The study of effect adding antioxidants in the diet to reduce the effect of heat stress on production performance and antioxidant status in brown laying hens

Abstract

Abstract This study was carried out at the Poultry Research Station belong to State Board of Agricultural Research (Ministry of Agriculture, Abu-Ghraib). The study lasted for 12 weeks (84 days) from summer season, 200Lohman brown layer (34 weeks of age) were randomly distributed into 5 treatments, with two replicate per treatment (20 hens per replicate), the first treatment was the control group, the hens in 2nd and 3rd treatments were given vitamin E and C 300 mg/kg feed respectively, the 4th and 5th groups of hens were given grape seed and rosemary 5 g/kg feed respectively, poultry house temp. 36 c°. The control treatment showed significant deterioration in all productive traits such as decrease in egg production, feed conception and egg mass, and significant deterioration in feed conversion ratio, the control treatment caused significant decrease in the catalase, glutathione peroxidase activity in blood plasma, and levels of hem- iron, and significant increase in the peroxide value, malondialdehyde concentration and free fatty acids percentage in liver tissue, and got significant increase ALT and AST activity, and significant decrease in ALP activity in blood plasma compared with the poultry was consumed antioxidants in the diet from summer season, the above changes indicate the ability of heat stress in the induction of oxidative stress in laying hens. Antioxidants treatment showed significant improvement of all performance traits such as increase in egg production, feed intake and egg mass, and significant improvement of feed conversion ratio. Antioxidants treatment caused significant increase in the catalase, glutathione peroxidase activity in blood plasma, and levels of hem- iron, and significant decrease in the peroxide value, malondialdehyde concentration and free fatty acids percentage in liver tissue, and got significant decrease ALT and AST activity, and significant increase in ALP activity in blood plasma compared with the control treatment, the above changes indicate the ability of antioxidants treatment in the induction ability in preventing heat stress or to remove the effects of oxidative stress and the ability in improve these traits in laying hens.