Effect of graded levels of niacin in corn-soy and wheat-soy diets on laying hens.

An experiment was conducted using commercial egg-type hens to investigate their response to various levels of niacin supplementation of diets. Layer performance, hen nervousness, fertility, and hatchability were observed. No significant differences were found among dietary treatments for hen-day egg production, feed conversion, hen nervousness, mortality, fertility, or hatchability. Birds receiving wheat-soy diets consumed significantly (P less than .05) more feed and laid smaller eggs with higher specific gravity than hens fed corn-soy diets.