ARTICLE 62 FEED & ADDITIVE MAGAZINE February 2023 This study sought to demonstrate the effects of Vitalic Shell Support on yield characteristics and egg quality criteria by adding an equimolar concentration with a high degree of ionization to the ration of aged commercial laying hens under heat stress. MATERIAL AND METHOD A total of 100 commercial laying hens of the Lohman line - aged 64 weeks - were used for the experiment. During the fifty-six-day experimental period, various doses of carbonate were administered at equimolar concentrations to isocaloric and isonitrogenous (16% crude protein (CP) and 2,850 kcal metabolic energy (ME)/kg) commercial laying hen rations containing 4.0% calcium (Ca) - 0.40% usable phosphorus (UP) supplements. The experiment was conducted in apartment-type cages, and the experimental facility was automated at a temperature of 30 °C and a relative humidity of 60%. Ventilation was done automatically. Feed and water were given freely. In the experiment, a daily lighting program of 16 hours of light + 8 hours of darkness was applied. The lighting intensity was set at 15 lux. The egg production of the chickens, the number of eggs broken and cracked, feed consumption and feed evaluation coefficients were determined weekly. The experiment was set up according to the experimental design for randomized plots. This experiment was conducted at Konya Selcuk University, Faculty of Agriculture, Department of Animal Science, Research Centre for Experimental Animals. RESULTS ALKALINE THERAPY APPLICATION Improvement of the characteristics of egg yield According to the results of the 56-day trial conducted on 64-week-old commercial laying hens under heat stress, the differences between group averages were found to be statistically significant in terms of the effect of Shell Support supplementation with equimolar concentration on egg production. In terms of egg production, the highest value was recorded in the group with ShellSupport supplementation with 77.68% and the lowest value in the control group with 64.40%.
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