1. This study assessed the impact of replacing two thirds of a soybean meal (SBM) based diet with an alternative protein (AP) based diet (sunflower and rapeseed meal), when fed to end of production Hy-Line Brown laying hens.2. Diets were fed in seven cages, each containing six birds aged from 75 to 83 weeks old. Measured variables included bird performance, egg production, quality variables of fresh eggs, total tract digestibility of dry matter (DMD), neutral detergent fibre (NDFD), fat (FD), and nitrogen corrected apparent metabolisable energy (AMEn).3. No significant differences were observed (P > 0.05) for egg production, egg composition or egg quality. However, birds fed the AP diet had darker yolks (P < 0.05), possibly linked to natural pigments in AP.4. The SBM diet had higher AMEn, DMD and NDFD (P < 0.05), although FD was higher in the AP diet (P < 0.05).5. Diets based on AP sources can be fed to aged laying hens without deteriorating productive performance, providing care is taken in formulating diets (e.g. amino acid levels, balance etc). Using AP sources may reduce reliance on SBM associated with land use change, contributing towards sustainability for the egg industry.
Keywords: Alternative protein; bird performance; egg quality; poultry; sustainability.