ARTICLE FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE February 2023 61 "The production of eggs with high shell quality in commercial laying hens is very important for profit maximisation. Eggshell quality decreases as chickens age, and the production of broken, cracked, thin-shelled eggs increase, especially at high ambient temperatures. At the same time, under these conditions, the hormonal balance is disturbed and the natural immunity is weakened. This study investigated the effects of adding Vitalic Shell Support to the rations of older commercial laying hens under heat stress on egg production characteristics and eggshell quality”. INTRODUCTION Turkey is located in a temperate latitude on the globe. The fact that in some regions the temperature rises above 40 °C disturbs the mechanism for regulating body temperature in poultry, whose ideal ambient temperature should be 20-27 °C. If the temperature rises above 30 °C, it is assumed that heat stress has begun. In this case, feed consumption, live weight gain, egg production and shell quality were reported to decrease due to the difficulty in releasing the heat generated in the body to the environment (1). Calcium carbonate makes up about 95% of the eggshell (2). Calcium has long been a topic of research because of its importance to eggshells. Since chickens do not have sweat glands, they breathe in more water vapor and carbon dioxide during hot summer months. In this process, a high loss of carbon dioxide, an increase in blood pH, and a decrease in calcium ions lead to increased production of thin-shelled or soft-shelled eggs, which may result in a ratio of broken-cracked eggs. Assuming that the average egg yield of chickens is 80%, about 8-10% of the eggs produced are dirty, cracked and broken, resulting in large economic losses (3). It is possible to explain this situation with the mechanism of calcium homeostasis. On the other hand, the element calcium is still a paradox in biological systems. Because calcium metabolism is extremely complicated at metabolic and physiological levels, and it shows its action under the control of many macro-micro elements and different hormonal systems. One of the most interesting aspects of calcium metabolism is that adequate calcium requirements cannot be met simply by adding calcium to the diet. It is observed that calcium metabolism changes under different physiological, health and stress conditions, and even at the organelle level different calcium metabolism occurs. INCREASING EGG PRODUCTIVITY AND SHELL QUALITY THROUGH ALKALINE THERAPY APPLICATION Asli Selvi, MSc R&D Manager, Feed Additive Department Intermak A.S.
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