• Animal Bioscience
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• v.35 no.9
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• pp.1426-1433
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• 2022

Objective: The present research was conducted to evaluate the interactive effect of dietary concentration of calcium (Ca) and 25-hydroxy vitamin D3 (25OHD3) on the performance, blood composition and digestibility of laying hens. Methods: A total of 540 Hy-line brown laying hens aged 61 to 70 weeks were randomly allotted in a 3×3 factorial arrangement, consisting of three levels of 25OHD3 (0, 25, and 50 ㎍/kg) and three levels of Ca (3.5%, 4.0%, and 4.5%). All diets had basal concentration of 3,000 IU/kg of vitamin D3 including the 2,800 kcal/kg of metabolic energy and 16% of crude protein. Results: The results showed that interactive effect (p<0.05) between Ca and 25OHD3 was such that dietary 25OHD3 linearly increased interleukin-6 at all levels of Ca inclusion. Interaction (p<0.05) occurred with the highest parathyroid hormone in laying hens that received dietary concentration of Ca (3.5%) with 25OHD3 (50 ㎍/kg), and Ca (4.0%) with 25OHD3 (50 ㎍/kg). Egg production and egg weight significantly (p<0.05) increased in the 4.5% Ca group compared to the 3.5% to 4.0% Ca groups. Egg shell thickness and tibia bone length also increased (p<0.05) in groups fed a high-Ca diet (4.0% to 4.5%). Phosphorus digestibility significantly (p<0.05) increased along with dietary Ca level. Among the tested 25OHD3 groups, higher (p<0.05) egg production and tibia thickness were present in hens fed 50 ㎍/kg of 25OHD3. Furthermore, Ca digestibility serum Ca and 25OHD3 were significantly increased in group offered 50 ㎍/kg of 25OHD3. Conclusion: The results gathered in this study indicate that dietary concentrations of 4.0% to 4.5% Ca and 50 ㎍/kg 25OHD3 improve the performance of hens from 61 to 70 weeks of age.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.6
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• pp.887-894
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• 2016

This study was conducted to compare the effects of layout of furniture (a perch, nest, and sandbox) in cages on behavior and welfare of hens. Two hundred and sixteen Hyline Brown laying hens were divided into five groups (treatments) with four replicates per group: small furnished cages (SFC), medium furnished cages type I (MFC-I), medium furnished cages type II (MFC-II), and medium furnished cages type III (MFC-III) and conventional cages (CC). The experiment started at 18 week of age and finished at 52 week of age. Hens' behaviors were filmed during the following periods: 8:00 to 10:00; 13:00 to 14:00; 16:00 to 17:00 on three separate days and two hens from each cage were measured for welfare parameters at 50 wk of age. The results showed that feeding and laying of all hens showed no effect by cage type (p>0.05), and the hens in the furnished cages had significantly lower standing and higher walking than CC hens (p<0.05). The birds in MFC-III had significant higher preening, scratching and feather-pecking behavior than in the other cages (p<0.05). No difference in nesting behavior was found in the hens between the furnished cages (p>0.05). The hens in MFC-I, -II, and -III showed a significant higher socializing behavior than SFC and CC (p<0.05). The lowest perching was for the hens in SFC and the highest perching found for the hens in MFC-III. Overall, the hens in CC showed poorer welfare conditions than the furnished cages, in which the feather condition score, gait score and tonic immobility duration of the hens in CC was significantly higher than SFC, MFC-I, MFC-II, and MFC-III (p<0.05). In conclusion, the furnished cage design affected both behavior and welfare states of hens. Overall, MFC-III cage design was better than SFC, MFC-I, and MFC-II cage designs.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.29 no.10
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• pp.1477-1482
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• 2016

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of diets with varying levels of calcium on egg production, shell quality and overall calcium status in aged laying hens. A total of five hundred 70-wk-old Hy-Line Brown layers were divided five groups and fed one of the five experimental diets with 3.5%, 3.8%, 4.1%, 4.4%, or 4.7% Ca, for 10 weeks. There were no significant differences in feed intake, egg production and egg weight among groups. The cracked eggs were linearly reduced as dietary Ca levels increased to 4.7% (p<0.01). A significant linear improvement for eggshell strength and thickness were determined with increasing dietary Ca levels (p<0.01). The contents of serum Ca and phosphorus were not affected by dietary Ca levels. With increase in dietary Ca levels, the tibial breaking strength slightly increased. There were no significant differences in the tibial contents of ash, Ca and phosphorus among groups. In conclusion, eggshell quality, as measured by appearance, strength and thickness of eggshell, were influenced by dietary Ca content as expected (p<0.05). These results suggested that aged laying hens require relatively higher level of Ca than required levels from current Korean feeding standards for poultry.

