Effect of Different Levels of Royal Jelly on the Reproductive Characteristics of Native Breeder Hens

In order to investigate the effect of royal jelly on the reproductive characteristics of Mazandaran native breeder hens, a study was conducted in completely randomized design with four treatments (zero, 0.5, 1 and 1.5 mg Royal jelly /kg BW), three replications and ten hens in each replicate. There was no significant difference in hatching rate between royal jelly and control treatments (p<0.05). Triglyceride and VLDL concentrations were significantly higher in the 0.5 and 1 mg treatment compared to the 1.5 mg of royal jelly and control treatments (p<0.05). Body weight in the treatment of 1 mg of royal jelly showed a significant increase compared to the control treatment (p<0.05). The weight of collected eggs in the week after royal jelly injection, was significantly increased in the 1 mg treatment compared to the control and 0.5 mg treatments (p<0.05). Egg width increased in the 0.5 mg treatment compared to the control treatment in the first week of injection and also in the 1.5 mg treatment compared to the control and 0.5 mg royal jelly treatments in the second week of injection (p<0.05). Egg shape index significantly increased in the 0.5 mg treatment compared to the 1.5 mg of royal jelly and the control treatments (p<0.05). According to the results, royal jelly injection can affect the characteristics of the egg. For better results, it is necessary to consider higher levels of royal jelly as well as increase the duration of injection.