Effect of feeding graded levels of de-corticoid cottonseed meal on egg quality traits and haematology in laying hens

De-corticoid cottonseed meal (DCSM) is the by-product of oil extraction from cotton seeds and it is widely available as plant protein feed ingredient for livestock and poultry. An investigation was carried out to explore the effects of DCSM on egg quality traits and haematological parameters of laying hens. A 10 week experiment was conducted on 150 CARI Sonali layer birds (25 week old), which were randomly assigned to six isocaloric and isonitrogenous dietary treatments containing DCSM at 0, 5, 7.5, 10, 12.5 and 15% levels. Each group comprised of 25 birds. The eggs were collected at 5^th and 10^th week of experimental feeding of DCSM and examined for external and internal egg quality parameters. Eggs were collected (10–15 eggs per treatment) and examined for changes in colour and pH of albumen and yolk after storage at refrigeration temperature for three different periods i.e., 15, 30 and 45 days. Haematological parameters were analysed at the end of the experiment. The internal and external egg quality of freshly laid eggs at 5^th and 10^th week of experimental period did not show any significant (P>0.05) difference among different dietary treatments. pH of albumin and yolk did not deferred significantly (P>0.05) at 15 days of storage of eggs at refrigeration temperature among different treatment groups, however, at 30 and 45 days of storage, it decreased as DCSM was increased in diet. pH of albumin and yolk was significantly (P<0.05) increased as storage period of egg increased from 15 to 45 days at refrigeration temperature. TLC was significantly (P<0.05) decreased as DCSM increases in the diet, however, other haematological parameters like Hb, TEC, ESR and PCV did not show any significant difference among different dietary treatments. The overall results of the present study envisaged that DCSM can be utilized upto15% replacing soybean upto 13.25 parts (61% as substitution of SBM) without having any adverse effects on egg quality traits and hematological parameters.