Effects of Sodium Butyrate Addition to Laying Hens Diets on Performance, Egg Quality and Some Blood Parameters

Abstract

The purpose of this study was to determine the effect of adding coated sodium butyrate at various levels to the rations of laying hens on their performance, egg quality, and some blood parameters. In this study, a total of 72 laying hens at the age of 60 weeks were fed for 56 days with the control ration and the rations containing sodium butyrate at various levels (300, 600, and 1200 mg/kg). The study was carried out in 4 treatment groups, each with 6 replicates. As a result of the study, there was no statistically significant difference between the treatment groups in terms of live weight change, egg yield, feed consumption, feed conversion ratio, egg weight, and egg mass. The addition of sodium butyrate to the rations of laying hens did not have a statistically significant effect on the egg shell breaking strength, eggshell ratio, shell thickness, egg shape index, albumen-yolk index, damaged egg ratio, and egg yolk colour criteria (L*, a*, and b*). Whereas there was no statistically significant difference between the treatment groups in terms of the levels of cholesterol, HDL, albumin, Ca, and P; some statistically significant differences were observed in terms of the levels of serum globulin, total protein, and uric acid. Based on the findings of the study, it was concluded that there was no need to add sodium butyrate to the ration for improving the performance and egg quality in the laying hens at the age of 60 weeks.