Utilização de pimenta calabresa (Capsicum baccatum) em ração de aves poedeiras para avaliação da qualidade de ovos

Abstract

Eggs are one of the most consumed foods in Brazil, due to their rich nutritional composition and market value. The use of phytogenic additives extracted from medicinal plants, herbs or spices can have a positive effect on production and animal health. This project analyzed egg quality considering the addition of Calabrian pepper (Capsicum baccatum) in the composition of a feed already used to feed laying birds. The work was carried out at the Federal Technological University of Paraná (UTFPR), Dois Vizinhos Campus, in the laying hen aviary, where 30 birds were used, divided into two treatments, the control and the test with the addition of 1% Calabrian pepper to the feed, and kept in individual metal cages. The eggs were analyzed six times, on days 7, 14, 21, 28 and 35 of the experiment. Quality parameters such as yolk color, egg weight, yolk weight, albumen weight, shell weight, shell thickness, yolk index, albumen index, yolk height, albumen height, yolk diameter, albumen diameter (smaller/denser and larger/liquid), yolk percentage, albumen percentage and shell percentage were evaluated. The birds were weighed on the days the eggs were collected to monitor their body weight during the experiment, and feed consumption was measured by collecting and weighing the leftovers every day. There was a difference in the average yolk coloration between the treatments in the first two weeks, with the control treatment showing an average coloration of 5.34, and the pepper with an average of 6.09. In the first week, the pepper group's consumption (89.7 g/bird/day) was lower than the control group (108.8 g/bird/day), but stabilized over the next few weeks. The other parameters obtained similar total averages between the treatments, and there were significant differences only in specific weeks regarding yolk color and feed consumption.