The Effect of Adding Different Levels of Açaí (Euterpe oleracea) to the Diet of Roosters Laying Hens on Sexual Hormones, Fertility Traits and Hatching

Abstract

Abstract This study was conducted in the poultry field, College of Agriculture, Al-Qasim Green University from December 1, 2022, to February 22, 2023, consisting of two experiments. The aim of the study was to determine the effect of adding different levels of Acai fruit powder to the feed of laying hens and assess its impact on reproductive and hormonal characteristics, fertility rate, and hatching. Experiment 1: Twenty-five hen roosters of the Lohmann Brown type, aged 65 weeks, obtained from a poultry farm in Karbala province, were randomly divided into five treatments, each consisting of 5 roosters with five replicates per treatment (one rooster per replicate). The treatments included a control group without supplementation, and groups supplemented with 5 mg, 10 mg, 15 mg, and 20 mg of Acai fruit powder (T1, T2, T3, T4, and T5, respectively). The experiment lasted four weeks, with weekly observations. Significant increases (P<0.01) were observed in most treatments compared to the control group in testosterone, FSH, and LH hormones. Experiment 2: Conducted at the same location and time as the first experiment, 40 White Leghorn laying hens of the Lohmann type, aged 65 weeks, were divided into five treatments, each consisting of eight hens. Artificial insemination was performed, and the following results were obtained during the study period: an increase in fertility and hatching rates, and a decrease in the percentage of dead embryos in the first and second hatching periods.