• Journal of Environmental Science International
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• v.24 no.9
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• pp.1233-1237
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• 2015

This study was conducted to evaluate the effects of red ginseng marc powder on egg freshness in laying hens during 4 weeks. A total of 60 Hy-line Brown laying hens, 50 week of age, were randomly assigned to 2 groups with diets containing 0% and 2% red ginseng marc powder. There were 3 replications per group with 10 laying hens per pen. Throughout the period of the trial, there were no effects of red ginseng marc powder on egg weight (but not 4 weeks). Haugh Unit (HU) values were observed by showing significant differences between red ginseng marc powder and controls at 0 and 4 weeks, except for HU at 1 through 3 weeks. For egg yolk color, red ginseng marc powder has no difference in comparison with controls at 0, 3 and 4 weeks (but not 1 and 2 weeks). In conclusion, the dietary supplementation with 2% red ginseng marc powder improved HU values throughout the experiment.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.29 no.1
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• pp.7-12
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• 2002

This study was conducted to investigate the effects of feeding germanium colloid(GC) on the egg quality and immune response in 1aying hens. One hundred forty four layers, 32-wk-old ISA Brown, were used in a 40-d experimental assay with a 7-d adjustment Period. Dietary treatments included 1) control (basal diet; CON), 2) 0.5ppm GC (basal diet + 0.Sppm germanium), 3) 1.0ppm GC (basal diet + 1.0 ppm germanium) . For overall Period, hen-day e99 Production tended to be increased as the concentration of GC in the diets was increased with significant difference (linear effect, p<0.01) . Laying hens fed 0.5ppm GC diet were significantly (P<0.01) lower in egg shell breaking strength than laying hens fed CON or 1.0 ppm GC diets. Egg shell thickness and yolk color were not influenced by GC supplementation. Laying hens fed 1.0ppm GC diet were h19her in egg yolk Index than laying hens fed CON and 0.5ppm GC diets with significant difference (quadratic effect, p<0.02) . As adding level of germanium colloid increased in the diets, the total serum cholesterol and triglyceride tended to be decreased. However, the effect of GC supplementation did not show significant in the levers of total serum cholesterol and triglyceride. Also, HDL- and LDL+VLDL-cholesterol in serum were not statistically different among the treatments. Red blood cell and white blood cell count in blood tended to be increased as the concentration of GC in the diets was increased with significant difference (P<0.01) . Hematocrit concentration in blood was successfully Increased by supplementation of GC (P<0.01) . In conclusion, although egg quality was not influenced by GC supplementation, supplementing GC Improved Immune status in laying hens.

• Journal of Animal Science and Technology
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• v.63 no.6
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• pp.1275-1285
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• 2021

The objective of the present experiment was to investigate the effect of dietary palm kernel meal (PKM) and β-xylanase supplementation on productive performance, egg quality, fatty liver incidence, and excreta characteristics in laying hens. A total of 320 Hy-Line Brown laying hens (33 weeks of age) were allotted to 1 of 4 treatments with 8 replicates in a feeding trial. Each replicate consisted of 10 consecutive cages with 1 hen per cage. The corn-soybean meal-based control diet was prepared. Additional diet was prepared by including 10% of PKM in the control diet with a partial replacement of corn, soybean meal, and animal fat. In addition, 0.025% β-xylanase was supplemented at the expense of celite to those 2 diets to produce 4 treatment diets in a 2 × 2 factorial arrangement. All hens were provided the diet and water ad libitum for 8 weeks. Results indicated no significant interactions between inclusion of dietary PKM and β-xylanase for all measurements; therefore, the main effects were mainly discussed. Hens fed diets containing 10% PKM had greater (p < 0.05) feed intake and yolk color than those fed diets containing no PKM. However, dietary PKM did not influence fatty liver incidence and excreta characteristics. Dietary β-xylanase supplementation had no effects on all measurements, regardless of inclusion of PKM. In conclusion, PKM can be a potential feed ingredient for laying hens at the inclusion of 10% in the diet. It appears that dietary β-xylanase used in the current experiment has little effect on layer productivity, regardless of inclusion of 10% PKM in the diet.

• Animal Bioscience
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• v.34 no.2
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• pp.285-294
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• 2021

Objective: This study was conducted to investigate the supplementary effect of a phytogenic blend (SPA: a mixture containing fermented Schisandra chinensis pomace, fermented Pinus densiflora needle extract, and Allium tuberosum powder in the ratio of 2:2:1) on egg production, egg quality, blood constituents, and visceral organs in laying hens. Methods: A total of 135 Hy-line brown laying hens (48-wk-old) were randomly allocated to three dietary treatments with 5 replicates of 9 hens. The control group (CON) was fed a basal diet (no exogenous SPA addition) and the experimental groups were fed the basal diet containing SPA at the level of 0.1% and 0.3% for 6 weeks. Results: The feed intake was significantly improved in SPA supplemented groups as compared with the control (p<0.05). However, egg production, daily egg mass, and feed conversion ratio were not different among the dietary treatments (p>0.05). For egg quality traits, only Haugh unit (HU) was significantly improved in SPA (0.3%) (p<0.05) as compared with other groups. However, HU was not affected during 4-wk of storage at 18℃ among the dietary treatments (p>0.05). Furthermore, SPA supplementation did not affect the blood biochemical constituents except for the phosphate content, which was significantly higher in SPA groups than the CON group (p<0.05). There were no significant differences in visceral organ characteristics and immune indicators (immunoglobulin A [IgA], IgG, and IgM) in SPA or CON groups. Conclusion: This study suggested that the supplementation of SPA may have beneficial effects on feed intake and egg quality in laying hens.

