Effects of natural compound additive on production performance,egg quality,and plasma hormones in laying hens during late laying period
LONG Manying
CHEN Long
YU Yanyan
CHEN Cheng
ZHAO Jie
LIU Chang
SUN Jie
ZHAO Zongsheng
Abstract：This experiment aimed to investigate the effects of dietary supplementation with a natural compound additive on the production performance,egg quality,and plasma hormones of laying hens during the late laying period.A total of 90 healthy Hy-Line white hens at 500 days of age with similar laying rate and body weight were randomly divided into six groups,with three replicates per group and five hens per replicate.The control group(group A)was fed a basal diet supplemented with 15 g/kg oyster shell powder.The experimental groups were fed the basal diet supplemented with 50 mg/kg genistein+50 mg/kg oregano essential oil+15 g/kg oyster shell powder(group B),200 mg/kg genistein+50 mg/kg oregano essential oil+15 g/kg oyster shell powder(group C),200 mg/kg genistein+100 mg/kg oregano essential oil+15 g/kg oyster shell powder(group D),400 mg/kg genistein+50 mg/kg oregano essential oil+15 g/kg oyster shell powder(group E),and 400 mg/kg genistein+100 mg/kg oregano essential oil+15 g/kg oyster shell powder(group F).The pre-test period was one week,and the formal test period was eight weeks.The results showed that compared with group A,there was no significant difference in the hatching rate and average egg weight of the experimental groups(P＞0.05).During weeks five to eight,the laying rate of groups B and C was significantly increased(P＜0.05).No significant differences were observed in egg shape index,Haugh unit,and yolk color among the groups(P＞0.05).During weeks one to four,the yolk proportion in group B was significantly increased(P＜0.05).During weeks five to eight,eggshell strength in groups B and C and eggshell thickness in group B were significantly improved(P＜0.05).The follicle stimulating hormone(FSH)content in the plasma of groups B,C,D,and F was significantly increased(P＜0.05),the luteinizing hormone(LH)content in group C was significantly increased(P＜0.05),the progesterone(P4)content in groups B and C was significantly increased(P＜0.05),the estradiol(E2)content in groups C and D was significantly increased(P＜0.05),and the levels of calcium(Ca)and phosphorus(P)in groups B and C were extremely increased(P＜0.01).The study shows that dietary supplementation with the natural compound additive can enhance plasma reproductive hormones,Ca,and P levels in laying hens during late laying period,thereby improving production performance and egg quality.Among them,the optimal supplementation doses are 50 mg/kg genistein+50 mg/kg oregano essential oil+15 g/kg oyster shell powder and 200 mg/kg genistein+50 mg/kg oregano essential oil+15 g/kg oyster shell powder.
Keywords：laying hensgenisteinoregano essential oiloyster shell powderproduction performanceegg qualityplasma hormones
Publication Date：2026-01-16
Online Publishing Date：2026-03-16(First online date of this platform, not the publication date of the document)
Pages：5( 50-54 )