• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.21 no.8
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• pp.1164-1170
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• 2008

In this study, the effects of propolis and vitamin C (L-ascorbic acid) supplementation in diets were investigated on feed intake (FI), body weight (BW), body weight gain (BWG), feed conversion rate (FCR) and digestibility and on egg production and qualities (weight, mortality, shell thickness) in laying hens exposed to heat stress. A total of 150 Hyline White Leghorn, aged 42 weeks, hens was divided into five groups of 30 hens. Chicks were randomly divided into 1 positive control, 1 control and 3 treatment groups. The chicks were kept in cages in temperature-controlled rooms at $22^{\circ}C$ for 24 h/d (positive control, Thermoneutral, TN group) or $34^{\circ}C$ for 9 h/d from 08.00-17.00 h followed by $22^{\circ}C$ for 15 h (control, heat stress, HS group) and fed a basal diet or basal diet supplemented with vitamin C (250 mg/kg of L- ascorbic acid/kg of diet) or two levels of propolis (2 and 5 g of ethanol extracted propolis/kg of diet). Increased FI (p<0.05) and improvement in FCR (p<0.05), hen day egg (p<0.05) and egg weight (p<0.05) were found in Vitamin C and propolis-supplemented laying hens reared under heat stress conditions. Mortality rate was higher in the control group than TN, vitamin C and propolis groups (p<0.05). Digestibility of dry matter, organic matter, crude protein and ether extract improved with increasing of both dietary vitamin C and propolis (p<0.05). Vitamin C or propolis supplementation did not affect either the percentage shape index, yolk index or haugh unit and albumen index (p>0.05). However, the egg shell thickness and egg shell weight appeared to be increased in Vitamin C and propolis groups in comparison to HS group birds (p<0.05). In conclusion, dietary supplementation of laying hens with anti-oxidants (vitamin C and propolis) can attenuate heat stress-induced oxidative damage. These positive effects were evidenced by increased growth performance and digestibility, improvement of egg shell thickness and egg weight in comparison to non-supplemented birds. Moreover, supplementation with propolis (5 g/kg diet) was the most efficient treatment.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.33 no.4
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• pp.588-596
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• 2020

Objective: The objective of this study was to investigate the effects of low doses of organic trace minerals (iron, copper, manganese, and zinc) on productive performance, egg quality, yolk and tissue mineral retention, and fecal mineral excretion of laying hens during the late laying period. Methods: A total of 405 healthy hens (HY-Line White, 50-week-old) were randomly divided into 3 treatments, with 9 replicates per treatment and 15 birds per replicate. The dietary treatments included feeding a basal diet + inorganic trace minerals at commercial levels (CON), a basal diet + inorganic trace minerals at 1/3 commercial levels (ITM), and a basal diet + proteinated trace minerals at 1/3 commercial levels (TRT). The trial lasted for 56 days. Results: Compared to CON, ITM decreased (p<0.05) egg production, daily egg mass, albumen height, eggshell strength, yolk Fe concentration, serum alkaline phosphatase activity and total protein, and increased (p<0.05) egg loss and feed to egg ratio. Whereas with productive performance, egg quality, yolk mineral retention, and serum indices there were no differences (p>0.05) between CON and TRT. The concentrations of Fe and Mn in the tissue and tibia were changed notably in ITM relative to CON and TRT. Both ITM and TRT reduced (p<0.05) fecal mineral excretion compared to CON. Conclusion: These results indicate that dietary supplementation of low-dose organic trace minerals reduced fecal mineral excretion without negatively impacting hen performance and egg quality.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.29 no.2
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• pp.109-116
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• 2002

The objective of this study was to investigate the effect of feeding organic acid mixture and yeast culture on the Performance and e99 quality of laying hens fur sixteen weeks. Four hundred and fifty 19-wk-old ISA Brown layers were alloted to five treatments with five replications of each. The supplemental levels of organic acid mixture(OAM) and yeast culture(YC) in the experimental diets were 0(control), OAM 0.1, 0.2%, and YC 0.1, 0.2%, respectively. Corn -Soy basal diet containing 16.0% CP and ME 2,770 kca1/kg ME. Eggs were collected and weighed every day. Eg3 Production, fred intake and fled conversion were recorded in every four weeks. Fatty acid composition of e99 Yolk, e99she11 breaking strength, thickness and Haugh unit were measured a(her every eight weeks. Egg Production and daily egg mass of birds fed 0.2% OAM and 0.1% YC tended to be higher than those of the other treatment groups. Egg weight was the highest in hens fed with 0.2% OAM treatment, but was not significantly different. Feed conversion of hens in all OAM and YC treatments was lower than those of control, but was not statistically different. Eggshell breaking strength of hens on OAM treatments tended to be higher than those of YC treatment and control. Haugh units of the birds fed OAM was significantly higher than controls (P<0.05). 599 yolk color score of OAM treatment was higher than those of YC treatments and control, but the difference was not significant. At 27-wk-old, arachidonnic acid content in eggs from the birds fed 0.1% OAM diet was significantly higher(P<0.05) than controls. The results of this experiment indicated that dietary organic acid mixture and yeast culture tended to improve the egg Production and internal egg quality.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.16 no.8
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• pp.1177-1181
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• 2003

