The Effect of Zeolite and Organic Acid Mixture Supplementation in the Layer Diet on Performance, Egg Quality Traits and Some Blood Parameters

摘要

This study was conducted to investigate the effect of zeolite, organic acid mixture and the combination of zeolite and organic acid mixture supplementation in a layer diet on performance, egg quality traits and some blood parameters. The experiment was carried out with a total of 96 Lohman White commercial hens 44 weeks of age in 6 replicate cages with each cage containing 4 hens who were allocated randomly to one of four dietary treatments. The hens were fed a basal diet (C), a basal diet plus 20 g kg-1 zeolite (Z), a basal diet plus 2 g kg-1 organic acid mixture (consisting of 70% propionic acid, 5% citric acid and 25% soft acid) (OA) and a basal diet plus 20 g kg-1 Zeolite and 2 g kg-1 Organic Acid mixture (ZOA). Feed intake, egg production, egg weight, feed conversion ratio and body weight did not statistically differ amoung the groups (p>0.05). Supplementing the basal diet with OA and ZOA significantly increased eggshell strength and weight. Eggshell strength was also higher on average in hens on the ZOA diets than those receiving OA. All of the additive treatments significantly increased eggshell thickness compared with that of the control group. Dietary treatment reduced serum albumin, glucose, ALP, AST and Ca contents compared with the control group (p<0.05). But treatment did not affect serum cholesterol, total protein and p levels. It can be concluded that the addition of organic acid mixture and zeolite combinations to layer diets can be beneficial in improving egg quality traits, especially shell strength and thickness.