Use of Moringa oleifera leaves in broiler production chain. 1 ‐ Effect on Sasso breeder hens performances, internal quality of hatching eggs and serum lipids

Abstract

Abstract An experiment was conducted to determine the effect of Moringa oleifera leaves (MOL) on breeder hen performance, hatching egg quality and blood parameters. A total of 180 Sasso broiler breeder hens were used for the study. They were allotted to two groups each containing 3 replicates of 30 hens of 18 weeks of age. Dietary treatments were a control diet (basal diet without moringa leaves) and a diet containing 10g of moringa leaves in 1kg of control diet (1% w/w). The experiment lasted 40 weeks. The following production parameters; feed intake, egg weight, laying rate and feed conversion ratio were measured for the whole experimental period while egg quality and blood parameters were assessed at different ages. Results showed that laying rate and hatching egg weight were improved by moringa meal diet for the whole experimental period. Feed intake and feed conversation ratio were decreased (p .05) by incorporation of moringa in the diet. It was concluded that the use of moringa leaves as feed additive in Sasso breeders diet improved productivity and quality of hatching eggs.

Keywords

• breeder performances
• egg quality
• Moringa oleifera
• serum lipids