The effect of feeding a mixture of shellfish meal and fish oil on egg production and egg storability of Lohmann Brown laying hens

The aim of the research was to determine the effect of feeding a mixture of shellfish (SF) and fish oil (FO) on egg production performance and storability of Lohmann Brown hen eggs. The study used a completely randomized design consisting of 4 treatments and 4 replications, and each replication consisted of 40 Lohman Brown hens with the same laying age (45 weeks of age). The four treatments were mixed levels of shellfish flour with fish oil in feed, namely 0%, 1%, 2%, and 3%, as treatments P0, P1, P2, and P3. Egg samples were taken at the end of the study, then stored and observed for 4 weeks. The results showed that egg pH and haugh units (HU) in the P2 and P3 hen groups significantly (P<0.05) increased. Meanwhile, egg shell weight and egg yolk color did not show significant differences (P>005). Feeding SFFO to P2 and P3 hen groups increased (P<0.05) egg weight, hen-day-production and feed efficiency (feed consumption/egg weight). It can be concluded that SFFO can be used as an ingredient in laying hens with an inclusion level of 20-30g/kg and can be used in chicken feed during the finishing phase. SFFO may affect the storability of Lohmann Brown hen eggs.