THE PROTEIN REQUIREMENTS OF LAYING HENS IN FLOOR PENS AND INDIVIDUAL CAGES

Abstract

Diets varying in protein content from 10.9 to 16.7 per cent were fed over a 336-day laying period to hens in both floor pens and individual laying cages. All rations were approximately iso-caloric, the mean productive energy value being 825 Calories per pound. Each ration was fed to 200–240 hens in four floor pens and to 90–96 hens in individual cages.A crude protein level of 13 per cent of the diet proved adequate for egg production, but egg weights and body weights were improved when the dietary protein was increased. Egg shell quality was highest on low protein diets. Interior egg quality was not affected by the protein level in the diet.On comparable diets, birds in individual laying cages laid fewer eggs and consumed less feed than birds in floor pens. Caged birds were heavier in body weight and laid heavier eggs with thicker shells than their counterparts in floor pens. The criteria employed in the measurement of interior egg quality showed no differences between the cage and pen environments, nor did there appear to be any differences in protein requirements between the two environments.