The purpose of this study was to evaluate the effect of fish oil upon egg quality, production, plasma lipids and egg yolk cholesterol levels of laying hens. 89-week-old hens were fed diets containing 0.5%, 1%, 2%, 3% and 4% fish oil for 5 weeks. It was observed that the addition of 1% to 4% fish oil to the diet reduced egg weight, but did not affect feed conversion. Albumen and shell quality was not impaired by the supplementation of fish oil to the diet. No significant changes were observed on plasma triglyceride and cholesterol levels, and egg yolk cholesterol content was not affected by the addition of fish oil.
Lipids; Cholesterol; Egg yolk; Fish oils; Hens; Laying performance
