Effect of compound plant essential oils on production performance and egg quality of laying hens.

The experiment was conducted to study the effect of compound plant essential oils on the production performance and egg quality of laying hens. A total of 13 664 Dawu Jinfeng laying hens with similar body weight and late laying period (362~368 days of age ) were randomly divided into two groups, a control group and a compound plant essential oil group, with four replicates in each group and 1 708 laying hens in each replicate. The laying hens in the control group were fed a basal diet, and the laying hens in the compound plant essential oils group were fed a basal diet supplemented with compound plant essential oils. The trial period was 14 days. The results showed that compared with the control group, the laying rate of laying hens in the compound plant essential oils group was significantly increased (P<0.05), the average egg weight showed an increasing trend (P>0.05), the sand shell egg rate was significantly decreased (P<0.05), and the feed to egg ratio was decreased (P>0.05). Compared with the control group, the egg yolk ratio of the compound plant essential oils group was significantly decreased (P<0.05), and the eggshell intensity had a rising trend. The egg yolk color, hardness, and wetness in the compound plant essential oils group were significantly increased (P<0.05). The study indicates that adding compound plant essential oils to the diet can increase the production performance and egg quality of laying hens. [ABSTRACT FROM AUTHOR]