Animals (Oct 2023)

Influence of Dietary Addition of Mineral Shungite and <i>Fucus vesiculosus</i> on Production Performance, Egg Quality, Nutrients Digestibility, and Immunity Status of Laying Hens

  • Nikolai P. Buryakov,
  • Anastasiya S. Zaikina,
  • Vladimir I. Trukhachev,
  • Maria A. Buryakova,
  • Valentina G. Kosolapova,
  • Ilia N. Nikonov,
  • Ivan K. Medvedev,
  • Mohamed M. Fathala,
  • Dmitrii E. Aleshin

DOI
https://doi.org/10.3390/ani13203176
Journal volume & issue
Vol. 13, no. 20
p. 3176

Abstract

Read online

The main purpose of this study was to assess the impact of using the thermally modified mineral adsorbent shungite (MAS) and the dried seaweed meal Fucus vesiculosus (DSM) with different doses in Brown Nick cross laying hens’ diet on their productivity, nutrient digestibility, morphological and blood profile, immunity status, and egg quality. A total of 261,720 hens were used in this experiment at the age of 63 weeks, and they were randomly divided into 5 groups (feeding program) with six repetitions of 8724 chickens in each. The first served (control) as a control group where laying hens were fed the basal diet that was used on the farm only; the second and the third groups represented MAS+ and MAS++, where they received the basal diet supplemented by 0.1% and 0.25% (or 1.0 kg/t and 2.5 kg/t of feed) of the mineral adsorbent shungite (MAS) which was provided in the feed in powder form (5 microns) and was added to the feed at the feed mill; the fourth and fifth groups represented DSM+ and DSM++, which received the basal diet provided with 0.1% and 0.25% (or 1.0 kg/t and 2.5 kg/t of feed) of dried seaweed meal of F. vesiculosus algae (DSM). The average egg weight over the entire period of the experiment revealed significant differences between the experimental groups and represented in the control group 65.20 vs. 66.88, 66.87 and 68.10 and 68.13 g in the MAS+ and MAS++, and DSM+ and DSM++ groups, respectively. Once the dried seaweed meal F. vesiculosus (DSM) was used, the crude protein increased significantly (p p p p F. vesiculosus with different doses in Brown Nick cross laying hen diets improves the egg weight and egg quality, crude protein, carotenoids and vitamin A in the egg mass, the utilization of lysine and methionine nutrients, hemoglobin content, immunity status, while decreases the incidence of fatty liver occurrence.

Keywords