• Korean Journal of Poultry Science
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• v.42 no.1
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• pp.61-67
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• 2015

The objective of this experiment was to investigate the effect of dietary supplementation of herbal medication (HM) on laying performance, blood parameter, and immune response in laying hens. A total of 800 Hy-Line Brown laying hens of 60 weeks of age were randomly allotted to one of four dietary treatments with four replicates per treatment. Three additional diets were prepared by adding 0.5, 1.0 or 1.5 % of HM to the basal diet. Feeding trial lasted 7 weeks under 16L:8D lighting regimen. The diet and water were available ad libitum. Hen-day egg production in groups fed diets with 0.5% and 1.5% HM was significantly (P<0.05) higher than that of control. Feed conversion ratio in group fed diet with 0.5% HM showed the lowest value (P<0.05). Egg weight, feed intake, broken and shell-less egg production were not affected HM supplementation levels. Egg yolk color was significantly greater in all HM supplemented groups than basal treatment. However, eggshell strength, eggshell thickness, eggshell color, and Haugh units were not affected by HM supplementation level. There were no differences in leukocyte counts among the treatments. Plamsa IgM concentration was (P<0.05) higher in all HM treated groups. In conclusion, dietary HM improved egg production, and IgM of laying hens.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.19 no.10
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• pp.1478-1483
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• 2006

This experiment was carried out to determine the effects of supplementation of L-carnitine and humic substances alone or in combination in laying hen diets on performance, egg traits and blood parameters. A total of 180 IGH type brown laying hens aged 22 weeks were employed in a completely randomized block design with one control group and three treatment groups. Each group was divided into five replicates as subgroups, each comprising 9 hens. The diets of the first, second and third treatment groups were supplemented with 0.1 g/kg L-carnitine, 1.5 g/kg humic substances (Farmagulator$^{(R)}$ Dry Plus) and 0.1 g/kg L-carnitine+1.5 g/kg humic substances, respectively. The experimental period lasted 18 weeks. Feeding supplemental carnitine, humic substances or carnitine+humic substances resulted in increases in body weight gain (p<0.05). Dietary treatments did not significantly affect daily feed intake, daily metabolizable energy intake, egg production, egg weight, feed efficiency, mortality, egg shape index, egg breaking strength, egg shell thickness, egg albumen index, egg yolk index, egg Haugh unit and the percentages of egg shell, albumen and yolk. Supplementation of humic substances reduced egg yolk cholesterol as mg per g yolk and mg per yolk (p<0.05). Blood serum parameters were not affected by the supplementation of carnitine, humic substances or carnitine+humic substances. The results in this study demonstrated that humic substances supplementation reduced egg cholesterol without adverse effects on performance, egg traits and blood parameters of laying hens. It was concluded that the usage of L-carnitine alone or in combination with humic substances in diets had no beneficial effects in laying hens.

• Asian-Australasian Journal of Animal Sciences
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• v.30 no.10
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• pp.1450-1455
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• 2017

Objective: The objective of this experiment was to investigate the effect of dietary ${\beta}-mannanase$ on productive performance, egg quality, and utilization of dietary energy and nutrients in aged laying hens raised under hot climatic conditions. Methods: A total of 320 84-wk-old Hy-line Brown aged laying hens were allotted to one of four treatments with eight replicates in a completely randomized design. Two dietary treatments with high energy (HE; 2,800 kcal/kg nitrogen-corrected apparent metabolizable energy [$AME_n$]) and low energy (LE; 2,700 kcal/kg $AME_n$) were formulated. Two additional diets were prepared by adding 0.04% (MN4) or 0.08% ${\beta}-mannanase$ (MN8) to LE treatment diets. The feeding trial was conducted for 28 d, covering a period from July to August in South Korea. The average daily room temperature and relative humidity were $29.2^{\circ}C$ and 83%, respectively. Results: Productive performance, egg quality, and cloacal temperature were not influenced by dietary treatments. The measured $AME_n$ values for MN8 diets were similar to those for HE diets, which were greater (p<0.05) than those for LE and MN4 diets. However, the $AME_n$ values for MN8 diets did not differ from those for LE and MN4 diets. Conclusion: The addition of ${\beta}-mannanase$ to low energy diets increases energy values for diets fed to aged laying hens. However, this increase has little positive impacts on performance and egg quality. These results indicate that dietary ${\beta}-mannanase$ does not mitigate the heat stress of aged laying hens raised under hot climatic conditions.