UTILIZATION OF DIETARY ZINC OXIDE NANOPARTICLES ON PRODUCTIVE AND PHYSIOLOGICAL PERFORMANCE OF LOCAL LAYING HENS

Abou–Ashour, A. M.; Zanaty, G. A.; Abou El-Naga, Manal K.; Darwish, A.; Hussein, Eman A.

doi:10.21608/ejnf.2023.332940

UTILIZATION OF DIETARY ZINC OXIDE NANOPARTICLES ON PRODUCTIVE AND PHYSIOLOGICAL PERFORMANCE OF LOCAL LAYING HENS

Document Type : Original Article

Authors

¹ Department of Poultry and Fish Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Menoufia University, Shibin El–Kom, Egypt

² Department of Poultry and Fish Production, Faculty of Agriculture, Menoufia University, Shibin El–Kom, Egypt.

10.21608/ejnf.2023.332940

Abstract

The study aimed to evaluate the effect of dietary adding different levels of nano-zinc oxide (ZnO-NPS) on productive performance, nutrient digestion coefficient, physiological status, egg and bone quality and economic efficiency. One hundred and forty four (144) Gimmizah laying hens at 49 weeks of age were used, divided randomly to four similar experimental groups, each with 36 chickens divided into 3 replications (12 chickens / replicate). The dietary treatments included a corn-soybean meal-based diet (T₁; control diet - supplemented with premix which contain inorganic zinc as zinc oxide), and basal diet with free premix of Zn supplemented with 5, 15 and 25 mg/ kg nano zinc oxide (ZNO-NPS) for T2, T3 and T4, respectively. The results indicated a significant improvement in the rate of egg production, egg mass, and feed conversion rate by adding nano-zinc (P≤ 0.05). Birds fed on diets supplemented with zinc oxide nanoparticles recorded the highest significant improvement in egg index, egg shell quality, yolk and white quality and Haugh units in compared to control. The dietary treatments to which zinc nanoparticles were added had the highest digestibility of nutrients in compared to the control one. There was also a significant (P<0.05) improvement in some blood plasma parameters (total protein, albumin, liver and kidney enzymes, and high-density lipoprotein (HDL)), while the concentration of total cholesterol, total triglycerides, and low-density lipoprotein (LDL) decreased significantly with the increase in nano-zinc levels. The data showed that there was a significant effect of zinc nanoparticles on antioxidant status and zinc content. The addition of 25 mg of nano-ZnO/kg diet led to a significant increase in the content of glutathione peroxidase (GPx) and zinc content and a significant decrease in the concentration of malondial aldehyde (MDA). The best values for weight, fracture strength and ash percentage of leg bones of birds fed on diets supplemented with nano-zinc compared to the control group. The economic efficiency and relative economic efficiency improved by adding nano zinc, and the best values were for the third treatment (1.83 and 109.58, respectively), which was fed on the diet supplemented with nano zinc oxide (ZnO-NPS) at a rate of 15 mg/kg diet compared to the other treatments. Recommendations: The results indicated that feeding local laying hens on diets to which nano-zinc was added at a rate of 25 mg/kg ration (the fourth treatment) had the highest rate of productive performance - while the third treatment to which nano-zinc was added at a rate of 15 mg/kg was a better diet economic efficiency (1.83) and the highest relative economic efficiency (109.58).

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