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The experiment was conducted to investigate the effect of dietary hydroxy-methionine (MHA) chelate supplementation on the production performance, antioxidation performance, immune and reproductive hormone indexes of Xuefeng black bone breeding chickens. A total of 324 healthy 32-week-old Xuefeng black bone chickens with similar body weight were randomly divided into three groups, with six replicates per group and 18 chickens per replicate. The prefeeding period lasted for two weeks and the trial period lasted for eight weeks. The chickens in the control group were fed a basal diet. The experimental groups added 30 mg/kg MHA-Zn (MZ group, calculated by zinc), 25 mg/kg MHA-Mn (MM group, calculated by manganese) and 30 mg/kg MHA-Zn + 25 mg/kg MHA-Mn (MZM group) in the basal diet, respectively. The results showed that compared with the control group, the laying rate and healthy chick rate of the experimental groups were significantly increased (P<0.05). The hatching rate of the MZM group was significantly higher than that of the control group and MM group (P<0.05). The death rate of embryos in the MZ group and MZM group was significantly lower than that in the control group and MM group (P<0.05). The serum content of progesterone, folliclestimulating hormone, estradiol and parathyroid hormone in the MZM group was significantly higher than those in the other groups ( P<0.05). The activity of total superoxide dismutase and catalase in the serum of MZM group was significantly higher than those of the control group and MZ group (P<0.05). The serum activity of manganese superoxide dismutase and glutathione peroxidase in the MZM group was significantly higher than those in the control group and MM group (P<0.05). The serum malondialdehyde content in the MM group and MZM group was significantly lower than that in the control group (P<0.05). Compared with the control group, the content of immunoglobulin A, immunoglobulin M and interleukin-2 in the serum of the MZM group was significantly increased ( P<0.05). The study indicates that adding of MHA chelate in the diet can improve the production performance of Xuefeng black bone chickens by increasing antioxidation performance, immune and reproductive hormone levels. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]

Probiotics can improve the intestinal flora structure of host, improve the digestion and absorption of nutrients, enhance the body immunity and promote the healthy growth of animals and improve performance. The paper reviews the biological functions of probiotics and their application in chicken production, to provide reference for the for the application of probiotics in chicken breeding. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]