Table 3.

Effect of HYD and EO on the egg characteristics of laying hens during 48 to 60 wk of age.

Item1		Control	HVD+EO	SEM	P-value
Eggshell color	L*	80.54	79.44	0.22	0.42
	a*	5.78	5.89	0.18	0.15
	b*	15.57	16.08	0.29	0.61
Eggshell thickness, mm−2		41.05	41.54	1.24	0.87
Eggshell breaking strength, kg/cm3		4.387	4.695	0.214	0.04
Eggshell relative weight, %		10.24	10.57	0.54	0.87
Egg shape index
Albumen height		8.75	8.92	0.55	0.59
Haugh unit		89.24	90.05	1.04	0.28
Yolk color		7.89	7.65	0.47	0.66

¹Each mean represents 10 replicates per treatment, with 3 eggs per replicate.

Abbreviations: EO, 200 mg/kg thymol + 50 mg/kg carvacrol; HVD, 25-hydroxyvitamin D.