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Journal of the American College of Nutrition, Vol. 23, No. 6, 754S-757S (2004)
Published by the American College of Nutrition

Magnesium in Animal Nutrition

Katalin Kovácsné Gaál, PhD, Orsolya Sáfár, László Gulyás, PhD and Petronella Stadler

University of West—Hungary, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Institute of Animal Breeding, Mosonmagyaróvár, HUNGARY

Address reprint requests to: Katalin Kovácsné Gaál, PhD, University of West—Hungary, Faculty of Agricultural and Food Sciences, Institute of Animal Breeding, 9200 Mosonmagyaróvár Vár 4., HUNGARY. E-mail: gaal{at}mtk.nyme.hu


   ABSTRACT
TOP
 ABSTRACT
INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
 REFERENCES
 
Magnesium (Mg) supplementation remarkably improves the digestibility of feed. In cows and sows, it has improved the reproduction and shortened the service period. In broilers it increased weight gain, and it has increased egg production of laying hens. In addition, increasing Mg intake benefits the quality of breeding eggs and improves hatching yield. However, increasing Mg intake has not altered visceral composition of embryos, although brain and liver might have the capacity to store Mg at intake above the requirement.

Key words: feed, digestibility, magnesium, embryos, brain, liver


   INTRODUCTION
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
 REFERENCES
 
Animal breeding, particularly of the heavy-producing breeds, requires attention, not only to feeding but to such environmental, and other stress factors and unnatural housing and management conditions, to which the farm animals are very sensitive, resulting in increased demand for minerals and vitamins [1,2]. Magnesium (Mg) is involved in many biochemical processes, including activation of phosphates and participation in carbohydrate metabolism. Its action is closely associated with calcium (Ca) and phosphorus (P) [3]. There have been many experiments on farm animals’ Mg requirements. Most concentrated on therapeutic effects of repletion on Mg deficiency or on adverse effects of its excess [4–6]. Less is known about Mg requirements of high producing breeds at various stages of growth and levels of production and reproduction, to maintain health, as well as high production level [5]. At present there are no experimental data about physiological changes, that may be caused by long-term Mg feeding over standard levels.

Background
Several factors influence mineral requirements of farm animals, such as species, age, performance of the animals. The interaction of minerals is also an important factor. Well known is the close interaction of P and Mg in broilers [7]. In formulating a daily ration for broiler chickens younger than 28 days, the amount of Mg has been found to be increased, especially when additional Ca and P are fed [8]. Disregarding this interaction retards growth and causes malformation of the legs as well as high mortality [9–11]. Atteh & Leeson [12,13] suggest, that even the hardness and Mg content of the drinking water should be considered to ensure a proper balance of these elements in young broilers. Mg supplementation of the diet of chickens and pigs has benefits when fed at different periods of age and of production or before a situation causing stress to the animals. Feeding Mg over the standard level to laying hens increases egg production [14–16], average egg weight [17] and hatching of eggs [18]. Short-term Mg supplementation of pigs’ rations was beneficial when making new herds or before transportation; it also proved to be useful in avoiding cannibalism and for reduction of formation of pale soft exudative (PSE) meat [19,20]. Kovácsné et al [21] found that Mg supplementation affected the reproduction processes in sows and boars. They established an improvement in the conception rate of sows of 11–15% and shortening of the service period by 9 days. Mg also improved growth of fattening pigs [22]. Experimental data indicate the economic potential of Mg feeding in improvement of animal production. The precise determination of Mg requirements of farm animals is necessary, depending on the stage of growth, performance and reproduction of the animals. Excess Mg may alter their Ca and P, just as does moderate Ca surplus [23]. It is assumed that the new breeds of high-producing farm animals (hybrids) require more nutrients and minerals than the former races [24]. Mg supplementation has remarkably improved the digestibility of feed [25].


   MATERIALS AND METHODS
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
 REFERENCES
 
We have found Mg citrate (0.30%) and Mg oxide (0.30%) to improve the efficiency coefficient by 0.58% and 4.71% respectively, in relation to crude protein. The improvement was more significant with 0.15% Mg citrate, which was better utilized (83.18%) than the control feed (70%) (Table 1).


