Effects of essential oils and their combinations added to broiler diets on the mineral contents of some tissues and bone breaking strength

The current research was conducted to determine the effect of thyme (Thymus vulgaris L.), rosemary (Rosmarinus officinalis L.), and French lavender (Lavandula stoechas L.) essential oils and their combinations on serum, bone and excreta mineral content and bone breaking strength in broilers. A total of 640 day-old broiler chicks (Ross 308) were randomly allocated to eight treatment groups with five replicates each. The experimental diets were prepared by adding essential oils to the control diet as follows: control (0 mg/kg), thyme essential oil (50 mg/kg), rosemary essential oil (50 mg/kg), French lavender essential oil (50 mg/kg), thyme + rosemary (25+25 mg/kg), thyme + French lavender (25+25 mg/kg), rosemary + French lavender (25+25 mg/kg) and thyme + rosemary + French lavender (16,7+16,7+16,7 mg/kg). No difference was shown between the treatment groups in serum content of Ca, Mg, P or Zn (P > 0,05). Tibia Ca, Mg and P contents were statistically significant (P < 0,01), while tibia breaking strength was not significant (P > 0,05). Excreta Ca, Fe, Mg, Mn, P and Zn contents were significantly affected by the dietary treatments (P < 0,01), but excreta Cu content was not statistically significant (P > 0,05). The addition of thyme essential oil to the diet was effective in increasing tibia Ca, P and Mg content. The essential oils used, especially their binary mixtures, can be effective in reducing the amount of minerals excreted in the faeces

The evaluation of dietary application of conjugated linoleic acid on performance, egg quality, blood parameters, antioxidant capacity and egg yolk cholesterol parameters in layer quails

Conjugated linoleic acid (CLA) is a poly unsaturated fatty acid (FA) which is accepted as favorable for human health. The aim of this study is to ascertain the effects of CLA on performance, egg quality traits, egg yolk and albumin pH levels, blood serum biochemical parameters, egg yolk cholesterol content and blood antioxidant capacity in layer quails. 96 7-weeks-old female Japanese quails divided to 4 groups with 6 subgroups and the groups fed with basal diet supplied with 0 g/kg, 10 g/kg, 20 g/kg and 30 g/kg CLA respectively for 8 weeks. Our results indicated that CLA supplementation did not statistically affect performance, egg quality traits, egg pH levels, total antioxidant capacity in blood serum and yolk cholesterol content. Although dietary CLA did not significantly differ between groups for blood serum total protein, glycose, total cholesterol, triglyceride and high-density lipoprotein; lipoprotein lipase levels were significantly decreased in CLA supplemented groups (p<0.05). In summary, our results have shown dietary CLA supplementation might affect lipid metabolism and enzyme activity in female Japanese quails

The effect of organic copper Levels in breeding Japanese quail (Coturnix coturnix Japonica) diets on performance, egg quality, blood and incubation parameters

This study was conducted to determine the effect of different levels of organic copper (organic Cu) supplementation on performance, egg quality, serum parameters and incubation characteristics in Japanese quail diets. 120 Japanese breeder quails of 7 weeks old were used in the study and lasted 84 days. Four diets containing different levels of organic copper (0, 75, 150 and 225 mg/kg) were used in the study. The study was a random design consisting of 20 subgroups with 5 replicates, and 4 females and 2 males were used in each subgroup. As a result of this study, final body weight and body weight gain in Japanese quails was significantly lower in the 75 and 150 mg/kg organic copper groups than in the groups containing 0 and 225 mg/kg copper (p0.05). Eggshell thickness and eggshell ratio were significantly higher in the groups containing 150 and 225 mg/kg organic copper than the control and 75 mg/ kg organic copper groups (p<0.05). Serum cholesterol level was significantly lower in 75 and 150 mg/kg copper groups compared to other groups (p<0.05). Serum albumin, globulin and total protein levels were significantly lower in the 75 and 150 mg/kg copper groups compared to the control group (p<0.01). Serum albumin and total protein concentrations were significantly higher in the 75 and 150 mg/kg copper groups thanthe other groups (p<0.01). The highest serum calcium (Ca) level was in the group containing 225 mg/kg copper (p<0.01). In the study, incubation parameters were not significantly affected by different copper levels in the diet. The results of the study showed that adding 150 mg/kg organic Cu to quail diets can be effective in improving eggshell quality and lowering serum cholesterol levels