Effect of feeding quality protein maize ( <i>Zea mays</i> L.) on egg production and quality in Bovans Brown layers

The study evaluated the effects of substituting quality protein maize (QPM) for normal maize (NM) on egg production and egg quality in layer chickens. In the treatment setup, QPM replaced NM at 0% (T1), 25% (T2), 50% (T3), 75% (T4), and 100% (T5). A total of 120 Bovans Brown hens at the laying stage were randomly assigned to the five treatments for 11 weeks. Significant differences (p < 0.05) were observed among treatments for hen-day egg production (HDEP), egg mass per hen per day (EM, g/hen/day), albumen height, albumen width, albumen index, and Haugh unit. HDEP and EM were significantly higher in T5 and T4 compared with the control (T1). The overall average laying rate was 88.6%. Similarly, the Haugh unit, albumen height, albumen width, and albumen index were significantly higher in T4 and T5. Feed conversion ratio (FCR) was not significantly affected (p > 0.05) by the diets, but birds fed higher QPM levels (T4 and T5) showed numerically lower FCR values, suggesting a potential improvement in feed efficiency. The results indicate that replacing NM with QPM at 75% or 100% significantly improves egg production and egg quality. Further research should examine the bioavailability of lysine and tryptophan in QPM relative to synthetic sources.