on Ac chicken egg production/ treatments
| Livestock Research for Rural Development 35 (9) 2023 | LRRD Search | LRRD Misssion | Guide for preparation of papers | LRRD Newsletter | Citation of this paper |
The study was carried out at a experimental farm situated in Chau Thanh district, Tien Giang province. A total of 300 female Ac chickens, aged 20-35 weeks, were housed on a floor covered with rice husk. Experiments (3*2*5 factorial) with 2 factors. Factor Garlic level:0.5%DM (G0.5), 1%DM (G1.0) and 1.5%DM (G1.5). Factor of Garlic type:Fresh Garlic (FG) and Black Garlic (BG). The treatments were: FG0.5, FG1.0, FG1.5, BG0.5, BG1.0 and BG1.5. The experiment was repeated 5 times. A total of 30 experimental units, 10 hens per each pen. The trial lasted 15 weeks with Ac chickens from 20 to 35 weeks of age. The results of the study showed that there was a significant difference (p< 0.05) in hen egg production between treatments. Higher daily hen egg production (p<0.05) was at BG1.5 and FG1.5 treatments (40.4% and 39.2%) compared to FG0.5, BG0.5, FG1.0 and BG1.0 treatment (31.6%, 33.5%, 36.6% and 38.3%, respectively). In factor of Garlic type the results of the study showed that there was a significant difference (p< 0.05) in Ac chicken egg production between treatments. Higher daily hen egg production (p<0.05) was recorded in diets BG treatments (37.3%) compared to FG treatments (35.8%). FCR at G1.5 levels, FG and BG treatment (3.92 and 3.72, respectively) gave lower results than the other treatments (4.69, 4.30, 4.26 and 3.87, respectively). The results showed when adding fresh garlic and black garlic (1.5% DM) to the basal diets of hens (Ac chicken) gave the best egg performance and quality.
Keywords: black garlic, fresh garlic, productivity, quality, egg of Ac chicken
Ac chicken (Gallus gallus domesticus Brisson) is one of the specialty chicken breeds raised for a long time in the Mekong Delta provinces (Mekong Delta) and the Southeast (Tran Thi Mai Phuong and Le Thi Bien, 2007). In terms of nutritional value, Ac chicken contains many amino acids, iron good for patients to recover health, pregnant women, the elderly and children. Besides, Ac chicken eggs are also chosen by consumers because they do not have a fishy, fatty, fragrant smell, high white protein, high yolk ratio, dark color is very eye-catching (Tran Thi Mai Phuong et al, 2007). In recent years, raising Ac chickens for eggs has been developed in many places in the Mekong Delta and the reason is that Ac chickens are easy to raise, the initial investment cost is not high and Ac chicken eggs are consumed quite favorably (Thanh Sa, 2015). Ac chickens mature early (113-125 days) but the lowest laying rate is only 40.2%, the average yield is 80.4-105 eggs/ hen/year. In contrast, the nutritional composition of Ac chicken eggs is high (protein accounts for 17.6%) (Tran Thi Mai Phuong et al, 2007). Recently, Ac chickens are being raised industrially to produce eggs in Tien Giang, Long An province on a large scale (Nguyen Van Yen, 2014). However, feed and breeding techniques remain a major obstacle. Therefore, productivity is unstable, calving rates have not reached their maximum genetic potential. Currently, research on Ac chickens is mainly on foster care techniques and disease prevention, the effects of feed and by-products on weight increase and reproduction of Ac chickens such as research by Nguyen Thi My Linh (2011) using Pangasius hypphthalums in the diet of raising Ac chickens to gain weight and reproduce. Studies on the use of herbs added to feed or drinking water for Ac chickens to improve egg productivity and quality have not been studied much.
The experiment was conducted in an experimental farm, in Chau Thanh district, Tien Giang province. A total of 300, female Ac chickens at the 20-35 weeks of age were housed in floor bedded with rice husk. Experiments (3*2*5 factorial) with 2 factors. Factor Garlic level: 0.5%DM (G0.5), 1%DM (G1.0) and 1.5%DM (G1.5). Factor of Garlic type: Fresh Garlic (FG) and Black Garlic (BG). The treatments were: FG0.5, FG1.0, FG1.5, BG0.5, BG1.0 and BG1.5. The experiment was repeated 5 times. A total of 30 experimental units, 10 hens per each pen. All treatments were added 0.5%, 1% and 1,5% (DM) of Fresh garlic and Black garlic to the basal diets. The trial lasted 15 weeks with Ac chickens from 20 to 35 weeks of age. Feed ingredients of basal diets was presented in Table 1.
