Abstract:
The purpose of this study was to investigate the effects of diet supplemented with Lysionotius pauciflorus Maxim(LPM) powder on laying performance and egg quality of Sansui ducks. Seventy-two 36-week-old female Sansui laying ducks were randomly divided into 4 treatment groups, namely test groups Ⅰ, Ⅱ, Ⅲ and control group. Each group had 3 replicates and each replicate had 6 ducks. The animals in the control group was fed a basal diet, while the animals in the test groups Ⅰ, Ⅱ and Ⅲ were fed a basal diet supplemented with 2%, 4% and 6% LPM powder, respectively. The pre-feeding period was 7 days and the formal period was 28 days. The egg performance indexes(average egg weight per day, average feed intake, average egg production rate, ratio of feed to egg) and egg quality indexes(egg shape index, eggshell strength, eggshell thickness, yolk weight, protein height, Haugh unit, yolk color) were determined after the experiment. The results showed that the average daily egg production in all the test groups were higher than that in the control group, and the egg yield in the test groups Ⅱ and Ⅲ was increased by 16.61% and 12.45% than that in the control group(P<0.05). The ratio of feed to egg in all the test groups was significantly lower than that in the control group(P<0.05), and that in the test group Ⅱ was 20.19% lower than that in the control group. There was no significant difference in egg-shaped index, eggshell thickness, egg white height and Haugh unit among all groups(P>0.05).The eggshell strength in the test groups Ⅱ and Ⅲ was significantly increased by 14.88% and 11.18% than that in the control group, which had significant difference(P<0.05). Compared with the control group, yolk weight in the test group Ⅱ was increased by 15.22%(P<0.05). Yolk color in the three experimental groups was significantly lower than that in the control group(P<0.05). The results indicated that the diet supplemented with LPM powder could increase egg yield, reduce the feed to egg ratio of Sansui ducks, increase eggshell strength and egg yolk weight, and decrease egg yolk color. There were no significant changes in egg shape index, eggshell thickness, egg white height and Haugh unit, and the best effect was achieved when the addition amount was 4%.