Using Organic Acids in Laying Hens’ Diets to Improve Egg Production, Egg Characteristics, Nutrient Utilization, and Blood Metabolites during the Hot Season

The biggest obstacle to the poultry industry is the heat. It lowers the birds' physiological potential, feed intake, and egg output. Consequently, there is a great deal of interest in minimizing the negative consequences of elevated temperatures on laying hen productivity by employing feed additives as organic acids. To ascertain the result of feeding acetic and citric acids alone or together on egg output, egg quality, nutrient digestibility, and particular serum measurements during the summer, this study employed eighty Bovans Brown laying chickens (40–54 weeks old, average=1500 kg±334.5). Four sets of 10 duplicates were randomly dispersed. The sets were C (control group), T1 (0.5ml acetic acid/kg feed), T2 (0.5g citric acid), and T3 (0.5ml acetic acid plus 0.5g citric acid). The egg output, egg mass, egg and shell weights, shell weight per unit of surface area, serum total protein, and globulin levels (P≤0.01) all increased noticeably after treatment with citric acid, then the mixed treatment. The citric acid set had the highest shell thickness (P<0.01). The shell surface area was substantially elevated in all sets (P≤0.01) compared to the control. Acetic acid treatment significantly minimized (P<0.05) blood cholesterol, triglyceride, and aspartate aminotransferase levels. Regarding the feed intake, feed conversion ratio, serum alanine transaminase, and calcium, the treatments didn’t differ significantly from one another. The findings revealed that including pure forms of either citric or acetic acid, or their blend in laying hens’ diets throughout the summer season boosted the egg output and improved the value of the eggshell.