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  		Table 1. Effect of Magnesium Citrate and Magnesium Oxide on the Digestibility of Fee

 
During the experiment a Mg oxide preparation, containing 60.40% Mg—providing 20 g/cow/day was fed to Holstein-Friesian cows, for the effect of the preparation on fertility and service period. The fertility performance of the test group during the first, second and third month was 14.3%, 19.0% and 22.4%, respectively, superior to that of the control group. Studying the interval between calving and the next successful fertilization of the same group according to lactation and in total, the Mg-fed groups were better than the controls.

Mg was fed to young female pigs from start of heat- and ovulation synchronization until the day of first insemination (25 days). High dietary Mg citrate (15 and 30 mg/kg/body mass/day) improved the conception rate by 11.3 and 14.7%, and the litter size by 11.9 and 12.9% respectively. In the experiments with sows, the ration of controls was not Mg-supplemented, while the experimental group was supplemented with 20 g Bolifor MGP from farrowing until the next insemination (about 30–35 days). Bolifor MGP is a feed-grade Mg phosphate, containing 24% Mg. Parameters of reproduction were recorded. Mg supplementation improved reproduction output and shortened the service period by 8 days.

Experiments (over 48 days) with feed rations of broiler chickens, supplemented either with 0.2% Mg citrate or 0.2% MgO, confirmed earlier experiments with broilers, that showed, as suggested by Lee at al [11], that the diet of chickens younger than 3 weeks of age should not be supplemented with Mg. It caused leg bones malformation and development of porosis-like symptoms. Starting to feed Mg after 3 weeks of age caused no negative effects on the health of the chickens. They were fed ad libitum with a grower concentrate, and were individually weighed at the beginning and at the end of experiment. As shown in Fig. 1, as Mg supplementation was increased, there was increased weight gain of broilers, to p <0.1% level. The average live weight of the control and experimental groups (Mg citrate and MgO) were 1.27; 1.32 and 1.38 g respectively.



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  		Fig. 1. Effect of magnesium supplementation on the growth of broilers.

 
We supplemented the diet of Tetra SL laying hens either with 0.4% Mg citrate or with 0.4% MgO. The number and weight of eggs produced were checked daily. MgO supplementated hens produced 9.68% more eggs than did the non-supplemented hens. Our object was to investigate the effects of Mg supplementation on the parameters of egg production for breeding, hatching yields and embryonic development, the mineral content of eggshell and intestines of chick embryo. There were three Mg rations applied in our experiments (Mg1 300, Mg2 400, Mg3 500 mg/Mg/day) in the form of the product HAMAG LP. Mg feeding was found to benefit the quality of breeding eggs and to improve hatching yield (Table 2).


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  		Table 2. Effect of Magnesium on the Hatchability of Breeding Eggs

 
With increased Mg supplementation, growth of the embryo showed a linear increase at all the four times (Table 3).


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  		Table 3. Effect of Magnesium on the Embryo Weight

 
Furthermore, we investigated the weight and Ca, P and Mg content of eggshell as well as the viscera (the brain, the liver, the heart, the tibia) of embryo at the age of 14, 16, 18 and 20 days. Feeding Mg above the requirement resulted a decrease of eggshell Ca., which was lowered as feeding Mg increased. However, during the progress of hatching, the Mg content of the shell increased. Thus, decreased Ca and increased Ca content results from antagonism between the two elements. The content of P, Ca, and Mg of the embryos’ viscera, however, did not exhibit changes as a result of Mg feeding.

Expressing the size of internal organs in proportion to embryo weight in the period of 14–18 days, the liver of the embryo gained in weight at the same rate as Mg supplementation increased. In comparison with controls, there were no observed consecutive gains of weight of the other viscera in the test groups.


   RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
REFERENCES
 
Increasing Mg substantially improves digestibility of feed. Supplementation with Mg has improved the reproduction output and shortened the service period of cows and sows, and has increased weight gain of broilers. MgO supplementation increased the egg production of laying hens, as well as benefitting the quality of breeding eggs and improving hatching yield. Our experimental results suggest that Mg supply in the nutrition of farm animals calls for more attention. The amount of Mg required by hybrid animals needs re-evaluation.

Received August 5, 2004.
   REFERENCES
TOP
 ABSTRACT
 INTRODUCTION
 MATERIALS AND METHODS
 RESULTS AND CONCLUSIONS
 REFERENCES
 

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