DIETARY EFFECT OF NEEM (Azadirachta indica) AND MULBERRY LEAF (Morus alba) MEAL IN THE PRODUCTION PERFORMANCE AND CHOLESTEROL LEVEL OF LAYING HEN

Abstract

The objective of present study was to determine the effects of various dietary levels of neem (Azadirachta indica) and mulberry (Morus alba) leaf meal on production performance, egg qualities and egg yolk cholesterol. The study was conducted at the poultry shed on Dairy and Poultry Science Laboratory, Hajee Mohammad Danesh Science and Technology University (HSTU), Dinajpur. In this study, Sixty (60) weeks old laying hens (Hi-sex brown) were divided into 5 dietary groups each with 3 replications (4 birds/ replication) and offered manually prepared diets supplemented with T0: (control), T1: ( NLM 1% and MLM 2.5%), T2 : ( NLM 1% and MLM 5%), T3 : (NLM 1% and MLM 7.5%), T4 : (NLM 1% and MLM 10%) meal for 8 weeks. Eggs were collected and weighted daily. Laying performance, egg quality and feed conversion ratio were evaluated. Results showed that the feed intake, egg production, egg weight, feed conversion ratio, body weight and egg qualities were insignificant among the treatment groups. However, the egg yolk cholesterol concentration was significantly decreased (P<0.05) with higher levels of mulberry leaf supplementary diets. Egg yolk cholesterol was decreased at T1 (2.27%), T2 (3.87%), T3 (7.99%) and T4 (13.78%) by supplementation respectively. Based on the results, it may be concluded that the supplementation of neem and mulberry leaf meal up to my investigation level (NLM 1% and MLM 10%) has potentiality in reduction of egg yolk cholesterol.