ISSUE FOCUS 74 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE February 2026 laying farm and housed in the high-rise layer facility at the University of Sydney’s Camden Campus. After an adaptation period of 5 weeks, during which the hens received standard commercial feed, the trial started. The animals were allocated into three groups. A control group with standard vitamin D levels in a control diet. Treatment 1 consisted of a control diet plus 75 g of activated vitamin D3 product/ton of feed, while Treatment 2 consisted of the control diet plus 125 g of activated vitamin D3 product/ton of feed. From the 60th week, following relevant data was collected, among others: Egg production, eggshell breaking strength, and eggshell thickness. PROMISING RESULTS In both treatment groups, shell thickness was maintained relatively throughout the trial, while dropped notably in the control birds at 80 weeks of age. Concurrently, supplementation of both concentrations of activated vitamin D3 maintained eggshell thickness compared to the control diet, indicating that activated vitamin D3 may counteract the decrease of shell thickness frequently observed as hens age, because it ensures the calcium absorption and transport to the eggshell. Significant improvements in relative shell weight and thickness indicate that supplementing activated vitamin D3 in older laying hens may benefit eggshell quality. Additionally, a numerical increase of laying performance indicates that the overall productivity is maintained compared to the control group. This finding shows that Active D is a promising tool for egg producers to achieve the goal of 100 weeks and 500 eggs and thus enables longer economic production. 0 30 60 120 90 Weeks of age % Egg production 58 80 Control Treatment 1 Treatment 2 Active D led to a higher egg production rate from week 58 to week 80. Photo: BELL KA PANG | Shutterstock Egg production over 80 weeks Treatment 1 Control Treatment 2 0 30 60 120 90 Weeks of age % Egg production 58-80 Egg production
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