The effects of fortifed Alhaji (Alhaji maurorum L.( onperformance and blood metabolites of laying hens

This experiment was conducted to evaluate the effects of different levels of fortifed Alhaji (Alhaji maurorum L.) with 1% urea on egg production, egg traits, blood biochemical parameters and blood cells of laying hens. In this experiment 192 Hy- line W36 laying hens were used from 65-76 weeks of age in 4 treatments, 4 replicates and 12 hens in each replicate in a completely randomized design. Experimental groups included: 1) control group and 2-4 groups with 1.5, 3 and 4.5 percentages of Fortifed Alhaji (FA). FA had signifcant effects on performance, egg traits, blood biochemical parameters and blood cells of laying hens (P<0.05). The highest amounts of egg weight, egg production percentage, egg mass, the best feed conversion ratio, the lowest feed cost for production each kilogram of egg, the highest egg color index and the highest amounts of Hematocrits, Hemoglobin and red blood cells were observed by using 4.5% FA. The lowest blood albumin and the highest blood HDL were obtained in treatment contained 3% FA. The overall results indicated that using 4.5% fortifed Alhaji, has positive effects on performance, egg traits, blood parameters and could reduce the production cost in laying hens.