There were 6 treatments:
1/ FG0.5: Basal diet + 0.5% fresh garlic (DM) in diets
2/ FG1.0: Basal diet + 1.0% fresh garlic (DM) in diets
3/ FG1.5: Basal diet + 1.5% fresh garlic (DM) in diets
4/ BG0.5: Basal diet + 0.5% black garlic (DM) in diets
5/ BG1.0: Basal diet + 1.0% black garlic (DM) in diets
6/ BG1.5: Basal diet + 1.5% black garlic (DM) in diets
| Table 1. Ingredients and chemical composition of basal diets | |||
|
Variables |
20-35 weeks age |
||
|
Ingredients, % |
Maize meal |
39.3 |
|
|
Broken rice |
16.1 |
||
|
Rice bran |
12.2 |
||
|
Fish meal |
6.50 |
||
|
Soya meal |
21.0 |
||
|
Lysine |
0.05 |
||
|
Methionine |
0.15 |
||
|
Bone meal |
2.5 |
||
|
Seashell meal |
1.5 |
||
|
Premix |
0.8 |
||
|
Chemical |
ME, kcal/kg feed |
2890 |
|
|
ME, MJ/kg DM |
12.1 |
||
|
EE |
3.85 |
||
|
CP |
20.1 |
||
|
CF |
4.18 |
||
|
NFE |
68.3 |
||
|
Ca |
2.95 |
||
|
P |
1.09 |
||
Fresh garlic undergoes the following process: It is peeled and thinly sliced, then exposed to sunlight for a period of 4-5 days. Afterward, it is finely ground and refrigerated for use during the experiment.
Regarding the production process of black garlic: Whole fresh garlic cloves are placed in a fermentation pot with a temperature of 60 degrees Celsius and aged for 12 days. This aging process transforms the fresh garlic into black garlic. All the necessary feed ingredients were purchased from a feed store at once to ensure consistency throughout the experiment. The basal diet was formulated to contain 12.1 MJ ME/kgDM and 20% CP. Prior to consumption, the black garlic powder was thoroughly mixed with water according to the experimental design. The chemical compositions of both fresh and black garlic are presented in Table 2.
|
Table 2. Chemical compositions of back garlic and fresh garlic |
|||
|
Item |
Back garlic |
Fresh garlic |
|
|
Sugar dissolved in water |
1,88-7,91 x increase |
450 mg/g |
|
|
Total polyphenols |
4,19 x increase |
13,91 mg/g (Calculated by gallic acid) |
|
|
Total flavonoids |
4,77 x increase |
3,22 mg/g (Calculated by rutin) |
|
|
Compound Amadori/Heyns |
40-100 x increase |
10 mg/g |
|
|
Fructan |
0,15-0,01 x reduction |
580 mg/g |
|
|
Leucin |
1,06 x increase |
58,62 mg/100 g |
|
|
Isoleucin |
1,67 x increase |
50,04 mg/100 g |
|
|
Cystein |
0,58 x reduction |
81,06 mg/100 g |
|
|
Phenylalanin |
2,43 x increase |
55,64 mg/100 g |
|
|
Tyrosin |
0,18 x reduction |
449,95 mg/100 g |
|
| Nguyen ngoc Nhu Y and Pham Tan Nha, 2023 | |||
Female Ac chickens were raised in an open-sided house, divided into 30 pens measuring 1 x 1 x 0.5m each, separated by netting. Each cage was equipped with feeding and drinking troughs. The birds were fed three times a day, at 7.00, 13.00, and 17.00 hours, with the amount of feed adjusted weekly based on the actual egg productivity, increasing from 2% to 5% per week. The chickens had free access to water. Prior to the start of the experiment, the chickens were vaccinated against common diseases, including Gumboro, H5N1, and fowl pox.
The daily intake of feed and nutrients was measured by collecting and weighing the feed and refusals every morning. The body weight of the chickens was recorded weekly with a 5% weighing interval. The feed conversion efficiency (FCR) was determined by dividing the weight of feed consumed by the weight of eggs produced on a weekly basis.
Hen egg production was calculated using the method proposed by Ahmad et al. (2010), which involves determining the feed efficiency per dozen eggs. The egg production rate was calculated by dividing the total number of eggs produced by the hens by the total number of live hens.
FCR= Daily feed consumed / Daily egg mass
The feeds provided were analyzed for their chemical compositions, including dry matter (DM), organic matter (OM), crude protein (CP), ether extract (EE), crude fiber (CF), and ash. The analysis followed the procedures outlined in AOAC (1990). NDF (neutral detergent fiber) analysis was conducted according to the method described by Van Soest et al (1991), and metabolizable energy (ME) was calculated using the formula by Janssen (1989).
