Dietary clove leaf meal supplementation: influence on egg qualities and reproductive morphometry of domestic laying birds

Abstract This study investigated the effects of dietary Syzygium aromaticum supplementation on egg qualities, egg cholesterol and reproductive morphometry of laying hens. Three experimental diets were formulated containing 0.00%, 0.25% and 0.50% Syzygium aromaticum leaf meal (SLM). One hundred and fifty (20 weeks old) Isa-Brown birds were randomly assigned to three-treatment group which comprised 50 birds replicated five times with 10 birds each. Six eggs were collected from each replicate three days to the end of the 1st cycle of laying (4 weeks), 2nd and 3rd cycles and properly labelled for egg qualities assessment. At the end of the 12 weeks feeding trial, 45 birds (3 birds per replicate, that is, 15 birds per treatment) were slaughtered and dissected to evaluate their reproductive parameters. The result showed positive dietary effect (P<0.05) on shell thickness, yolk height, yolk index and egg mass. Cholesterol level of whole eggs, egg yolk and albumen were significantly lowered. Weight of entire reproductive tract and ovary as well as length of infundibulum, magnum, isthmus, uterus and vagina were significantly increased by dietary SLM. Conclusively, clove supplementation at 0.25% and 0.50% could be adopted for improved egg shell thickness and low-cholesterol eggs in poultry production