Egg Qualities and Embryonic Development of Eggs of Laying Hens Fed with Graded Levels of fumonisin B 1 With or Without Vitamin C

The detoxifying effect of Vitamin C in the graded levels of Fumonisin B1 fed to birds was conducted with One hundred and five (105) point-of-lay Isa brown breed at 18 weeks and twenty-one (21) cocks at 25 weeks to access egg qualities and embryonic development of their eggs. The birds (layers) were assigned to Seven (7) dietary treatments of 15 birds each at three (3) birds per replicate. The treatments were classified according to inclusion level of Fumonisin B1 and Vitamin C. Treatment A served as the control, B (10 mg/kg of FB1), C (20 mg/kg of FB1), D (30 mg/kg of FB1), E (10 mg/kg of FB1 + Vitamin C), F (20 mg/kg of FB1 + Vitamin C), and G (30mg/kg of FB1 + Vitamin C). The birds were artificially fertilised with semen collected from intact cocks. All the eggs collected from day three (3) after artificial insemination for seven (7) days were incubated to assess the egg fertility and monitor the development of resulting embryos at 7 and 14 days. A significant difference was observed in shell weight (p≤0.05) while other external qualities of eggs examined were not significantly (p≥0.05) influenced by the level of fumonisin B1. Yolk height and yolk diameter had significance (p≤0.05) while other internal qualities were not significantly (p≥0.05) affected. No significant effect of FB1 was observed for the embryonic development just as there was no difference between the selected embryos of the treated group and the control. Meanwhile, the result shows that Vitamin C can effectively ameliorate the toxic effect of the FB1 on the egg qualities (external and internal) and embryonic development of eggs. © 2018 Elixir All rights reserved. Elixir Agriculture 124 (2018) 52114-52120 Agriculture Available online at www.elixirpublishers. com (Elixir International Journal) F.B Adebayo and O.S Omoleye/ Elixir Agriculture 124 (2018) 52114-52120 52115 The vegetation of the area is that of rainforest characterised by two peaks of rainfall and humidity during the rains. The mean rainfall is about 1500 mm and the rain last from March to November, while mean annual relative humidity is over 75%. Experimental birds and diets One hundred and five (105) point-of-lay of Isa brown breed at 18 weeks and twenty-one (21) cocks at 25 weeks were procured from a reputable farm. The birds (layers) were allocated to 7 dietary treatments of 15 birds each at three (3) birds per replicate. The treatments were classified according to the inclusion level of Fumonisin B1, and Vitamin C. Treatment A served as the control, treatment B (10 mg/kg of Fumonisin B1), treatment C (20 mg/kg of Fumonisin B1), treatment D (30 mg/kg of Fumonisin B1), treatment E (10 mg/kg of Fumonisin B1 + Vitamin C), treatment F (20 mg/kg of Fumonisin B1 + Vitamin C), and treatment G (30mg/kg of Fumonisin B1 + Vitamin C) Fertility of laying hens The remaining treated hens were artificially inseminated with semen collected from intact cocks. All the eggs collected from day three (3) after artificial insemination for seven days were incubated to assess the egg fertility and monitor the development of resulting embryos at 7 and 14 days. Egg collection Eggs laid on the 21 st , 28 th , 35 th , 42 nd , 49 th , 56 th and 63 rd day were collected and taken to the laboratory for egg quality determination. The eggs were weighed before being carefully broken, the contents removed and the shells air-dried for two days before taken the weight. Egg weight, yolk weight and shell weight were measured with a sensitive scale calibrated in grammes. The albumen weight was calculated by subtracting the sum of the weights of the shell and the yolk from the total egg weight. Shell thickness was measured with micrometre screw gauge. The mean of the measurements taken from these regions (broad, narrow and equatorial) was taken to ensure accuracy. Percentage shell weights were measured by finding the ratio of the shell weight to the egg weight as shown: % Shell weight = Shell surface area (SSA) was calculated by the formula: SSA = W 0.667 x 4.67 Where W = Average egg weight 0.667 and 4.67 are constants Hen-day production (HDP) in percentage was calculated by adding all the eggs per replicates on a weekly basis using the formula below: