The effect of different enzyme supplementations on the performance of laying hens fed with diets based on corn and barley

This study was carried out to investigate to possibility of replacing corn in the diets of laying hens with 50% barley containing different enzymes as an energy source. A total of 300 laying hens (average 22 weeks of age) were used. The study was conducted with five groups as two controls (60% corn, 30% corn + 30% barley) and 3 experimental groups. Each group of 60 hens was further divided into six subgroups. In the present study, enzymes such as betaglucanase (Allzyme BG), xylanase (Allzyme PT) and amylase (Allzyme AB) were separately added at a rate of 0.05% in the order of betaglucanase, betaglucanase + xylanase or betaglucanase + xylanase + amylase to each of the groups fed 50% barley. The study lasted for 135 days. It was concluded that there were no significant differences among the groups in terms of live weight gain, feed consumption, egg yield, feed conversion rate or egg quality (egg weight, shell thickness and Haugh units) during the 135-day trial period.