Effects of Dietary Germanium on the Performance, Egg Quality and Blood Composition for the Finishing Stage of Laying Hens
2018
Lim, C.I., Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of Korea | Moon, H.K., National Insititute of Animal Science, RDA, Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea | Kim, S.H., National Insititute of Animal Science, RDA, Pyeongchang, Republic of Korea | Choe, H.S., Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of Korea | Ryu, K.S., Chonbuk National University, Jeonju, Republic of Korea
This study was conducted to assess the effect of dietary addition of Germanium (Ge) on performance, egg quality, serum biochemical properties and yolk fatty acid composition in laying hens. At 74 weeks of age, a total of 360 Hy-line brown commercial layers were divided into four treatments with five replicates per treatment. Four dietary levels of Ge (0, 1, 2 and 4%) were added to the basal diets (ME: 2,750 kcal/kg, CP: 16%) and fed corresponding diet for a period of 12 weeks. The effects of these treatments on production performance and egg quality were measured three times at four week intervals, and at the end of the experiment, blood and egg yolk fatty acid were analyzed. The results showed that production performance parameters including egg production rate, feed intake, egg weight, egg mass and feed conversion ratio were non-significant, but dietary addition of 2% Ge tended to increase egg production rate. Eggshell strength was found to be significantly higher in Ge supplemented groups than in the control group (P less than 0.05), and eggshell thickness was also trended to be improved in Ge treated groups. In serum, triglyceride content was significantly greater (P less than 0.05), and the highest total cholesterol was found in hens of the control group as compared with that of the Ge supplemented groups. The yolk fatty acid composition including polyunsaturated fatty acid, unsaturated fatty acid and saturated fatty acid were not affected among the treatments but addition of 2 or 4% Ge in basal diet had significantly (P less than 0.05) increased monounsaturated fatty acid. Therefore, supplementation of Ge in laying hens diet has positive effects on egg quality and triglyceride in serum.
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