Performance and egg qualities of old-laying hens fed with diets containing selected phytogenic feed additives

Performance and egg qualities of old-laying hens fed with diets containing ginger, turmeric and garlic were evaluated in a twelve (12) week feeding trial. A total of 135 laying birds of Isa-Brown strain which were sixty-four (64) weeks old were used for the trial and arranged in a completely randomized design. Five diets were formulated for the trial:  Diet 1 (control), Diet 2 (3% inclusion level of turmeric), Diet 3 (3% inclusion level of ginger), Diet 4 (turmeric and garlic at 2.25% and 0.75%, respectively) and Diet 5 (ginger and garlic at 2.25% and 0.75%, respectively). Proximate compositions of the Phytogenic Feed Additives (PFAs) were determined with the moisture content ranging between 5.03-7.50%; ash (3.26-6.11%); ether extract (7.39-14.58%); fibre (10.28-13.79%); protein (3.07-7.23%) and Nitrogen Free Extract (58.88-61.54%). The performance indices, though not significantly (P˃0.05) influenced by the test diets except for Hen Day Production (HDP) had the highest weight gained (0.16kg) recorded for birds fed on a diet containing ginger. The highest (62.92 and 62.04 %) HDP were observed in birds fed diets containing ginger and ginger + garlic; respectively. However, the lowest weight gained (0.04kg) was recorded in birds fed a diet containing turmeric + garlic; this diet also recorded the lowest % HDP and FCR with values of 57.50% and 2.37 respectively. The overall values for the qualities of eggs from laying hens fed the PFAs showed that only the Haugh Unit, yolk colour and albumen height were significantly (P˂0.05) affected; with those on Turmeric + Garlic diets having the highest for these parameters. However, the fatty acid variables were not significantly (P˃0.05) affected by the dietary treatments. It could be concluded that the inclusion of PFAs in the diets of laying hens especially at an older age would help to sustain performance with improved quality