Effects of Dried Spinach Leaf Supplementation on Performance and Egg Quality in Laying Hen Diets

Abstract

This study was aimed to determine effects of the addition of dry spinach leaves to laying hen diets on performance, egg quality and yolk colour. A total of 40 Lohman white laying hens, 38 weeks old, were allocated to 4 treatment groups, with 10 replicates in individual cages. The treatment groups were as follows: 1) Negative control group (NC, there is no colorant), 2) Positive control group (PC, there is commercial colorant) in basal diet), 3) 1% ground dry spinach leaf addition to the diet (SL1) and 3) 2% ground dry spinach leaf addition to the diet (SL2). Supplementation of dried spinach leaf to the laying hen diet did not affect live weight, feed consumption, hen-day egg production, feed conversion ratio (FCR), shape index, and shell thickness. However, the highest egg weight was found in the NC group, and the lowest in the PC and SL2 groups (P<0.01). The SP1 group`s egg mas was higher than the other groups, and SP` group`s egg mas was lower than the other groups (P<0.05). The albumen height was higher in the NC than the SL2 group (P<0.01) and similar PC and SP1 groups. In the NC and PC groups, Haugh unit values were higher than SL2 groups (P<0.05). Egg yolk lightness (L*) in the NC group was higher than SP1 and Sp2 supplemented groups and SL` group`s yellowness (b*) and redness (a*) were higher than other groups (P<0.01). In the PC group yolk color fan value was lower than those of other groups (P<0.01). In conclusion, the use of 1% dry spinach leaves addition to laying hen diets may sufficient to increase the egg yolk color without negatively affecting the performance and egg quality.

Keywords

• Spinach leaf
• Laying hen
• Yolk color
• Lutein Sustainability

References

1. Referans1 Chung, H.Y., Rasmussen, H.M., Johnson, E.J., 2004. Lutein bioavailability is higher from lutein-enriched eggs than from supplements and spinach in men. Journal Nutr. 134(8): 1887-1893