to performance of the flock or egg quality.
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Nutritive value of Lupins for laying hens
The overall aim of this research project was to provide producers and feed formulators with clear guidelines on the economics of using whole and de-hulled lupins and the need for inclusion of enzymes in layer diets containing lupins.
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Evaluation of performance of hens fed high nutrient density diets post-moult
This study shows that the low calcium supplementation produces sustained improvements in post-moult performance. .
Want to see what an egg farm looks like? Take this interactive 360 degree tour to see how eggs are produced in Australia.
