Supplemental vitamin E and selenium effects on egg production, egg quality, and egg deposition of α-tocopherol and selenium

SUMMARY Diets were fed to laying hens for 12 wk during hot summer weather (34 to 35°C high temperatures daily) to investigate the effects of feeding higher levels of the dietary antioxidants dl -α-tocopherol and selenium (from 2 sources, inorganic or organic) on egg production and egg quality. High basal levels of selenium were present in the corn-soybean meal diets (0.25 ppm), resulting in selenium treatment levels of 0.55 or 0.75 ppm; supplemented α-tocopherol treatments were 50, 100, or 150 IU/kg of diet. Increasing dietary selenium had a positive effect on egg production and egg mass (g of egg/d) as well as stored egg vitelline membrane strength. Vitamin E supplementation did not affect egg production except during wk 7 of the trial, during a particularly hot period in which hens fed the higher levels of vitamin E (100 or 150 ppm) did not have a decline in egg production. Yolk vitelline membrane strength improved with vitamin E supplementation in fresh eggs and eggs stored for 2 wk. Vitamin E supplementation also affected egg pH, improving albumen pH by decreasing pH of freshly laid eggs. Yolk α-tocopherol increased linearly with vitamin E supplementation. Yolk selenium content also increased with dietary Se supplementation and was deposited more efficiently when feeding the organic source (Sel-Plex) compared with the inorganic source of selenium. In summary, vitamin E and selenium can be supplemented to a laying hen ration to improve the vitelline membrane strength of fresh and aged eggs while also increasing the levels of these nutrients in the egg yolk.