DIETARY PRILLED FAT AND LAYER CHICKEN PERFORMANCE AND EGG COMPOSITION

Frilled and poultry fat were fed at 2% to 58-wk-old hens and at 4% to 26-wk-old hens for 8 wk. Comparisons by dietary fat source were made w ithin age groups for BW, feed consumption, egg production, egg weight, yolk cholesterol, and fatty acid composition, egg quality, plasma cho lesterol, dietary fatty acid utilization, dietary ME, and gastrointest inal transit time of feed. Old hens fed prilled fat had lower egg weig ht, increased egg production, lower plasma high density lipoprotein (H DL) cholesterol (P < 0.08), and reduced energy utilization. Young hens fed prilled fat were lighter in weight and had lower plasma total and low density and very low density lipoprotein cholesterol. Young hens fed prilled fat had a lower utilization of stearic acid (P < 0.07) but a higher utilization of linoleic acid. In both groups, prilled fat in creased yolk saturated fatty acids and decreased polyunsaturated fatty acids. Gastrointestinal transit time of feed was increased by 29 to 3 1 min (P < 0.09) in young and old hens fed prilled fat.