Effects of dietary strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) leaf powder on egg yield, quality and egg yolk cholesterol in laying hens


DURU M.

Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment, vol.11, no.2, pp.477-480, 2013 (Scopus) identifier

  • Publication Type: Article / Article
  • Volume: 11 Issue: 2
  • Publication Date: 2013
  • Journal Name: Journal of Food, Agriculture and Environment
  • Journal Indexes: Scopus
  • Page Numbers: pp.477-480
  • Keywords: Egg yield and quality, Egg yolk cholesterol, Laying hens, Strawberry leaves
  • Uşak University Affiliated: No

Abstract

This experiment was conducted to measure the effects of dry strawberry (Fragaria x ananassa Duch.) leaf (SL) powder on egg rate, feed intake, egg yield and mass, feed conversion ratio, egg yolk cholesterol level and external and internal egg quality of laying hens. In total, 64 Lohmann Brown laying hens, 30 week old were used. Treatment groups were control, 10 g, 20 g and 40 g SL. These mentioned doses were added to per kg basal diet (171 g crude protein and 2817 kcal ME kg-1). Egg yield and feed intake were monitored weekly and egg quality was monitored biweekly for 10 weeks. SL had no effect on egg rate, feed intake, egg yield and mass, feed conversion ratio, egg yolk cholesterol level and external and internal quality of egg (P>0.05) as having no affect on birds' health status, suggesting that SL powders can be used in layer diets as a feed additive.