MORINGA OLEIFERA AND ZOOTECHNICAL PERFORMANCE OF LAYING HENS

Phytobiotics are used in poultry feed as a replacement for banned antibiotic growth promoters. However, little work has been done on their effects in laying hens. The aim of this work is to analyse the effects of M. oleifera leaves in the ration on zootechnical performance and blood parameters in laying hens. A control diet (M0) was compared to an M1 and M3 treatment containing 1% and 3% of M. oleifera leaves respectively. The trial lasted 55 weeks using 450 Isa Brown broiler chicks in 3 batches (M0; M1 and M3). Production performance and biochemical parameters were measured. As a result, feed consumption was identical between batches during the rearing phase and reduced during the egg production phase in hens from batches M1 and M3. Hematological parameters were decreased in M1 and M3. Animals in batch M1 had increased egg production.