Phichok Panja

pp. 1511 - 1517

Abstract

       A completely randomized design was used for this experiment. Two hundred 27 week old layers were divided into 5 groups, each group with 4 replications and10 birds per replication. The protein and metabolizable energy content of experimental diets were 16% and 2,750 kcal/kg respectively. The tea leaves were supplemented at 0, 0.5, 1.0, 1.5 and 2.0%
       The results demonstrated that feed intake, egg production, egg weight and egg mass were significantly different at 2.0% (P<0.05) supplementation of tea leaves. Quality of egg was investigated and revealed albumen height, shell thickness, and shell weight to be significantly different (P<0.05). In contrast, haugh unit, yolk color, shell color, albumen weight, and yolk weight were not significantly different among treatments. Moreover, yolk cholesterol was significantly decreased at 1.0-2.0% of tea leaves supplementation.