COMPARATIVE PERFORMANCE AND HAEMATOLOGICAL CHARACTERISTICS OF BROWN EGG TYPE LAYERS FED DIETS CONTAINING DIFFERENT CALCIUM SOURCES

Résumé

The study assessed the effects of dietary inclusion of different calcium supplements (limestone, oyster shell, snail shell and egg shell) in layers' diets on the performance characteristics of layers kept in cages. A total of seventy-two point-of-lay Black Nera Strain hens (20 weeks old) were used for the study. Eighteen birds were randomly assigned to each of the four dietary treatments with each treatment replicated three times (6 birds/ replicate) in a completely randomized design (CRD). The feeding trial lasted for twelve weeks during which the growth and laying performance, as well as haematological parameters were determined. Average daily weight gain, average final live weight, daily feed intake, feed: gain ratio and cost of feed/Kg live weight and gain were not significantly (P>0.05) influenced by the dietary treatments. There was no significant (P>0.05) difference among the dietary treatments in haemoglobin (Hb), packed cell volume (PCV), red blood ceils (RBC), monocytes, eosinophils in both base line and final samples of blood parameters. White blood ceils (WBC), neutrophils and lymphocytes were significantly (P>0.05) affected. Different dietary source of calcium in laying birds was found not to influence egg shell weight, shell thickness and egg weight. Comparatively, the most available material and the cheapest source of calcium in the study is limestone. It was concluded that the supplement with the most available calcium was limestone.