This study investigated the effects of cod liver oil and chromium picolinate on the serum traits and egg yolk fatty acids and cholesterol content in laying hens. One hundred 45-week old single comb white Leghorn laying hens were assigned randomly to four groups. These groups were: (1) control (soybean oil), (2) 1,000 ppb (${\mu}g/kg$) chromium (organic form chromium picolinate) (Crpic), (3) 3% cod liver oil (CLO), and (4) 1,000 ppb chromium with 3% cod liver oil (CLO+Crpic). The experiment was conducted for 40 days. Results indicated that serum triacylglycerol (TG) and cholesterol contents in the CLO group and the serum glucose content in the Crpic group were significantly lower than those in the control group (p<0.05-0.01). The yolk cholesterol content in the CLO and Crpic groups were also lower than the control group (p<0.01). The lipoprotein profile displayed that in the Crpic group, high-density lipoprotein (HDL) and HDL-cholesterol (HDL-C) were significantly higher (P<0.05) than the control group. Meanwhile, low-density lipoprotein+very low-density lipoprotein (LDL+VLDL) and LDL-C+VLDL-C were significantly lower (p<0.05) than the control group. Notably, of all four groups, the CLO group displayed a more profound effect on serum traits and lipoprotein (p<0.05-0.001). Furthermore, the fatty acid composition of the egg yolks presented that C18:2 in the CLO and Crpic groups was significantly lower (p<0.05-0.001) compare to the control. However, only in the CLO group, C18:3, C20:5 and C22:6 were significantly higher (p<0.001) than the control. Only serum glucose and LDL+VLDL showed the CLO${\times}$Crpic interaction (p<0.05), most parameters did not. Therefore, supplemented chromium picolinate or cod liver oil in the diet of laying hens had beneficial effects. However, when these two factors were combined, there was no interaction with most parameters.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.5
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• pp.740-751
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• 2022

Objective: The study aimed to evaluate the effects of a mixture of encapsulated essential oils (EOs) addition on nutrient digestion, serum biochemical parameters, peripheral blood alpha-naphthyl acetate esterase (ANAE), and acid phosphatase (ACP-ase) positive lymphocyte ratios and intestinal morphology in laying hens. Methods: A total of 320 laying hens of 48-wk-old were randomly allotted into 4 treatment groups with 10 replicates of 8 birds in each replicate. The birds were fed a basal diet (control) or the diet added with mixture of EOs (which consist of eugenol, nerolidol, piperine, thymol, linalool, and geraniol) at 50, 100, and 200 mg/kg for period of 84 days. Results: The addition of EOs at 100 or 200 mg/kg increased the dry matter, organic matter, and crude protein digestion as compared to control. The addition of all doses of EOs did not affect serum gamma glutamyl transferase, alanine aminotransferase, and P but increased serum asparate aminotransferase (AST) concentration. The addition of 200 mg/kg EOs increased serum creatinine, while 100 mg/kg decreased Ca concentration. The addition of 100 and 200 mg/kg EOs generally improved ANAE and ACP-ase positive peripheral blood lymphocyte ratios and intestinal morphology. Conclusion: It can be concluded that, the addition of 100 or 200 mg/kg encapsulated EOs generally increased apparent nutrient digestion and serum AST concentration, improved ANAE and ACP-ase positive peripheral blood lymphocytes and intestinal morphology in laying hens.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.36 no.3
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• pp.498-505
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• 2023

