YOLK FATTY ACID COMPOSITION, EGG SENSORY CHARACTERISTICS AND SERUM BIOCHEMICAL INDICES OF LAYING HENS FED ON DIFFERENT LEVELS OF POULTRY BYPRODUCTS COMPOST

Several studies have focused majorly on dietary evaluation, microbial contamination, and nutrient composition of dead hens and rendered spent hens, leaving out the effects of feeding poultry byproducts compost on yolk fatty acid profile, egg sensory analysis, and blood biochemistry in laying hens. This study investigated the effects of including poultry byproducts compost in the diet on yolk fatty acid profile, egg sensory characteristics, and serum biochemical indices of laying hens. A total of 150, 18-week-old laying hens (Novogen White) were randomly stratified to 5 groups with 5 replicate floor pens of 6 birds per pen, under a completely randomized design (CRD). Diets (iso-caloric and iso-nitrogenous) with 0, 2.5, 5, 7.5, and 10% compost levels were fed ad-libitum from week 18 to 42. At 42 week of age, yolk fatty acid composition, egg sensory characteristics, and serum biochemical status of hens were examined. No differences (P>0.05) in yolk fatty acid composition were observed among the diets. Egg sensory values were slightly reduced for eggs laid by hens fed compost at different levels compared to control hens; however, this difference was found to be not significant (P>0.05). Alike, serum biochemical indices were not affected (P>0.05) by different levels of compost in the diet. Taken together, these results suggest that poultry waste compost could be utilized in layer rations up to 10% with no detrimental effects on yolk fatty acid composition, egg sensory quality, and serum biochemical profile. Furthermore, the utilization of compost in layer rations could effectively reduce feed cost.