Moringa and Sesbania Leaves in Layer Chicken Pens as an Edible Environmental Enrichment: Effects on Performance and, Physical and Organoleptic Properties of Eggs

Subject Areas :

S. Vijayakumar ¹ , S.T.D. De Silva ² , N.S.B.M. Atapattu ³ , D. Senaratne ⁴ , M. Pagthinathan ⁵

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Received: 2023-12-11 Accepted : 2024-07-08 Published : 2024-09-24

Keywords: cage, egg physical, enrichment, hanging, Moringa oleifera, organoleptic, Sesbania grandiflora,

Abstract :

Enrichment of layer chicken environment with physical, sensory, or stimulatory additions reported to have numerous beneficial effects. Hanging readily available tropical leguminous leafy materials such as Moringa and Sesbania in layer chicken pens can provide an additional amount of nutrients while serving as an envi-ronmental enrichment means. This study investigated the effects of hanging Moringa and Sesbania leaves as edible cage enrichments on performance, physical and organoleptic properties of egg and litter character-istics. Giving a completely randomized design experiment, 75 weeks old RIR layers (n=80) were allocated into 16 pens. Treatments were hanging two bundles of Moringa oleifera (MOL) leaves (T1), one bundle of MOL and one bundle of Sesbania grandiflora (SGL) leaves (T2), two bundles of SGL (T3) and no leaves hanging (T4). Egg production, and feed and leafy material intake were recorded for 42 days. Eggs were analyzed for physical properties. A semi-trained panel (n=25) conducted a sensory evaluation for eggs. The frequency of visiting feeders, drinkers, and leaves bundles was recorded using scan sampling techniques. Results showed that birds more preferred to eat SGL than MOL. Hanging of MOL or SGL alone or as two separate bundles increased body weight, egg weight, percentage of egg albumen, egg length, and eggshell thickness significantly. Colour, flavor, and overall acceptability of yolk color and flavor and aroma of egg white were positively influenced (P<0.05) by the hanging of leafy materials. Birds in pens with MOL and SGL exhibited more exploratory behaviors toward leaf bundles. Hanging of leafy materials increased the litter nitrogen content (P<0.05) as well. The study concludes that hanging MOL or MOL MOL leaves in layer chicken pens has positive impacts on physical and organoleptic properties and welfare while increas-ing litter nitrogen content.

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