Effect of Different Selemethionine Forms and Levels on Performance of Breeder Hens and Se Distribution of Tissue and Egg Inclusion

A 2 × 2 factorial arrangement of treatments in randomized design was conducted to investigate the effect of different selenomethionine (SM) sources and levels on the productive performance of breeder hens and the Se distribution in the inclusion of eggs and serum and tissues of breeder hens and its offspring. A total of 480 Ling-Nan-Huang breeder hens, 48 weeks of age, were allocated to four treatments, each of which included three replicates of 40 hens. Pretreatment period was 2 weeks, and the experiment lasted 8 weeks. Two SM forms of dl-SM and l-SM were supplemented at 0.15 or 0.30 mg Se/kg into the basal diet. Results showed that the Se level of 0.15 mg/kg supplemented in the diet, compared to 0.30 mg/kg, significantly elevated the percentage of egg production (p < 0.05), hatchability (p < 0.01), and birthrate (p < 0.01), whereas the Se level of 0.30 mg/kg led to a higher Se content in egg contents, serum, and all tissues (p < 0.01). In addition, the form of dl-SM showed a significant increase in Se content of egg inclusion (p < 0.01), serum (p < 0.01), and all tissues (p < 0.01, except breeder hens’ pancreas and its offspring’s liver and breast muscle). The birthrate and yolk Se content were markedly influenced by the interaction between Se source and Se level (p < 0.01). The above results suggested that dl-SM, compared to l-SM, had a similar equal effect on the performance of breeder hens, but dl-SM was superior to l-SM with respect to selenium distribution in egg inclusion, serum, and tissues.