Molt Versus Nonmolted
The only difference in egg component percentages
between molted and nonmolted hen was the percent
shell (Table 4). The molted hens put secreted increased
(P < 0.001) overall percent shell by 0.53% over the
nonmolted hens. This shows that the well-documented
improvement in shell strength can be influenced with
the use of the nonanorexic molt in the management of
laying hens (Bar et al., 2001).
The eggs from the nonmolted hens had higher (P <
0.01) saturated fat percentage than the molted hens
shown in Table 5. Other nutrient fat percentages were
not affected by the molt. Cholesterol levels were 18.3
mg higher (P < 0.01) in eggs from nonmolted hens.
Interestingly, the vitamin A content increased (P <
0.0001) by 42.2 IU/50 g in the eggs from the nonmolted
hens (Table 6). However, the vitamin E content of the
eggs were not influenced by the molt