The collected data were analyzed using the General Linear Model (GLM) in Minitab program version 18.1.0 (Minitab, 2018). To determine significant differences between two treatments, the Tukey method in Minitab (2018) was employed.
|
Table 3. Effect of Garlic Type and Levels supplementation on production performance of Ac chicken |
||||||||
|
Item |
Type of Garlic*Level |
SEM |
p |
|||||
|
Black Garlic |
Fresh Garlic |
|||||||
|
BG0.5 |
BG1.0 |
BG1.5 |
FG0.5 |
FG1.0 |
FG1.5 |
|||
|
Initial body weight (g/bird) |
798 |
800 |
799 |
800 |
795 |
802 |
11.7 |
0.72 |
|
Number of egg production/treatments |
176d |
200bc |
212a |
166e |
192cd |
206ab |
8.2 |
0.002 |
|
Hen day egg production (%) |
33.5c |
38.3ab |
40.4a |
31.6d |
36.6b |
39.2a |
0.6 |
0.03 |
|
Egg mass (g) |
30.0 |
32.1 |
32.5 |
29.4 |
31.0 |
32.1 |
0.8 |
0.026 |
|
Feed (g)/ egg (g), FCR |
4.30b |
3.87cd |
3.72d |
4.69a |
4.26c |
3.92cd |
0.4 |
0.035 |
|
Feed (kg)/ 10 egg |
1.289 |
1.242 |
1.208 |
1.373 |
1.321 |
1.259 |
0.06 |
0.067 |
|
Feed intake/hen/day (g) |
43.2c |
47.3b |
48.8a |
43.4c |
48.3a |
49.4a |
1.6 |
0.003 |
Incorporating garlic into the diet of laying hens has shown to be beneficial. As the level of garlic supplementation increases, the laying rate of hens tends to improve accordingly. This can be attributed to the abundant presence of Vitamin C in garlic, which not only aids in reducing stress caused by elevated temperatures in the barn but also enhances digestion and promotes overall health. Consequently, these factors contribute to a notable increase in hen day egg production.
|
| Figure 1. The effect of Garlic Type and
Levels supplementation on Ac chicken egg production/ treatments |
The results of the study showed that there was a significant difference (p< 0.05) in hen egg production between treatments. Higher daily hen egg production (p<0.05) was at BG1.5 and FG1.5 treatments (40.4% and 39.2%) compared to FG0.5, BG0.5, FG1.0 and BG1.0 treatment (31.6%, 33.5%, 36.6% and 38.3%, respectively).
 |
| Figure 2. The effect of garlic type and
levels supplementation on FCR, Feed (g)/ Egg (g) |
|
Table 4. Effect of the interaction between the type of Garlic and the level of supplementation on production performance and egg quality of Ac chicken |
||||||||
|
Item |
Type of Garlic*Level |
SEM |
p |
|||||
|
Black Garlic |
Fresh Garlic |
|||||||
|
BG0.5 |
BG1.0 |
BG1.5 |
FG0.5 |
FG1.0 |
FG1.5 |
|||
|
Egg quality traits |
||||||||
|
Egg weight (g) |
30.0 |
32.1 |
32.5 |
29.4 |
31.0 |
32.1 |
0.40 |
0.66 |
|
Egg shape index |
76.2 |
75.6 |
75.1 |
76.1 |
75.7 |
75 |
1.05 |
0.74 |
|
Egg shell thickness (mm) |
0.36 |
0.38 |
0.4 |
0.34 |
0.35 |
0.38 |
0.01 |
0. 18 |
|
Shell ratio |
11.2 |
11.4 |
12.2 |
11.2 |
11.6 |
12.3 |
0.21 |
0.33 |
|
Albumin weight (g) |
17.3 |
17.5 |
18.5 |
17.3 |
17.9 |
18.3 |
0.8 |
0.87 |
|
Albumin height (mm) |
8.5 |
8.7 |
8.8 |
8.48 |
8.66 |
8.8 |
0.71 |
0.36 |
|
Albumin index |
0.071 |
0.08 |
0.09 |
0.069 |
0.08 |
0.09 |
0.01 |
0.68 |
|
Albumin ratio |
56.7 |
55.4 |
56.9 |
56.9 |
55.4 |
56.5 |
0.64 |
0.89 |
|
Yolk weight (g) |
16.7 |
16.5 |
17.3 |
16.7 |
16.3 |
17.1 |
0.23 |
0.27 |
|
Yolk height (mm) |
15.7 |
15.6 |
16.1 |
15.5 |
15.6 |
15.9 |
0.17 |
0.38 |
|
Yolk index |
0.42 |
0.41 |
0.42 |
0.4 |
0.43 |
0.41 |
0.55 |
0.42 |
|
Yolk ratio |
32 |
32.2 |
31.1 |
32 |
31 |
31 |
0.26 |
0.26 |
|
Yolk colour score |
4.6 c |
5.7 ab |
6.4 a |
4.4 c |
5.1 b |
6.3 a |
0.23 |
0.03 |
|
HU |
87.2 b |
87.5 b |
89.5 a |
87 b |
87.4 b |
89.3 a |
1.27 |
0.05 |
 |
| Figure 3. The effect of Garlic Type and Levels supplementation on Yolk color score |
However, there was a significant improvement in yolk color score in treatments FG1.5 and BG1.5 (6.3 and 6.4, respectively) compared to the other treatments (4.4; 4.6; 5.1 and 5.7, respectively), with statistical significance at p<0.05. The highest egg weight was observed in treatment FG1.5 and BG1.5 (32.1g and 32.5g, respectively) compared to the other experimental treatments. This finding aligns with the results of the present study as well as the studies by Nguyen Thi Tam et al (2018) and Nguyen Khanh Duy et al (2022), where no significant differences (p>0.05) in egg weight were reported when birds were fed probiotic and Vitamin ADE at levels up to 2.0% and 3.0% respectively.
