Do High Energy Feeds Contribute To Layer Prolapse? And Egg bound?

Hi Sir Steve Tan, Seems like you have young flock. At this age layers are prone to prolapse since their reproductive organ is not yet well developed. Your question, does high energy diet contributes to prolapse? The answer is a big YES. High energy diet influences the size of the egg. It is one of the factors that can influence egg size. Check the egg size if it is on the standard. If your layers are producing bigger eggs at this age we cannot evade prolapse. You should also know the amount of energy, fat, protein and amino acid (methionine) in the feeds. These are the factors. Adjust the feed intake gradually but make sure daily nutrients requirement are met. Be aware that it is critical to adjust feed intake during peak period. Check also your lighting program, the length of lighting and intensity. God Bless

Hi Stevan, Dr. lagua is rightly mentioned that high energy feed in young birds can cause prolapse. High energy feed based on high maize percent contains high linoleic acid. More linoleic acid increases size of eggs. Check the feed formulation and adjust the linoleic acid content. Check size of egg.

Il est vrai que l'aliment riche en énergie peut contribuer au développement de prolapsus.( quel niveau d'énergie avez-vous ?) Vous travaillez avec des souches de poules assez précoces et productives. L'aliment riche en énergie à cet âge 20 / 28 semaines n'est pas trop un problème. En plus vous dites que vous travaillez avec une température de 28/30 degrés. Cette température élevée va limiter la consommation d'aliment. Par contre vous avez sûrement des poules qui ne sont pas au poids optimal. Si ces poules démarrent trop vite en ponte , il y aura des accidents de ponte (inflammation, ponte abdominale) d'où le prolapsus et la mortalité. Attention au picage

Yes High Energy feed do cause prolapse in young flock. The best way to control this is to feed the birds abt 10grams below standard, this has been done in my over years and has really helped. The production is not affected. Also the birds shd be fed during cooler hrs of the day.

l'aliment ponte est un aliment riche en energie c'est normale pour une production d'œufs il faut cette energie mais le vraie probleme c'est au niveau de la periode d'elevage un aliment trop energetique fait qu'ont a des pondeuses plus gras et a l'entree en ponte ont aura des prolapsus due a un depot de graisse autour du cloaque et donc prolapsus et retention d'œufs et obstruction par la suite et peritonite lors de chaleur il ya mobilisation de graisses qui peut donnez du SFG(syndrome du foie gras hemoragique) juste une remarque cans ce site j'aime envoyer des cas mais vos commentaires sont en anglais et vous nous obliger a commenter avec une langue que je maitrise pas il faut essayer de me comprendre par une traduction dans internet merci

Mr. Tan, it seems that the flock was brought to production aggresively. I also practice using high dense feeds to young flock and the result was good. i think there is a problem with the pullet preparation.

Hi, Thank's for your response. We slowly shifting our feeds from high energy to high density feeds. When will we see the result of it? We started lighting our birds at 21weeks ( body weight is +93grams ) and 20weeks ( body weight +73grams ). Sorry for my bad english. :) Does supplementing the bird with calcium in water everyday lessen the incident of prolapse? Thanks!

You dont need to change your diet, just adjust the feed intake/bird/day. Reduce the feed intake. And make sure the length of lighting should be only 14 to 16 hours. More than that egg size will increase. The bottom line here is "reduce or correct the egg size." You should follow the standard of Lohmann (Body weight, egg production and egg size) so you have guide and you will know what to correct. Thanks

Supplementing calcium is not necessary. Thanks

Hi Steven, what levels of Metabolizable Energy and Crude Protein are your using for your first layer feed when the problem was first seen? What is the bodyweight of the pullets when you began increasing the light hours at 21 weeks old? Under normal situation if the pullets' internal organ and body frame development are optimum, you shouldn't be experiencing prolapse. I have also noticed that Lohmann Brown and White are quite susceptible to prolapse due to their egg weight increasing rapidly after point-of-lay.

@ Dr. Lagua: Hi, Thank's for helping us. Our feed intake is 103.9gram/day/hen, lohman standard is 105grams. Our lighting program are 4:30am to 6:00am then 6:00pm - 8:00pm. Our Layer house is open sided. We weighted our birds just right now and they weight 1,594grams, 36grams short from lohman standard. @ Dr. Sivaram: We don't know the energy level of the feeds but we suspect it's the high energy feeds. In the other house we had another lohman breed but we shift the feeds like this from prelay to high density to high energy, Mortaliy ranging from 5 to 8hds per day. But now when we shift our feeds from prelay to high energy skipping high density, The mortality increase from 10 to 15hds per day.

TO AVOID DAMAGE: • If the flock is laying a lot (more than 4%) double-yolked eggs, gently restrict feed intake (about 5-10% less than they eat ad libitum). • Observe vent-pecking behaviour and isolate them from the flock. • Reduce the lighting • Round or blunt the beaks of the aggressive hens by using a hot cauterizing blade. • Consider a very low wattage red-colored bulb. If birds can not distinguish the color of the everted shell gland from the background of colors, they may not be as prone to cause damage. TREATMENT: Treatment of prolapsed hens with estradiol benzoate resulted in 89% of the birds recovering within 3 weeks compared to a 4% recovery rate in the controls. (Shemesh M, Shore L, Lavi S, Ailenberg M, Bendheim U, Totach A, Weisman Y; The role of 17 beta-estradiol in the recovery from oviductal prolapse in layers; Poult Sci. 1984 Aug; 63(8):1638-43)

hi Sir steve Tan if the prolapses is the problem just check your feed spec. maybe your energy requirements is too high and also the amino acids requirement specially the methionine adjust gradually..or adjust the feed intake gradually...but proper monitoring must be implemented because reducing intake is to critical in young flocks..

