Dietary fresh lemon improves the albumen quality, immune status and lipid metabolism of Jingfen laying hens during the late laying period

Abstract

With the appeals for antibiotic-free production and the attention to natural feed additives in poultry. The effects of fresh lemon (FM) supplementation on older laying hens (79–96 weeks) and its comparison with citric acid (CA) and flavomycin (FLA) were evaluated in the present study. Female Jingfen chickens (n = 540) were randomly distributed into 5 dietary treatments: 0 (control), 20 g/kg (2%) and 40 g/kg (4%) FM, 0.7 g/kg CA and 0.005 g/kg FLA. Production performances were recorded daily and egg quality traits were measured biweekly. Serum biochemical indices and antibody titres were detected every 4 weeks from 84 to 96 weeks of age. Compared with the control diet, FM, CA and FLA increased the laying rate (p