|
Table 5. Effect of Garlic Type and Levels supplementation on production performance and egg quality of Ac chicken (Factor) |
||||||||
|
Item |
Factor Garlic level |
Factor of Garlic type |
SE |
p |
||||
|
G0.5 |
G1.0 |
G1.5 |
BG |
FG |
||||
|
Initial body weight (g/bird) |
800 |
795 |
802 |
799 |
799 |
11.7 |
0.72/0.63 |
|
|
Number of egg production/treatments |
171c |
196bc |
209a |
196a |
188b |
8.2 |
0.002/001 |
|
|
Hen day egg production (%) |
34.50c |
37.40b |
39.87a |
37.3a |
35.8b |
0.6 |
0.03/0.024 |
|
|
Egg mass (g) |
29.70c |
31.47bc |
32.3a |
31.5a |
30.8b |
0.8 |
0.026/0.045 |
|
|
Feed (g)/ egg (g), FCR |
4.23a |
4.06b |
3.81c |
3.96b |
4.28a |
0.4 |
0.035/0.037 |
|
|
Feed (kg)/ 10 egg |
1.256 |
1.278 |
1.231 |
1.246b |
1.317a |
0.06 |
0.067/0.042 |
|
|
Feed intake/hen/day (g) |
43.3c |
47.8b |
49.1a |
46.4a |
47.0b |
1.6 |
0.003/0.002 |
|
|
Yolk colour score |
4.5c |
5.4b |
6.3a |
5.57 |
5.27 |
0.23 |
0.01/0.03 |
|
|
HU |
87.1 |
87.4 |
89.4 |
88.1 |
87.9 |
1.27 |
0.78/0.06 |
|
Table 5 presents the egg production performance of Ac Chicken with Garlic incorporated into the diet. The study results indicated a significant difference (p< 0.05) in hen egg production among the treatments. Diets with a garlic level of G1.5 demonstrated higher daily hen egg production (39.87%) compared to G0.5 and G1.0 treatments (34.5% and 37.4% respectively). This difference was statistically significant.
Furthermore, when considering the factor of Garlic type, there was a significant difference ( p < 0.05) in Ac chicken egg production between treatments. Diets with BG (Black Garlic) resulted in higher daily hen egg production (37.3%) compared to FG (Fresh Garlic) treatments (35.8%).
The egg weight followed a similar trend to the laying rate, with the highest egg weight observed in the G1.5 treatment level (32.3g), compared to G0.5 and G1.0 treatments (29.70g and 31.47g respectively) at the garlic level factor. In terms of Garlic type, the egg mass in BG treatments (31.5g) was higher than in FG treatments (30.8g).
Table 4 presents the egg geometric traits of the experimental birds. In this study, various external and internal parameters of the eggs were measured, including egg length (cm), egg width (cm), egg shape index, egg shell weight (g), egg weight (g), shell thickness (mm), shell ratio, albumin mass (g), albumin height (mm), albumin index, albumin ratio, yolk weight (g), and yolk index. The results indicated that there were no significant differences observed between treatments for these egg parameters.
However, it is worth noting the study by Nguyen Thị Tam et al. (2018), which reported slightly higher yolk color with an increased level of probiotic and Vitamin ADE in layer diets. Overall, based on the results of this study, the inclusion of Garlic Type and Levels in poultry diets did not have a significant impact on egg quality traits, except for yolk color and Haugh Unit. Haugh Unit at BG1.5 and FG1.5 (89.5 and 89.3) treatments were higher than other treatments (p<0.05), table 4.
 |
| Figure 4. The effect of Garlic Type and Levels supplementation on Haugh Unit |
The author would like to thank the management of Farm of Ac chicken for creating good conditions and providing many equipments for the experiment.
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