Effect of dietary supplementation of Moringa oleifera leaf meal on production performance and egg quality of vanaraja laying hens

An experiment was conducted to study the effects of dietary supplementation of Moringa oleifera leaf meal (MLM) on the production performance and egg quality of Vanaraja laying hens for 12 weeks. One hundred twenty (120), Vanaraja laying hens of 24 weeks of age were selected at random and divided into four groups of 30 each with three replicates of 10 in each group in a complete randomized design. Four experimental diets were prepared with one supplemented with oxytetracycline at 50 g/quintal, while in the rest groups the birds were fed diets supplemented with MLM at levels of 0.25 (MLM-I), 0.5 (MLM-II) and 1.0 (MLM-III) per cent, respectively. The total egg production/bird, hen housed egg production, egg weight, egg mass and feed conversion ratio were comparable (P>0.05) among the dietary treatments during the experimental period (25–36 weeks). All the birds gained BW during the experimental period indicating that there was a positive energy balance. The mean values of egg quality parameters such as albumen index, albumen and shell percentages, shell thickness, and haugh unit showed significant difference (P<0.05) among the treatment groups. From the present findings, it is concluded that MLM up to 1 per cent level in the diet of Vanaraja laying hens is beneficial in terms of production performance and egg quality characteristics.