Effect of varying levels of soybean oil on performance, hematology and serum biochemical indices of laying hens

Abstract

The study was carried out to determine the effects of soybean oil on performance, hematology and serum biochemical of laying birds. One hundred fifty (150) Isa Brown laying hens at 20 weeks of age were used and the study lasted for 10 weeks in a completely randomized design. The hens were randomly allotted to five dietary treatments namelyT₁ (0% Soybean oil), T₂ (2.5% Soybean oil), T₃ (5% Soybean oil), T₄ (7.5% Soybean oil) and T₅ (10% Soybean oil). The treatments had 3 replicates with 10 birds each. Weekly body weight, feed consumption, daily egg production and egg weight were measured to determine performance. Blood samples were also collected by the 10th week of the trial for haematological and biochemical serum analyses. The results of the study showed no significant difference (P>0.05) on weight gain/loss, final weight and egg weight, but there was significant difference (P<0.05) in egg production and Feed Efficiency. PCV, Hb, RBC, WBC, Platelets, Neutrophils and Lymphocytes were significantly different (P<0.05). Chloride, Bicarbonate, Total Protein and Conjugated Bilirubin also showed significant differences (P<0.05). The study, therefore showed that the use of soybean oil affected egg production and feed efficiency and thus, it can be concluded that soybean oil at 10% inclusion level will increase egg production and also positively affect the RBC and Hb, and therefore, it is recommended to be included in layers’ diets.

Keywords: Soybean oil; Performance; Haematology; Laying hens