Table 2.
Production performance of laying hens during trial and egg physical quality of laying hens on week 12 (mean ± STD 1).
| Items 4 | A1 2 | A2 2 | A3 2 | A4 2 | p-Value 3 | |||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| AN | L | Q | ||||||
| Production performance | LR, (%) | 86.66 ± 4.35 | 86.58 ± 5.20 | 86.67 ± 4.04 | 87.35 ± 5.08 | 0.986 | 0.708 | 0.931 |
| EW, (g) | 57.83 ± 1.00 | 57.70 ± 1.48 | 57.48 ± 0.71 | 57.61 ± 0.58 | 0.917 | 0.619 | 0.806 | |
| DEM, (g/hen/day) | 50.15 ± 2.78 | 50.04 ± 2.34 | 49.69 ± 2.54 | 50.56 ± 2.94 | 0.931 | 0.791 | 0.781 | |
| DFI, (g/hen/day) | 115.62 ± 4.46 | 110.00 ± 5.25 | 114.84 ± 6.29 | 114.08 ± 5.45 | 0.185 | 0.841 | 0.887 | |
| FCR, (kg/kg) | 2.35 ± 0.15 | 2.24 ± 0.13 | 2.35 ± 0.20 | 2.30 ± 0.16 | 0.519 | 0.916 | 0.990 | |
| Egg physical quality | Shell thickness, (mm) | 0.39 ± 0.02 | 0.38 ± 0.01 | 0.38 ± 0.02 | 0.40 ± 0.03 | 0.076 | 0.035 | 0.046 |
| Shell strength, (N/cm2) | 47.54 ± 4.26 | 44.95 ± 3.49 | 42.05 ± 4.98 | 43.80 ± 5.35 | 0.127 | 0.371 | 0.567 | |
| Albumen height, (mm) | 8.34 ± 0.70 | 7.81 ± 1.22 | 7.92 ± 0.88 | 8.18 ± 0.66 | 0.62 | 0.797 | 0.548 | |
| HU | 90.41 ± 4.31 | 86.77 ± 7.21 | 87.59 ± 7.33 | 89.01 ± 4.97 | 0.65 | 0.894 | 0.593 | |
1 STD = standard deviation. 2 A1 = basal diet; A2 = basal diet supplemented with astaxanthin at 21.3 mg/kg; A3 = basal diet supplemented with astaxanthin at 42.6 mg/kg; A4 = basal diet supplemented with astaxanthin at 213.4 mg/kg. 3 p-Value: AN = ANOVA; L = linear regression; Q = quadratic regression; differences are significant at p < 0.05. 4 Items: LR = laying rate; EW = average egg weight; DEM = daily egg mass; DFI = daily feed intake; FCR = feed conversion ratio; HU = Haugh unit.