Objective: This study was conducted to determine the optimal dose of novel iron amino acid complexes (Fe-Lys-Glu) by measuring laying performance, egg quality, egg iron (Fe) concentrations, and blood biochemical parameters in laying hens. Methods: A total of 1,260 18-week-old healthy Beijing White laying hens were randomly divided into 7 groups with 12 replicates of 15 birds each. After a 2-wk acclimation to the basal diet, hens were fed diets supplemented with 0 (negative control, the analyzed innate iron content was 75.06 mg/kg), 15, 30, 45, 60, and 75 mg Fe/kg as Fe-Lys-Glu or 45 mg Fe/kg from FeSO₄ (positive control) for 24 wk. Results: Results showed that compared with the negative and positive control groups, dietary supplementation with 30 to 75 mg Fe/kg from Fe-Lys-Glu significantly (linear and quadratic, p<0.05) increased the laying rate (LR) and average daily egg weight (ADEW); hens administered 45 to 75 mg Fe/kg as Fe-Lys-Glu showed a remarkable (linear, p<0.05) decrease in feed conversion ratio. There were no significant differences among all groups in egg quality. The iron concentrations in egg yolk and serum were elevated by increasing Fe-Lys-Glu levels, and the highest iron content was found in 75 mg Fe/kg group. In addition, hens fed 45 mg Fe/kg from Fe-Lys-Glu had (linear and quadratic, p<0.05) higher yolk Fe contents than that with the same dosage of FeSO₄ supplementation. The red blood cell (RBC) count and hemoglobin content (linear and quadratic, p<0.05) increased obviously in the groups fed with 30 to 75 mg Fe/kg as Fe-Lys-Glu in comparison with the control group. Fe-Lys-Glu supplementation also (linear and quadratic, p<0.05) enhanced the activity of copper/zinc-superoxide dismutase (Cu/Zn-SOD) in serum, as a result, the serum malonaldehyde content (linear and quadratic, p<0.05) decreased in hens received 60 to 75 mg Fe/kg as Fe-Lys-Glu. Conclusion: Supplementation Fe-Lys-Glu in laying hens could substitute for FeSO₄ and the optimal additive levels of Fe-Lys-Glu are 45 mg Fe/kg in layers diets based on the quadratic regression analysis of LR, ADEW, RBC, and Cu/Zn-SOD.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.35 no.4
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• pp.367-373
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• 2009

This experiment was conducted to determine optimum dietary levels of dietary energy and protein for laying performance and egg quality in organic laying hens. In a $2{\times}3$ factorial arrangement, 360 Hy-Line pullets (21 wk of age) were randomly assigned to experimental diets with 2,800, 3,080, and 3,360 kcal of ME/kg of diet, each containing 16 and 18% CP, respectively. Each dietary treatment was replicated 4 times, and feed and water were provided ad libitum. Experimental birds were raised in floor and received 14h of light throughout 52 weeks of experimental period. The birds were observed for feed consumption, egg production, egg weight, egg mass, feed conversion ratio, Haugh unit, shell thickness, and shell color at 30, 50, and 70 wk of age. Egg production, egg weight, and egg mass were higher (P<0.05) in hens receiving diets with 2,800 kcal/kg of ME/kg of feed than those fed diets containing 3,080 and 3,360 kcal of ME/kg of diets. Eggshell breaking strengths were not significantly different among the dietary ME and CP concentrations. Eggshell thickness was higher (P<0.05) in hens receiving diets with 3,360 kcal of ME/kg of feed than those fed diets containing 2,800 and 3,080 kcal of ME/kg of diets at 50 and 70 week. With increasing in dietary energy levels, the concentrations of blood total cholesterol were also significantly increased. Overall, the laying hens fed organic diet of 2,800 kcal ME/kg and 16% CP showed superior egg production than those of other dietary regimens.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.45 no.2
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• pp.97-107
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• 2018

This study aimed to evaluate the dietary effect of organic sulfur (OS) supplementation on performance, egg quality and serum constituents in laying hens. A total of 360 Lohmann brown laying hens at the age of 31 weeks were distributed into four treatments having five replicates of 18 hens each until 54 weeks. The hens were fed four levels (0.0, 0.1, 0.2 and 0.4%) of OS with basal diet. The number of eggs was investigated daily, and egg quality was confirmed every 8 weeks. Sulfur content in eggs, interleukin 2 (IL-2), T help cells (CD4+) and cytotoxicity cells (CD8+) were measured at the termination of the experiment. The result of the study showed that egg production tended to increase with 0.4% OS in diet after 39 weeks of age and, there was a significant effect (P<0.05) from 47 to 54 weeks of age. Egg quality traits of albumen height and haugh unit increased significantly (P<0.05) owing to the addition of OS to the diet. The polyunsaturated fatty acids in yolk were gradually increased while saturated fatty acids were decreased with increasing levels in OS (P<0.05). Total sulfur concentration in the eggs increased significantly (P<0.05) in treatments fed OS. Moreover, albumin, AST and HDL cholesterol levels in serum improved significantly (P<0.05) owing to the addition of OS. The IL-2 concentration and the ratio of CD4+ and CD8+ in blood were generally higher (P<0.05) at 0.4% OS. Therefore, it can be recommended that supplementary OS diet affected the performance, egg quality and stimulated immune response in laying hens.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.17 no.12
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• pp.1717-1724
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• 2004

