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Evaluating the effects of Salicornia extract on performance, egg quality and blood profile of laying hens
An experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of adding Salicornia extract to the drinking water of laying hens on their performance, egg quality, and blood profile. A total of 216 Hy-line Brown at the age of 40 weeks were used in a 10 weeks experiment. The birds were allotted into 3 experimental treatments and there were 24 replications per treatment with 3 birds per pen. Treatments consisted of CON (basal diet), T1 (1 cc Salicornia extract water per liter drinking water), and T2 (5cc Salicornia extract water per liter drinking water). Daily records of egg production and feed consumption were kept throughout the experimental period. Egg production was expressed as an average production of hen per day, which was calculated from the total number of eggs divided by the number of experimental time (week as a unit) and summarized on an average basis. A total of 42 salable eggs (no shell defects or cracks) were randomly collected biweekly from each treatment at 17:00h (3 eggs per replication). The egg quality of the collected eggs was then determined at 20:00h on the day of collection. Laying hens were blocked with identical age. The difference among treatment was compared using the Duncan’s multiple range test. The treatment effect was observed significant with the probability value below 0.05. Addition of Salicornia extract to the drinking water of laying hens didn’t show any negative effects on performance, egg quality, and blood profile. Treatments T1 and T2 increased egg production remarkably (86.3 vs. 89.0, 91.0 %; P < 0.05) at the first week compared with CON. Moreover, at last week, the egg production in T1 was significantly higher (91.3 vs. 86.0 %; P < 0.05) than CON treatment. Birds in T2 treatment showed improved (111.2 vs. 110.6 g; P < 0.05) feed intake compared with CON at first week. The ratio of broken shell was decreased (7.6 vs. 11.3 %; 8.3 vs. 12.1 %; 7.8 vs. 10.6 %; 9.2 vs. 11.1 %; 8.6 vs. 13.6 %; P < 0.05) in T2 treatment than that in CON treatment in 1, 4, 6, 8, and 10 wk. The results of this study showed that addition of Salicornia extract can improve the egg shell quality, thereby decreasing the rate of breaking eggs and increasing the benefit of production in commercial farms.
Keywords:
blood profile, breaking eggs rate, egg production, laying hens, Salicornia