Red palm oil (RPO) has high nutritional value but it has not been widely used as poultry feed material. The aim of this study was to examine the short-term effects of RPO as poultry feed material on laying performance, egg quality, egg yolk colour, content of carotenoids and fatty acid profile in the yolk. Eightyfour Khaki Campbell ducks (50 weeks of age) were studied for eight weeks to examine the effects of RPO on the above characteristics. Dietary treatments were as follows: i) Control group (contains 30 g kg^–1 soyabean oil), ii) 10 g kg^–1 RPO (10 g kg^–1 RPO+20 g kg^–1 soyabean oil), iii) 20 g kg^–1 RPO (20 g kg^–1 RPO+10 g kg^–1 soyabean oil), and iv) 30 g kg^–1 RPO (contains 30 g kg^–1 RPO). RPO supplementation increased feed intake, improved the yolk egg colour, and increased the content of lutein, β-carotene and total carotenoids in egg yolk (P<0.05). Dietary RPO could reduce serum triglyceride levels in laying ducks as well as total cholesterol (TC) and triglyceride (TG) levels in egg yolk. Our further studies also found that the saturated fatty acid (SFA) and monounsaturated fatty acid (MUFA) contents of duck egg yolks in experiment group were significantly higher than those in the control group (P<0.001). Therefore, feeding of RPO can produce natural, healthy red-yolk eggs. The suitable RPO concentration is 20 g kg^–1.

Keywords: egg colour, egg quality, laying ducks, red palm oil, yolk carotenoids