Effects of Dietary Palm Oil on Production Performance and Serum Parameters of Laying Hens
Abstract
Background and Objective: Difficulties in satisfying the energy requirements of birds with cereals, especially maize, have led researchers to investigate the effects of different levels of dietary palm oil on the production performance of laying hens. This study was conducted to investigate the effects of dietary palm oil on the egg production performance and serum parameters of laying hens. Materials and Methods: One hundred eighty 55-week-old Isa Brown laying hens were used in a completely randomized study involving four treatments (groups). Birds in the four groups were fed for 14 weeks with diet 0, 1, 2 or 3. Diet 0 was the basal diet without palm oil, while diets 1, 2 and 3 contained 1, 2 and 3% palm oil obtained by a traditional procedure, respectively. Data were collected on feed intake, egg production, organ weight and biochemical parameters. Results: The results showed that feed intake decreased with an increase in dietary palm oil. Groups D1 (diet 1) and D2 (diet 2) showed high laying rates, low egg weights, low liver weights and a low feed conversion ratio, whereas group D3 (diet 3) had the heaviest eggs and the highest serum total protein concentration. These results might be related to the ability of palm oil to influence feed transit and to improve nutrient digestibility and absorption. Conclusion: Feed containing up to 2% palm oil had a beneficial effect on the egg production performance of laying hens.
Keywords:
Egg component, egg weight, feed conversion ratio, laying rate, palm oil, serum parameterArticle Metrics
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