Vitamin profiles of eggs as indicators of nutritional status in the laying hen: vitamin B12 study

Hens of a type used for egg production were fed a corn and soybean meal diet supplemented with no vitamin B12 or with vitamin B12 levels to provide one, two, or four times the National Research Council (1984) breeding hen requirement of 4 micrograms/kg diet for 27 wk. All hens were placed on a recovery diet containing one and one-half times the requirement level of vitamin B12 from Weeks 27 through 30. Egg yolk vitamin B12 concentrations were determined frequently by radioisotope dilution analysis. Egg production records were kept continuously, and eggshell thickness, egg weight, hatchability of eggs, and hen body weights were measured at selected times. Although egg yolk vitamin B12 concentrations were high at the outset, they decreased markedly in 2 wk from hens fed the two lowest dietary levels. After 12 wk on the diets, egg concentrations of vitamin B12 stabilized and were proportional to the amount of vitamin added to the diet. Egg concentrations of vitamin B12 between 1.3 and 2.6 micrograms/100 g yolk appeared to be needed to support maximum hatchability and egg weight. Egg production was reduced after 12 wk on the diets in the hens fed the two lowest vitamin B12 levels. As vitamin B12 level increased, shell thickness decreased and egg weight, hen weight, and hatchability increased. Maximum egg production, egg weight, hen weight, and hatchability were obtained when the diet contained 8.0 micrograms/kg of vitamin B12. Egg yolk vitamin B12 concentrations respond rapidly to dietary changes in the level of this vitamin and are indicative of the vitamin B12 status of the hen.