The Effects of Drinking Water Supplemented with Essential Oils on Performance, Egg Quality and Egg Yolk Fatty Acid Composition in Laying Hens

Year 2018, Volume: 44 Issue: 2, 85 - 92, 03.05.2018

Özlem Karadağoğlu , Bülent Özsoy Mükremin Ölmez Özlem Durna Aydın Tarkan Şahın

Abstract

DOI: 10.26650/actavet.2018.410397

This study was performed to examine the
effect of different concentrations of an essential oil mixture (EOM) added to
drinking water on growth performance, internal and external egg quality, and
egg yolk fatty acid composition in laying hens. A total of 240 Brown Nick
laying hens aged 20 weeks were used in this study. These hens were divided into
one control and three treatment groups whose drinking water was supplemented
with 0, 0.1, 0.2, and 0.3 ml/L of Oregofarm EOM. Oregofarm is a commercially
available product containing peppermint, oregano, and anise oil. Each treatment
group was further categorized into 10 subgroups, each consisting of 6 laying
hens. The hens were fed basal rations for 16 weeks. For data collection and
analysis, a 16-week period was divided into three time periods of 5 weeks. The
weights of 25- to 30- and 35-week eggs were recorded weekly. In the groups
whose drinking water was supplemented with the EOM, there was a significant
improvement in egg production (EP) (p<0.001), weekly egg weights during the
entire study period (p<0.001), and feed conversion ratio (p<0.05).
Furthermore, egg shell thickness and yolk height were significantly increased
(p<0.05) at week 35. The Haugh unit was also significantly improved
(p<0.05) at weeks 25 and 30. However, feed intake and body weight were not
affected by the treatment (p>0.05). The levels of saturated fatty acids were
decreased, whereas the levels of polyunsaturated fatty acids increased with EOM
supplementation, although the differences were not statistically significant
(p>0.05). Therefore, based on the beneficial effects of supplementing drinking
water with different concentrations of EOM on egg weight, egg production, feed
conversion ratio, and egg yolk fatty acid compositions, it is suggested that
EOM can be safely added at concentrations of up to 0.3 ml/L (i.e., the levels
used in this study) to drinking water for laying hens.

Keywords

Egg qua­lity, essential oils, laying hens, performance, yolk fatty acids

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