The Effect of Iron Nano Oxide on performance, Egg Quality indices and Antioxidant status of laying hen

In order to investigate the effects of different levels of iron nano-oxide(INO) on performance, egg quality parameters and the antioxidant status of laying hens, 96 Bovens layer hens at the production peak(28 weeks) were used. The experiment done for 8 weeks in a completely randomized design with 3 treatments, 4 replicates and 8 birds in each replicate. Hens were fed with experimental diets containing 0, 50 and 100 mg iron nanooxide/kg of diet. The performance indices included egg production, egg weight, egg mass, feed intake and feed conversion ratio were daily recorded. The qualitative parameters included yolk color index, egg shape, yolk height index, Haugh unit, Eggshell thickness, eggshell strength, Specific gravity and relative weight of albumen, yolk and eggshell were determined at the end of each period(28 days). At the end of experiment, two birds per replicate were bleed and the blood biochemical parameters were studied.The results were revealed that the iron nano-oxide had no effect on performance indices. Total protein and enzyme activity of alanine aminotransferase were not affected by dietary INO.Dietary supplementation of INO decreased the serum concentration of cholesterol, triglyceride, and LDL, and increased serum concentration of HDL, iron, zinc. The antibody titer against Newcastle disease were increased with increasing the levels of dietary INO. The yolk and serum concentration of MDA was increased by the addition of iron nanoparticles. Therefore, the addition of iron oxide supplementation can improve performance indices, some qualitative characteristics of egg and immune response and decrease serum lipid in laying hens.