Akademik Veri Yönetim Sistemi
Acta Veterinaria Eurasia, cilt.44, sa.2, ss.85-92, 2018 (Scopus)
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.