The study was conducted to determine the effect of Salmonella typhymurium lipopolysaccharide (LPS) challenge on egg-laying performance, inflammatory response, zinc metabolism in layer fed diets supplemented with organic or inorganic zinc since 3-wk-old. The three dietary treatments were corn-soybean meal basal diet without supplemental zinc or with supplemental zinc at 60 mg/kg zinc from $ZnSO_4$ or zinc amino acid complex (ZnAA). At the age of 58 wk-old, twelve hens from each dietary treatment were allotted into two sub-groups. On day 1, 3, 5, 7 of the $58^{th}$ week of age, six birds of one sub-group were injected intraperitoneally (i.p.) with 2 ml LPS (1.0 $\ell$/ml) or sterile saline. Neither zinc source ${\times}$ immune challenge interaction nor zinc source effect on egg production performance was observed (p>0.05), LPS-challenge decreased egg production (p<0.04) and increased percentage of cracked eggs (p <0.01). With LPS challenged, the fever response of hens fed ZnAA peaked and subsided earlier than in hens fed $ZnSO_4$ or basal diet. Serum IL-1$\beta$ at 3 h was higher (p<0.01), but lower (p<0.001) at 12 h post-challenge with LPS in hens fed ZnAA than $ZnSO_4$. In salinetreated groups, serum IL 1$\beta$ was higher in hens fed ZnAA than the basal diet at 3 h post-injection (p<0.01). LPS-challenged birds had lower serum zinc and higher zinc sequestered in liver and spleen (p<0.001). In saline-treated birds, there was no difference in zinc concentration of serum, liver and spleen among different dietary treatments (p>0.05). Supplementation of 60 mg/kg zinc from either ZnAA or $ZnSO_4$ significantly (p<0.05) elevated metallothionein (MT) concentration in liver and spleen. MT concentration in liver of birds fed ZnAA diet was higher than in those fed $ZnSO_4$ diet (p<0.05). The magnitude of increase of hepatic and splenic MT due to LPS challenge was higher by supplementation of ZnAA than $ZnSO_4$. The results suggest that zinc amino acid complex enhanceed MT synthesis and zinc sequestered in liver and spleen and increased the sensitivity to immune response due to LPS challenge.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.31 no.5
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• pp.705-711
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• 2018

Objective: This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of golden needle mushroom (Flammulina velutipes) stem waste (FVW), on organic eggs production, calcium utilization, antibody response, serum immunoglobulin, and serum cytokine concentration at early phase of production in laying hens. Methods: A total 210, 19 weeks old aged ISA Brown layers were randomly assigned into 5 equal treatment groups, with 7 replications of 6 hens each. Dietary treatment included a standard basal diet as control; antibiotic (0.05% flavomycin); 2% FVW; 4% FVW; and 6% FVW. The experimental duration was 10 weeks. Results: There was no significant differences (p>0.05) on hen day egg production, egg weight, egg mass, feed intake, and feed conversion ratio (FCR) among experimental groups. Unmarketable eggs were significantly lower (p<0.05) both in 4% FVW and 6% FVW fed groups than control group. The calcium retention and calcium in egg shell deposition were significantly higher (p<0.05) in FVW inclusion groups than control and antibiotic groups. Antibody titers against Newcastle diseases were significantly higher (p<0.05) in 6% FVW fed group (except combined with 4% FVW at day 147) and infectious bronchitis were significantly higher (p<0.05) in FVW fed groups (except 2% FVW and 4% FVW at day 161) than control and antibiotic groups. Serum immunoglobulin sIgA was significantly higher (p<0.05) in all levels of FVW and IgG was significantly higher (p<0.05) in 4% FVW than control and antibiotic groups. Serum cytokine concentration interleukin-2 (IL-2) was significantly higher (p<0.05) in 6% FVW; IL-6 and tumor necrotic $factor-{\alpha}$ were significantly higher (p<0.05) both in 4% FVW and 6% FVW than control and antibiotic groups; IL-4 was significantly higher (p<0.05) in antibiotic, 2% FVW and 4% FVW fed groups than control. Conclusion: F. velutipes mushroom waste can be used as a novel substitute for antibiotic for organic egg production and sound health status in laying hens.