Effects of battery gage shape and dietary energy regulation on the performance of laying hens offered diets containing dried poultry manure

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Abstract
1. About 3000 medium‐weight hybrid chicks were used in a factorial experiment involving two “chick” treatments: diets containing 0 and 50 g dried poultry manure (DPM)/kg; three “grower” treatments, diets with and without 50 g DPM/kg given ad libitum and regulated amounts of the diet with DPM; five “layer” treatments: diets with 0, 100 or 200 g DPM/kg given ad libitum and regulated amounts of diets containing 110 and 220 g DPM/kg and two shapes of layer cages: deep (conventional) and shallow. 2. Chick diets had no significant effects on rearing or subsequent laying performance. 3. Food‐regulated pullets were 7% lighter than pullets given the DPM diet ad libitum at 18 weeks but consumed 12.5% less food; growing treatments had no significant effect on subsequent egg production. 4. Hens housed in shallow cages laid 10.3 eggs/bird‐housed more than those in deep cages, produced 3.8% greater egg mass, consumed 2.7% less food and produced fewer damaged (cracked, broken and hair‐cracked) eggs (P< 0.001). 5. DPM‐containing layer diets had no adverse effects on egg production, or mortality; with 100 g DPM/kg efficiency of food conversion (EFC) was better than with 0 or 200 g/kg (P< 0.001). 6. Reduction of the energy intake of L110R and L220R hens with diets containing 110 and 220 g DPM/kg by 8.2 and 9.0% respectively, reduced the number of eggs laid/hen‐housed by 6 and 10.7 but improved the EFG (P< 0.001); there was no significant interaction between cage shape and energy regulation.