Influence of diet on the fatty acid profile of chicken eggs

The aim of this study was to evaluate the zootechnical performance, quality and fatty acid profile of eggs from commercial layers fed diets containing 2% of two lipid sources (linseed and soy) and a combination of the two. The experimental procedure involved 194 commercial layers aged 129 weeks, divided into 5 cycles of 28 days, during which data was collected for the study. The statistical design was entirely randomized, with 6 treatments, the experimental unit being represented by a plot with 8 birds and 4 repetitions per treatment. The treatments consisted of a control diet (no vegetable oil) and diets including 2% vegetable oil (2,800 kcal ME/kg and 18% CP), with linseed oil substituted for soybean oil at 0, 25, 50, 75 and 100%, making up levels of 0.0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0% linseed oil in the diet.