Effects of dietary sepiolite and mannanoligosaccharide supplementation on the performance, egg quality, blood and digestion characteristics of laying hens receiving aflatoxin in their feed

In this experiment, sepiolite (% 1.5 and % 3) and mannanoligosaccharide (MOS, % 0.1) were fed to layers each receiving 120 ppb aflatoxin, and were compared to control (K) and negative control (NK) groups. The experiment began at 26 wk of hen age and continued for 12 wk. Each of the five dietary treatments was randomly assigned to six replicates each included six hens. There were no significant differences (p>0.05) in livability, live weight change, egg weight and feed intake between the groups. NK had worse feed conversion ratio than control (P<0.05). The addition of % 1.5 sepiolite resulted in an increase in egg production and egg mass in comparison to NK and MOS groups, and in an increase in feed efficiency (P<0.05). There were no differences between the groups in parameters characterizing egg quality, namely, in the ratio of cracked-broken eggs, albumen height, haugh unit, shape index, shell thickness, and shell resistance, moreover, in the colour (RYCF), shine (L) and yellowness (b) of egg yolk (P>0.05). Aflatoxin was not detected in eggs obtained from any of the groups. The pH of faeces of hens in the NK group was higher than that of birds in the K and the 3 % sepiolite-treated groups (p<0.05). The proportion of dry matter of the feces was the lowest in the NK group, nevertheless, the difference between the groups was not significant (p>0.05). The addition of MOS and sepiolite to the feed reduced the degree of digestion of aflatoxin by % 6-12. As a result, sepiolite supplementation to laying hen diets containing aflatoxins can be concluded that had the beneficial effects on hen performance.