Effect of rice distiller’s dried grains with soluble in diet on production performance and economics of eggs production in layers

Adkine, A.C., Khose, K.K., Nikam M.G., Gangabe,, G.R., Munde V.K., Waghamare, R.N. and Kekan, P.M. 2025. Effect of rice distiller’s dried grains with soluble in diet on production performance and economics of eggs production in layers. Indian Journal of Poultry Science, 60(1): 29-36. This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effect of dietary rice distiller’s dried grains with soluble (rDDGS) on egg production, egg weight, and the economics of egg production in laying hens. The study utilized 144 BV-300 layers, aged 59 weeks, over a 12-week period. Birds were randomly allocated into four dietary treatments (T1 to T4) with 36 birds per group and six replicates per group. The control group (T1) was fed a basal diet formulated according to BV-300 strain recommendations. Treatments T2, T3, and T4 included rDDGS at 5%, 10%, and 15%, respectively, by replacing soybean meal in the diet. The inclusion of rDDGS at 0, 5, 10, and 15% (T1, T2, T3, T4, respectively) had no significant influence on live body weight, feed consumption, and hen-housed egg production. However, weekly egg production percentage was significantly higher (P<0.05) in T2 compared to T3 and T4. Egg weight was significantly lower (P<0.05) in T4 than in T1 and T2. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) based on egg number was significantly better (P<0.05) in T2 than in T3 and T4. Furthermore, weekly FCR based on egg mass was significantly better (P<0.01) in T2 than in T4. The cost of production per egg was Rs. 4.42, 4.19, 4.06, and 3.88 for T1, T2, T3, and T4, respectively. Consequently, the net profit per egg was Rs. 0.08, 0.31, 0.44, and 0.62 for the respective treatments. In conclusion, rDDGS can be included in layer diets at up to 15% as a replacement for soybean meal without adversely affecting body weight, feed intake, egg production, or FCR. The 15% inclusion level was the most economically beneficial due to a reduced feed cost and lower cost of egg production.