Avoid high energy rations in pre laying stage. High energy rations between 16-22weeks lead to higher fat deposition and also lead to early maturity. Too early maturing flocks, say staring at 17th week and reaching 50% production by 21 weeks show tendency of true prolapse (may not be accomanied by vent picking). Flocks with body weights on higher side mature early and pick up production very fast, also leading to true prolapse. It is better no to start artificial light to these flocks before 22 weeks. Early lighting will lead to true prolapse in early maturing over weight fatty birds.

Hi Stevan High energy diet leads to high LA content in feed and affect the egg size If it is a young flock the levels of methionine should be checked in feed which is corelated to egg size and egg mass. Please have check on most imp.3 factors in final feed Energy Linoleic Acid content Methionine As they are corelated each other.

I am Dr m Usman haider from Pakistan working in poultry last 27 years consultan in cages layers in different areas of Pakistan in my opinion some major causes of prolapse are.1 during rearing of flock under wt birds which not fully developed their reprodutive track 2.when Bird shift in laying house owner of farm try to use less intake of feed from recommend std so feed mill Owner increased ME and CP which increase the fat pad in Bird cause prolapse and fatty liver.3.high density of light also use bright light cause prolapse 4.deficiency of ca in feed cause 5.when contraction of calocal muscle is less egg bound.6.liver damage Bird more prone to prolapse because metabolism feed not proper done and std Bird loos their wt regularly and below std body wt prolapse and egg bound occur. So if we see also these over mentioned things control less chance of prolapse and egg bound occur. Precautions measures are 1.keen Watch during rearing Bird body wt especially from 12 week up to 16 week 2.always use feed formulation according to Bird manual book accordingly their weeks of age not your own and feed mill Owner decision.3 always use golden warm light energy saver not white bright light. 4.in feed use ca and phosphorus according to book. 5.if see prolapse then use vitamin c 1g/2 lit in 4000lit drinking water daily to reduce stress during making of egg process.6.if Bird liver and kidney is OK then prolapse chance less and mortality also less feed metabolism is good and no healthy Bird become under wt.thanx for future information to save your flock from these problems particularly in cages system Bird contact on 092 03224444916. God blessed on every one.

Hi Steven, I feel that the underlying cause of your problem is the insufficient body and skeletal development of your pullets. Under our hot tropical conditions where appetite is always being suppressed, young pullets tend to be underweight with much smaller body frame. So when they come into lay or photo stimulated, the eggs are likely obstructed by the smaller cloaca and vent, resulting in prolapse. There is very little we can do once prolapse happens as it is impossible to "fix" the body of an adult hen. I will usually reduce dietary energy and crude protein, while maintaining enough essential amino acids, and increasing crude fibre by adding more Wheat Middlings (5-8%) in the layer feed. Avoid using very-high energy cereals like Broken Rice for both pullets and layers in high-risk farms. Lay % and egg weight may drop a bit when you switch to a lower density feed but this is still better than suffering high mortality daily. It is imperative that you try to correct as many weaknesses that you can detect during your pullet rearing stage. I advise my customers to build a heavier and bigger framed pullet as early as 6 weeks old. I recommend feeding a high-spec mash chick feed with 5% hydrolysed soya to chicks from 0-5 weeks old. By doing so, do not be surprised to see your pullets weighing a week ahead of standard at 5 week old. Next important is to prevent your pullets from becoming fat or obese during the Developer phase (10-17 weeks old) and this is done by using a low-energy, low protein, high fibre coarse feed. This builds up the appetite capacity of the pullet so they can quickly increase their feed intake from point-of lay onwards. As long as their feed intake is increasing nicely, the young hen's bodyweight will increase in tandem with egg production and this reduces the risk of prolapse happening.

hello Mr. Steven. We can not simple say high energy diet will cause prolapse, but how it contribute to egg size. otherwise you have to see other things... 1) Please check the body weight. If low body weight birds are there you have to separate them from normal body weight birds. 2) Check the internal organ development and body frame from dead birds. 3) If you are facing this problem continuously, review the brooding & grower management, nutrition and lighting increment procedure. 4)Note more possible reasons from your review. Follow fish bone analytic method to omit or select the possible causes. Prolapse primarily related to poor body frame/skeletal development and poor development of oviduct. Sometimes I faced some management factors also such as beak trimming ( Pecking), spaces. but this happened to birds with very low or high body weight. I think the above certain point might helpful....

There is no effective treatment for prolapse. Prevention is the best method of control. Only photostimulate your pullets when they have reached the right body weight and age. This will vary from breed to breed but is typically around 17 weeks of age. Feed only balanced feed rations specifically formulated for pullets and then layers. Do not use high-intensity light. Chickens are more sensitive to light than humans, and excessive light can result in aggressive behavior. If your flock is laying more than one double-yolked egg per 25 hens per day, reduce their daily feed consumption slightly.

I encountered the same problem, I have open housed farm population 8800 lohman brown, age 21 weeks, just three consecutive days the mortality increase to 6 hens per day because of prolapse.. my house production now is 46%, and got 3,5% increase per day. My feed intake 105g/hen, body weight at 20 weeks 1,522 grams/hen uniformity 85%, Double egg yolk not over 10 eggs per day. Right now my lighting program is 16 hours. My feeds lab result : protein : 17.6 , fat/oil 4,14, fiber 2,79, Ca 4.09, Na 0.16 K 0.91 P 0.6, before prolapse case, my vet give drugs amoxycilin collistin 600grms/day for five days.. 2 days after medication prolapse began happened.. any suggestion what should i do? thanks for advice..